Former Highly Touted MSU Recruits in Battles for Playing Time

It's so tough to project how recruits will fare these days, especially with rosters changing so much every year.

Recruiting is still the lifeblood of college football, whether it be high school recruits or transfer portal prospects. These players have only played for Michigan State thus far and were once highly touted recruits, but their roles for the 2026 season and beyond are definitely up in the air:

2024 Recruiting Class

LT Rustin Young

The offensive line may have been the place where Pat Fitzgerald put most of his focus and resources this offseason. Literally, the first transfer portal commitment he received as MSU's head coach was UConn transfer Ben Murawski. It was clear from the moment Murawski announced that he was a Spartan that he would be Michigan State's new starting left tackle in 2026.

This may have been tough news for Rustin Young, who finished as a 4-star prospect ranked 347th overall in his class on the 247Sports Composite. He started five games for MSU during the 2025 season -- four of them at left tackle and one at right tackle. Young actually entered the transfer portal the day after Murawski's commitment was announced. He withdrew four days later.

Young seems set to be Murawski's backup this season. He was a backup to Stanton Ramil last year, but Young wound up playing 448 offensive snaps, the ninth-most on the team. He's accepting a step back in playing time, assuming better health for Murawski this year than Ramil had last year.

Murawski's eligibility runs out after the 2026 season, though. One more year of development as a backup could do Young some good. If he continues to get better, Michigan State would likely feel comfortable elevating him to full-time starter status this coming winter.

LB Brady Pretzlaff

Linebacker is one of the most packed positions on MSU's roster this coming season. One player this directly affects is Brady Pretzlaff. He seemed set to have a real role in the Spartans' defense in 2025, but Pretzlaff was set back by a season-ending injury in Week 3 vs. Youngstown State. Pretzlaff was also a 4-star recruit in 2024, finishing ranked 476th in his class.

Fast-forward to now, and Pretzlaff could be the fifth or sixth linebacker on the depth chart. Michigan State will probably rely on Jordan Hall, Caleb Wheatland, and Dion Crawford the most this season. Beyond that, Cam Stodghill and true freshman Adam Shaw seem to be in a similar tier as Pretzlaff.

2025 Recruiting Class

RB Jace Clarizio

Jace Clarizio is another once-promising recruit who seems to be on the outside looking in. He was in that high-3-star, low-4-star range coming out of East Lansing High School. Clarizio's prominence as a recruit only grew when he flipped from Michigan State to Alabama, then back to Michigan State, in the final weeks and days of his recruitment. Some of his other offers include Indiana, Iowa, Boston College, USC, Pitt, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Louisville, and Kansas.

Clarizio didn't play a snap last season as a true freshman, partially because of a nagging calf injury. There probably won't be a ton of snaps for Clarizio this year, either. I currently have him as the team's RB6 on the depth chart. If and when Clarizio gets carries this year, it's probably during garbage time and/or mop-up duty.

LB DeJae White

Another linebacker who just might be buried on the depth chart a little bit is DeJae White. He finished ranked 487th overall in the class of '25 on the 247Sports Composite. White didn't appear in a game last season, although he did get Scout Team Player of the Week honors once.

White still has plenty of time to get himself into the team's rotation, but it just may be another season before he's really in a position to play. Wheatland is the only linebacker on this year's roster whose eligibility is expiring, but there is also a great chance Hall will be NFL-bound following this fall.

WR Braylon Collier

Another popular recruit in MSU's 2025 recruiting class was wide receiver Braylon Collier. He finished ranked 821st overall in the country that season. Collier got just one snap as a punt returner last year during the season finale against Maryland.

Things should get interesting for Collier this year. Michigan State is still figuring out how to best use its receivers, with Fitzgerald saying in camp that the team will likely use a rotation. The question remains, though, whether Collier can find his way into MSU's regular playing group and, specifically, what his role would become at that point.

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