2015 Signing Day Recap

This past Wednesday, twenty-two high school seniors signed to play football at Michigan State, becoming arguably one of the best classes that Mark Dantonio has signed during his tenure at Michigan State.  Below is a brief description of each player, their recruitment, and impact on the team.

DE PROTOTYPE

MSU continues to bring in, long, athletic athletes at defensive end, following the Shilique Calhoun blueprint.  Justice Alexander  joins Demetrious Cooper, Montez Sweat and Robert Bowers as lean 6’5”+ athletes who are projected as rush defensive ends after a few years of working with Coach Mannie.  According to Jim Comparoni of Spartan Magazine, Alexander showed the needed ankle flexion needed to be an explosive defensive end at the next level.  MSU’s biggest competition was Tennessee, and OSU showed interest after Alexander committed in the summer.

MOST DEDICATED

Josh Butler’s offer required a total of 49 hours spent on a bus, as he paid his way to travel from his home of Dallas to go on campus visits to Tennessee and East Lansing.  MSU’s reputation of the “No Fly Zone” made popular by Darqueze Dennard paid off and Butler committed in July after visiting.  Although he suffered a torn ACL that ended his senior season in October, the staff expects Butler to compete for playing time this fall, and may be a threat returning kicks.  Butler was ranked in the Rivals.com Top 250 (#241). 

MR. GRAY SHIRT

Cole Chewins passed on a full scholarship at Miami (Ohio) to pursue a gray shirt opportunity at MSU, paying for his first semester before going on scholarship in the spring.  Selling such an option is made easier by the fact that Jack Conklin followed a similar path, enrolling as a gray shirt before becoming a starter in his redshirt freshman year, and now being regarded as a very high pick in next year’s NFL draft by ESPN’s Mel Kiper.  Chewins won two state championships at Clarkston, and was named to the Detroit News Dream Team.  He hopes to follow in the path of another Oakland county tight end turned offensive tackle in Rochester’s Eric Fisher, the 2013 NFL #1 overall pick.

UNDERRATED

Felton Davis is a physical, tall receiver who has the speed to run away from defenders and excels at catching the ball away from his body.  With a similar build to Tony Lippett, Davis will be looked to compete for playing time early in his career, as the team graduates Aaron Burbridge, MacGarrett Kings, AJ Sims, DeAnthony Arnett and possibly AJ Troup after this year.  Although only ranked as a 3 star by Rivals.com, Davis has the potential to have a long, impactful career.

CLEVELAND TWINS

MSU was finally able to infiltrate one of the top program’s in the country in Cleveland’s St. Edwards when they received commitments from twins Andrew Dowell and David Dowell.  St. Ed’s actually visited MSU last summer, modeling their defense after the press corners that MSU employs.  Since the staff had the opportunity to watch the Dowell’s in a similar scheme, they made the decision to offer the then Kentucky commitments.  David likely projects at corner, but could play wide receiver given a need, while Andrew projects at the STAR linebacker position.

SEC LUSTER?

It’s rare that a school in the Midwest beats Alabama, Auburn and Florida State for a kid in Florida, but that’s just what MSU did when Kaleel Gaines committed in August.  Gaines played multiple positions in high school, including quarterback, but will likely play safety in college.  He has the potential to compete early for playing time as well, as the secondary will have open competition in the fall for starting CBs.

LONE STAR LINEMAN

Although LSU and TCU offered Houston offensive lineman Tyler Higby, Higby decided to commit to MSU, who has family located in the Midland, Michigan area.  Higby will likely play guard, and Dantonio considers Higby “one of the most athletic offensive lineman in the state of Texas.”  Higby will redshirt, but could compete for a spot in the two-deeps in 2016.

PATIENCE

Mufi Hunt made his college decision to attend MSU by stating that he will “fight alongside my brothers of Sparta.”  From Utah, Hunt will be embarking on a two-year Mormon mission after graduation, so he will not enroll until 2017.  Hunt seems to be very mature mentally, but will need a few years to add weight and to mature physically.  Given patience, Hunt could develop into a force off the edge given the fact that he will 23 – 24 years old as an upper-classmen.  This may also open up a pipeline to more Samoan players to MSU, following in the lines of Tupe Peko, Domato Peko, and Fou Fonoti. 

ROSE BOWL SUCCESS

Without the success in last year’s Rose Bowl and the attention it brought to MSU out west, it’s unlikely that Brian Lewerke would be a member of this class.  Hailing from Phoenix, it was a combination of the on-field success and the pro style offense that made MSU an attractive option to Lewerke.  Also take into account that MSU did not take a QB in last year’s class, and Lewerke has a very good chance at becoming the starting QB for at least his last two years at MSU. 

BIG COUNTRY

Noah Listermann is physically the biggest recruit since David Barrent in 2009.  Listermann attended the same school as George Brown, another OT who may have been ranked higher, but Listermann arguably out-performed Brown during the year.  Listermann did have an OSU offer for a short period, where he was basically told if he committed at the time and didn’t visit East Lansing, he could be a member of their class.  Listermann projects at right tackle, and realistically will compete for a starting spot in 2017.

