MSU Should Consider Signing Day a Win
Early signing day has come and gone, and the Michigan State Spartans found themselves on the fortunate end of things.
Coming into the day, Coach Jonathan Smith’s recruiting class ranked 61st in the nation, according to 247sports.com. After the ink dried on the 16-player class, it ranked 57th.
While that may only appear as a marginal gain, the day could have been much worse for Smith and the Spartans.
After Cornerbacks Coach Demetrice Martin’s departure to UCLA and the de-commitment of three-star cornerback LaRue Zamorano III, who followed Martin, it would have made sense for the players Martin recruited to back off their pledges.
However, Zamorano was the only de-commitment.
It was especially impressive that Smith and this staff retained three-star cornerback Aydan West, who was being heavily pursued by Virginia Tech and Ohio State. It could have been easy for West to pursue another opportunity, but the MSU staff locked him down.
West is the third-highest-ranked player in the Spartans’ class.
However, the biggest news of the day was the surprising flip (re-flip?) of four-star running back Jace Clarizio. The East Lansing native flipped his commitment to Alabama last week, but Smith worked overtime to get the talented back to stay home.
And stay home, he did.
This was a massive win for Smith and his staff, keeping a talented offensive player in the class and sending a message to Michigan high school players that MSU is the place to be.
For a coach who needed to establish a stronghold in the Midwest, Smith did an excellent job retaining some of the best Midwest talent in the state.
While the class was not full of high-level prospects, the staff did a good job identifying talent that fits within the identity they want to create in East Lansing.
However, there were a few top-end players who will make their careers at MSU. Four-star defensive lineman Derrick Simmons from Frankenmuth, Mich., and four-star linebacker Charles White from Orchard Lake, Michigan, signed on Tuesday morning. Those two players have the chance to be special talents in East Lansing.
Overall, despite not having a top-50 class, things turned out well for Smith with his first full recruiting class. These players will eventually make up the core of Smith’s team, and Spartan fans hope Smith can rebuild this football program as he did at Oregon State.
Tuesday was a step in the right direction.
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