Michigan State Gains Momentum in Recruitment of Dillon Tatum
Dillon Tatum. That's a name a lot of Spartan fans that follow recruiting have heard a lot about over the last year.
The West Bloomfield High star has seen his recruitment take a couple twists and turns, but with a decision looming, Michigan State is in prime position to land the 4-star athlete.
Tatum has wavered between Michigan State and Michigan for a long time. Most of the summer he has spent visiting both schools and trying to figure out where he will spend the next four to five years of his life, and as of right now all signs point to Michigan State.
Yesterday it started at 2:32 pm when 247sports Midwest Recruiting Analyst Allen Trieu put in a 'crystal ball' for Tatum to pick Michigan State, that was followed by National Recruiting Analyst, Steve Wiltfong doing the same four minutes later. As the day turned into night six more with the 247sports team followed Trieu's original lead.
Most of those crystal balls were in favor of Michigan leading up to yesterday. Earlier this year, Michigan made the move to hire Ron Bellamy as the team's safety's coach. Prior to Bellamy being hired, he was the Head Coach at West Bloomfield High School where he led the Lakers to the Division 1 State Championship last season, where Tatum started on both sides of the ball, as a running back and a safety.
When Bellamy was hired it seemed to put Michigan squarely into the driver's seat in Tatum's recruitment. How could he not go to Michigan most thought?
This is a recruitment I have been close with on my end for a few years now. Tatum has told me numerous times how he grew up being a Michigan State fan. He loved watching guys like Denicos Allen, Isaiah Lewis, and Jeremy Langford win Big Ten Championships and Bowl Games.
Before the Bellamy hire at Michigan, I believe Michigan State was in the lead. The hire put a wrench in things and Tatum took his time to weigh his options at that point. I mean, it is a pretty big decision right? With the staff's 'relentless' pursuit of Tatum the last few months, it looks as if they might have pulled off, in what my opinion would be the biggest recruiting win for Mel Tucker since arriving at Michigan State a year and a half ago.
If Tatum decides to pull the trigger which seems likely within the coming weeks, Michigan State would have four of the Top 10 in the state of Michigan committed while also heavily involved in a fifth which happens to be Tatum's teammate at West Bloomfield, Michael Williams.