FASTEST PLAYER

Drake Martinez is the younger brother of former Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez, but he may be just as fast.  Martinez originally committed to Nebraska over MSU in 2013, but left school after a serious illness resulted in Martinez losing 35 pounds.  Although Martinez may lose a year of eligibility due to a Big 10 rule that states a transfer within the conference has to sit out a year, that speaks volumes that Martinez was willing to sacrifice a year of playing time to come to MSU.  Martinez projects at multiple positions, but likely will get first crack at the STAR LB position.

DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

Grayson Miller is the son of former Spartan John Miller, and his commitment caught many Spartan fans off guard.  However Miller ran two 4.4 40s at the MSU camp, and also jumped over 10’ in the broad jump, showing just how explosive he is.  Unfortunately Miller missed his entire senior season due to an ankle injury, but the staff projects Miller as a safety prospect.  It is possible that he could grow into a linebacker as well. 

NFL BLOODLINES

Cassius Peat is the younger brother of NFL projected first-round pick Andrus Peat, and is the son of former NFL offensive lineman Todd Peat.  Dantonio did mention that Peat is a candidate to play early, and he could fill a defensive end role similar to what Marcus Rush did for the past four years.  Some have even said that they wouldn’t be surprised if Peat grew to be a defensive tackle, similar to Joel Heath, however in terms of depth on the defensive line, I think it’s best that he stick to the end position.  Peat was a UCLA commit for a time, but Dantonio stated in his press conference that he was aware Peat still wanted to hear from and consider Michigan State.     

MOST LIKELY TO PLAY EARLY

The consensus top player in this class, L.J. Scott has drawn plenty of comparisons to Leveon Bell for his physical build, running style, and ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.  Look for Scott to compete for first-team reps from the minute he steps foot on campus.  Competition at RB will be between Delton Williams, Gerald Holmes, Madre London, and Gerald Owens, but look for Williams, London and Scott to form a rotation once the season begins.  Scott was a huge recruiting victory when he committed in July, not only holding offers from Alabama and Ohio State, but he is from Northeast Ohio, a traditional strong-hold for the Buckeyes.  Scott comes from Hubbard, the same school as Kurtis Drummond, which helped in the recruiting process.  Scott is ranked the #57 player in the country by Rivals.com. 

ST. MARYS PIPELINE

Tyson Smith joins former St. Mary’s teammates Jalen Watts-Jackson (JWJ), Nathan Conrad, Sean Harrington and Jeremy Schram on the Spartan roster.  Smith was a player the staff identified early in the process as they recruited JWJ, and it paid off when Smith became the first commit for the class.  Dantonio compared Smith to former Spartan DB and NFL player Renaldo Hill.  Smith also has the potential to compete for playing time early at corner. 

TOP INSTATE PLAYER

Although Mike Weber and Brian Cole had been ranked as the state’s top player, Kyonta Stallworth should be mentioned in the same breath as one of, if not the top player in the country.  Stallworth had offers from Alabama, Florida, MSU and UCLA before his junior year, and is athletic enough to possibly play tackle if needed, similar to Donovan Clark.  Dantonio mentioned that Stallworth could play early, although I think it is likely Stallworth will redshirt and then compete for a spot at guard in 2016.  Remember Brian Allen wasn’t needed to play significantly until Connor Kruse’s’ injury at the start of the year. 

KIWI REINCARNATE

Mark Dantonio made several comparisons during his press conference, but the one that stuck out to me the most was him comparing Darrell Stewart to Keshawn Martin.  Stewart was another versatile player in high school, playing multiple positions including QB.  The offensive staff has already mentioned using Stewart on reverses and using his passing ability for trick plays.  Stewart attended the same high school as WR coach Terry Samuel, and is versatile enough to play defensive back if needed.  Also look for Stewart to compete for playing time in 2016.

BIGGEST COUP

Tyriq Thompson is the son of former Michigan player Clarence Thompson, making Tyriq’s commitment the biggest coup.  The staff identified Thompson as a key target early, and Thompson was one of the top defensive performers at the Semper Fidelis All-American game.  Thompson enrolled for the spring semester, and will participate in spring practice.  Mike Tressel mentioned that Thompson has the capability to play all three linebacker positions, and he even could get a look at fullback to get Thompson on the field early. 

NEXT FB

Kenny Willekes accepted a preferred walk-on spot, but has the chance to earn a scholarship if he is able to earn the starting fullback position after the graduation of Trevon Pendleton.  Willekes’s biggest competition could be Gerald Owens if he sticks in the offensive backfield and the staff feels Owens has outgrown the RB position.  Willekes could also get a look at LB. 

MALK 2.0

Raequan Williams has drawn comparisons to Malik McDowell due to his size and athleticism.  Williams could initially see playing time at defensive end, but will likely spend the majority of his career inside at defensive tackle.  Williams is from the Chicago area, keeping the pipeline to Chicago alive after MSU received four commitments from the area in 2014.  Williams also plays basketball, and is rated the #153 player in the country by Rivals.com. 

FUTURE CAPTAIN

Although Khari Willis’s ran for 2,800 yards and 30 touchdowns in his senior season as a running back, Dantonio announced that Willis would play safety, comparing him to Isaiah Lewis.  They like Willis as an explosive, physical athlete who shows strong leadership skills.  Willis was also a candidate to play Division 1 basketball, but will focus on football in college.  In fact Co-Defensive Coordinator Harlon Barnett injured his Achilles while playing against Willis this summer.  There still remains a possibility that Willis sees time at running back at some point in his career, as we know how much the staff likes to move players around.