Michigan State flips Utah State QB commit on National Signing Day

The Spartans pulled off a surprise on National Signing Day, flipping one quarterback commit from Utah State and signing two signal callers to 2024 recruiting class...

Author:
Matthew Lounsberry
Publish date:
Dec 20, 2023 3:51 PM EST

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Michigan State Spartans

While the majority of the signatures Michigan State football has received on National Signing Day came from committed prospects, the Spartans did manage to pull on one surprise this afternoon.

That surprise came when MSU flipped the commitment of three-star La Mesa (Calif.) Helix quarterback Ryland Jessee, who had been committed to Utah State from June 28 all the way up until he submitted his national letter of intent on Wednesday. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder joins Michigan State's other QB commit, Alessio Milivojevic, in the Spartans' 2024 recruiting class.

According to 247Sports composite rankings, Jessee is considered the No. 1758 overall prospect, No. 98 quarterback and No. 142 player from the state of California in the class of 2024. In addition to Michigan State, Oregon State and Utah State, the three-star had offers from Nevada and San Diego State.

Jessee is a prospect that Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith and offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren had offered while they both coached at Oregon State. The Spartans needed help at quarterback after losing all three scholarship signal-callers from the 2023 roster to the transfer portal this offseason, and Smith and Co. have addressed that with the additions of Jessee, Milivojevic and Oregon State transfer Aiden Chiles.

As National Signing Day approached, Michigan State also heavily pursued 2024 four-star Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove quarterback Tyler Cherry, but the Indiana native ultimately chose to commit to the home-state Hoosiers.

While the addition of Chiles is not yet official, in all intents and purposes the Spartans are back up to three scholarship quarterbacks on their roster heading into 2024. Following the conclusion of the 2023 season, MSU lost redshirt junior Noah Kim, who started five games for the Spartans, to Coastal Carolina; true freshman Sam Leavitt, who played well in four games as a backup, to Arizona State; and redshirt freshman Katin Houser, who started MSU's final seven games, to East Carolina.

However, Michigan State got hot at the right time in the week leading up to National Signing Day. The Spartans have added 11 commitments over the past eight days, and 17 of their 19 verbal pledges have signed their national letters of intent today, as of 3:15 p.m. Michigan State will continue to add more recruits from the 2024 class up until the second signing period in February. The Spartans' class currently ranks No. 48 in the country after residing in the 100s just over a week ago.

Michigan State Verbal Commitments, Class of 2024

Four-star WR Nick Marsh; River Rouge High School; River Rouge, Mich.; No. 115 nationally, No. 20 Wide Receiver, No. 2 in state of Michigan
Three-star OT Rustin Young; St. Louis High School; Honolulu, Hawaii; No. 662 nationally, No. 51 offensive tackle, No. 3 in state of Hawaii
Three-star LB Brady Pretzlaff; Gaylord High School; Gaylord, Mich.; No. 676 nationally, No. 60 Linebacker, No. 14 in state of Michigan
Three-star OT Mercer Luniewski; Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy; Cincinnati, Ohio; No. 715 nationally, No. 53 Offensive Tackle, No. 27 in state of Ohio
Three-star CB Justin Denson; La Salle Academy; Providence, R.I.; No. 754 nationally, No. 59 Cornerback, No. 20 in state of Pennsylvania
Three-star CB Jaylen Thompson; Riverdale High School; Murfreesboro, Tenn.; No. 762 nationally, No. 60 Cornerback, No. 21 in state of Tennessee
Three-star OT Payton Stewart; Kelso High School; Kelso, Wash.; No. 903 nationally, No. 65 Offensive Tackle, No. 13 in state of Washington
Three-star ATH Andrew Brinson IV; Gaither High School; Tampa, Fla.; No. 1040 nationally, No. 88 Athlete, No. 142 in state of Florida
Three-star LB Jadyn Walker; Portage Northern High School; Portage, Mich.; No. 1086 nationally, No. 94 Linebacker, No. 17 in state of Michigan
Three-star QB Alessio Milivojevic; St. Francis High School, Wheaton, Ill.; No. 1175 natonally, No. 67 Quarterback, No. 26 in state of Illinois
Three-star IOL Rakeem Johnson; Bishop Kelly High School; Boise, Idaho; No. 1265 nationally, No. 100 Interior Offensive Lineman, No. 2 in state of Idaho
Three-star EDGE Kekai Burnett; Punahou High School; Honolulu, Hawaii; No. 1289 nationally, No. 89 Edge Rusher, No. 6 in state of Hawaii
Three-star WR Austin Clay; Midpark High School; Cleveland, Ohio; No. 1314 nationally, No. 164 Wide Receiver, No. 50 in state of Ohio
Three-star TE Wyatt Hook; Homestead High School; Cupertino, Calif.; No. 1315 nationally, No. 70 Tight End, No. 97 in state of California
Three-star IOL Charlton Luniewski; Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy; Cincinnati, Ohio; No. 1381 nationally, No. 110 Interior Offensive Lineman, No. 55 in state of Ohio
Three-star RB Brandon Tullis; Memorial High School, Frisco, Texas; No. 1514 nationally, No. 112 Running Back, No. 217 in state of Texas
Three-star ATH Keshawn Williams; Riverdale High School; Murfreesboro, Tenn.; No. 1577 nationally, No. 142 Athlete, No. 50 in state of Tennessee
Three-star RB Makhi Frazier; McKinney High School; McKinney, Texas; No. 1599 nationally, No. 120 Running Back, No. 227 in state of Texas
Three-star QB Ryland Jessee; Helix High School; La Mesa, Calif.; No. 1758 nationally, No. 98 Quarterback, No. 142 in state of California