Recapping Michigan State Football Recruiting In July 2022
Michigan State football added to both sides of its trenches in July after another productive recruiting month. While it added two highly-rated linemen to its strong class of 2023, Michigan State lost more recruiting battles than won this month.
Let’s start with the commitments.
Norman (Okla.) Community Christian four-star Defensive End Bai Jobe
Committing on July 7, Jobe is one of the top edge prospects in this recruiting class, ranked No. 10 at his position. Although he is relatively new to football, he has dominated the high school ranks. Moving from Senegal in eighth grade, Jobe didn’t start playing football until high school.
What sticks out when watching his film is his speed. He is quick to get to the backfield, and with long arms it’s hard to get away from him. There’s a lot of raw potential for defensive line coach Marco Coleman and pass rush specialist Brandon Jordan to work with here.
Jobe, ranked No. 71 overall in the class of 2023, is the Spartans’ highest-ranked commit in the class.
Clarkston (Mich.) four-star Offensive Lineman Cole Dellinger
It should be noted Dellinger’s brother, Garrett, is a starting offensive lineman for LSU. Dellinger is Michigan State’s third commit in this class from the state of Michigan.
While Dellinger plays left tackle for Clarkston, he projects at guard at the collegiate level. The 6-foot-4 prospect is listed at 280 pounds, and has a frame that will allow him to add more when he enrolls at MSU. Rated as a four-star, he is MSU’s highest offensive line recruit since 2019 (Five-star Devontae Dobbs).
Dellinger is considered the No. 16 interior offensive lineman prospect in the country, and the No. 331 overall player in the class. He's the fifth-best prospect in the state of Michigan, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.
MSU's Recruiting Misses In July
Michigan State brought a handful of blue chip linemen to campus in June, but many of them chose to commit elsewhere in July. Douglasville (Ga.) South Paulding offensive guard Madden Sanker and Alpharetta (Ga.) Denmark offensive tackle Sham Umarov took official visits to East Lansing together, but ended up picking Louisville and Tennessee, respectively.
Many thought Michigan State was the leader for Venice (Fl.) safety Elliot Washington and Orlando (Fl.) Phillips offensive tackle Payton Kirkland, who ended up taking different paths. Washington, originally committed to Alabama, flipped to Penn State. While Kirkland chose Texas in a last second effort by the Longhorns.
Other notable commitments were Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco offensive tackle Chase Bisontis, who picked Texas A&M, and Colleyville (Texas) Covenant Christian edge Enow Etta, who is close friends with Spartan commit Andrew Dapaepe, but chose rival Michigan. Former MSU pledge Frisco (Texas) Lone Star cornerback Jaylon Braxton, flipped his commitment to Arkansas.
Of the big fish left, there are currently only two that are still considering the Spartans. Katy (Texas) Paetow five-star defensive lineman David Hicks and Braintree (Mass.) Thayer Academy five-star offensive tackle Samson Okunlola. Neither have a time table of when they will be committing to their school of choice, but Michigan State is expecting another visit by both.
With 12 commitments, nine of whom are rated as four-stars, the Spartans’ recruiting class is only halfway full. The early signing period is still four months away, with the second signing period an additional two months after that.
With some of MSU’s misses this month, it may feel as if the pool of quality prospects is slimming down. However, head coach Mel Tucker assures that this staff will leave no stone unturned. Expect new prospects to emerge as the season approaches.