Michigan State Lands In 'Final 6' For Elite Top 100 Cornerback, Decision Date Set
The recruitment for one of the nation's best defensive back prospects is nearing its end, and Michigan State football is in the thick of the battle.
On Tuesday, four-star Seattle (Wash.) Rainier Beach cornerback Caleb Presley included the Spartans in his final six schools alongside Alabama, UCLA, Oregon, Texas A&M and Washington. He is set to make his commitment on July 5 at 8 p.m. EST.
Ranked the No. 9 cornerback and No. 78 overall player in the country by 247Sports' Composite rankings, Presley is truly one of the elite prospects in the country. He's also the No. 1-ranked player out of the state of Washington.
Presley's offer sheet, which includes 29 FBS schools, is fill with the who's who of college football — programs like USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Michigan, LSU, Florida State and more were all interested.
Presley visited East Lansing over the weekend of June 10, and he left impressed by what he saw and heard out of head coach Mel Tucker, secondaries coach Harlon Barnett and everything Michigan State football had to offer.
As good of a position that the Spartans have put themselves in here, it will be difficult to lure Presley away from the West Coast. As of now, all of 247Sports' crystal balls are pointing toward Oregon as the team to beat for the talented corner. 247's director of football recruiting Steve Wiltfong, national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman, national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins and Cascadia Preps' Ryland Spencer all have picks in for the Ducks.
Michigan State started this month red-hot, landing five commitments following the first two weeks of official visits. But things have slowed a bit for the Spartans over these last couple weeks, and MSU lost one of those five commitments when four-star cornerback Jaylon Braxton backed off his verbal commitment.
Still, the additions of four-star cornerback Chance Rucker, four-star wide receiver Demitrius Bell, four-star linebacker Jordan Hall and four-star offensive lineman Clay Wedin have created a buzz for the program this summer and bolstered their 2023 class.
Head coach Mel Tucker and his staff are on the verge of building one of MSU's best recruiting classes in recent memory. The Spartans' 10 verbal pledges, seven of which come from four-star prospects, has Michigan State's 2023 class currently ranked No. 19 in the country.
MSU signed a total of five four-star prospects in the class of 2022, and has not exceeded that number of four-star signees in one class since 2016, when nine four-star prospects pledged to the Spartans. With a long way to go until National Signing Day in December, Michigan State has put itself in a good position to sign more four-star or higher ranked prospects than ever before in the program's history.
Twitter: @mlounsberry_SI
