MSU Risks Losing No. 3‑Ranked 2026 Commit

If Michigan has their way, Michigan State will be left without their four-star linebacker.

Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith walks past fans before the football game against Boston College on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

To think Michigan State fans couldn't despise Michigan anymore, the Wolverines may give them something to think about. No. 15 Michigan had an intriguing visitor at the Big House as they took down Wisconsin, 24-10. After an early loss to No. 18 Oklahoma sent them down in the AP Top 25, four-star linebacker Braylon Hodge was more than impressed with what he saw in Ann Arbor.

"Game day was a good experience. The energy was next level. The fans were super loud the whole game,” Hodge told On3's Aidan Sen. "You can really feel the history there. It was a really cool environment.”

He continued, "I had a great time hanging out with the players and getting to know the coaching staff better. I got a good sense of the culture and the energy around the program.”

HC Sherrone Moore and LB Coach Brian Jean-Mary did everything in their power to convince Hodge that he would be a great fit at Michigan, "I learned a lot about how they see me fitting into their system, both on and off the field. It’s a big-time program with a strong vision for the future. It definitely gave me a lot to think about.”

"It’s a big-time program with a strong vision for the future, and it definitely gave me a lot to think about"

Four-star Michigan State LB commit Braylon Hodge goes in-depth on his recent visit to Michigan

READ: https://t.co/4EaTtnQyW2#CFB || #GoBlue || #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/gEwX9MrGqB

— Aidan Sen (@aidansen123) October 7, 2025

Sen notes that while Hodge may be committed to MSU, he still has plenty of options left on the table. In the coming weeks, he'll be visiting No. 3 Oregon, Missouri, and Texas. The now unranked Longhorns may be off the table, depending on how the Colorado native prioritizes his choice.

Other than those visits, Sen mentioned that Utah remains in contact. With the transfer portal and NIL deals taking over college sports, players are de-committing at an all-time rate. At this point, the Spartans are far from the frontrunner to keep Hodge.

247Sports outlines Hodge's 2025 schedule which includes a visit to Oregon on October 11, just one week after he made the trip to Ann Arbor. From there, he'll take roughly a month off before visiting Missouri on November 8. Two weeks after that, Hodge will head to Texas as the Longhorns do battle with Arkansas on November 22. Texas made sure to line up a visit on a game they should win, as that Razorbacks game is sandwiched between three other ranked opponents.

Hodge, the No. 1 player in Colorado, would be a huge player for MSU to lose. Without their No. 3-ranked recruit, things could begin to get ugly for the Spartans' 2026 class and beyond as they just lost out on a four-star wide receiver as well.