MSU Gets Complex News in Recruitment of 4-Star Offensive Lineman

One of the top offensive line recruits Michigan State is in pursuit of is down to five schools.

4-star Tri-Village (Ohio) prospect Dominic Black released the final five programs he's considering on Monday. MSU made the cut alongside Kentucky, Virginia Tech, Indiana, and Tennessee. He also set his commitment date for Wednesday, June 10.

Fast Facts on Black's Recruitment

MSU — Sep 7, 2024; College Park, Maryland, USA; A detailed view of Michigan State Spartans helmet on the field before the game against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Black is currently ranked 191st overall in the class of 2027 on the 247Sports Composite, including seventh among those from Ohio. He's listed as an offensive lineman on 247Sports, but Rivals/On3 has him listed as an interior offensive lineman instead. Black stands at 6'5" and 295 pounds.

Plenty of other Power Four programs have sent offers to Black and weren't in the final five. Some of those teams include Arkansas, N.C. State, UCLA, Duke, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, and West Virginia.

The Bad News

April 18, 2026; East Lansing, Mich.; Michigan State Spartans head coach Pat Fitzgerald gets his whistle ready during the "Spring Showcase" at Spartan Stadium. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

MSU will be playing from behind in the final days of Black's recruitment. Kentucky is the team clearly in the driver's seat to land Black next week. The Wildcats received three predictions from members of the Rivals staff that Black would land early Monday afternoon.

What also doesn't help is that Black is going to commit somewhere before he officially visits East Lansing. His official visit with the Spartans was set for June 12-14. Michigan State hosted Black for an unofficial visit back in March during spring practices and later visited him at Tri-Village a few times, but committing somewhere a few days before an official visit would be unusual.

April 18, 2026; East Lansing, Mich.; Michigan State Spartans offensive line coach Nick Tabacca instructs players during MSU's "Spring Showcase" at Spartan Stadium. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Black's only official visit thus far was to Indiana in mid-May. He'll be visiting Kentucky this coming weekend, though, which aligns with the predictions that just went in.

The odds are stacked against it happening, but landing Black would be huge. He'd be the second blue-chip offensive tackle Michigan State would have landed in as many cycles, with 4-star prospect Collin Campbell signed on to join the program in the coming months.

More on Offensive Tackle Situation

Offensive lineman Jack Carlson of Brighton warms up before a season-opening football game against Dexter on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025 at Brighton. | Bill Khan/Livingston Daily / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What could give Pat Fitzgerald and offensive line coach Nick Tabacca some solace is that they already have one offensive tackle in the class of '27 right now. That's Brighton (Mich.) recruit Jack Carlson, who is a higher-tier 3-star recruit at 505th overall on the 247Sports Composite. He committed back in March.

4-star OT Caleb Johnson is also still on the board. He just took an official visit to East Lansing this past weekend. It still seems clear that Michigan State would like a second offensive tackle this cycle as starters Ben Murawski and Conner Moore enter their final collegiate seasons.

Michigan State's Conner Moore, left, blocks Eli Coenen during the football Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Add us as a preferred source on Google