(Sorry for the lack of posts - hopefully, I can gear it up this summer...)
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Football 'Crootin Roundup Is Looking For Help In The Bible Belt
by ChrisVannini on May 17, 2012 12:30 PM CDT in Michigan State Spartans FootballNot many major updates on the recruiting trail over the past week, but the MSU coaches were looking to make inroads in several southern states.
(Small update: Joe Rexrode reports that QB commit Damion Terry has been given four stars by Scout and will be ranked when Rivals' list comes out. Here's the proof. Not bad for a kid who had no major offers before MSU)
Sunshine State ATH talks Spartans (24/7) - Four-star Florida prospect Lamar Robbins was offered by MSU last weekend. Robbins has notable offers from Louisville, Ole Miss and Pitt, but said West Virginia and MSU are two that stand out for him. MSU has grabbed a receiver from the Miami area in each of the last two years and is looking for more recruiting success in Florida.
MSU offer has OL talking visit (24/7) - Three-star Georgia offensive tackle J.P. Vonashek didn't know Mike Tressel was coming to his school when he was offered by the Spartans. MSU is a little late in the game, as Vonashek said MSU isn't in his top five, but he said he'll try to take a visit to East Lansing. The Spartans continue to recruit Georgia hard. Speaking of that...
MSU offers another from Peach State (24/7) - Three-star Georgia defensive tackle Jay Ellison was recently offered by MSU. Ellison has many SEC and ACC offers and said some of the SEC schools are recruiting him the hardest. MSU is still looking for some defensive line commits, and Georgia is home to several talented ones.
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MSU visited one of the top 2014 quarterbacks on Wednesday.
Allen Trieu@AllenTrieu#MichiganState visited 2014 QB Drew Barker from Conner (Ky.) today
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Benenoch piling up offers (Rivals) - Your weekly update on Texas OL Caleb Benenoch. He recently received an offer from Auburn and is hoping to hear from USC and Ole Miss soon. It sounds like his parents have never been wild about him moving all the way up to East Lansing.
"I'm still committed to Michigan State," Benenoch said. "My parents still want me to keep looking, so the way we are going to handle it is visit a lot of schools and you know, my parents have to like the school just as much as I do. Academics are very important, they're going to like the schools like Texas, Texas A&M and Stanford because they're in the top 50 schools in the country as far as academics go."
If I was a parent, academics and the ability to see my kid play would be major factors, so you can't blame Benenoch's parents for feeling how they do. Benenoch has shown frustration with people questioning his commitment to MSU, but when you make statements like this, it's not hard to see why some people think he won't be signing with MSU when the time comes.
Now, back to the Midwest kids...
Delton Williams Checks In (24/7) - An update on Erie (Pa.) athlete Delton Williams. MSU remains No. 1 for him, but an offer from Ohio State could change things. Nothing really new, but there are some good quotes on how MSU is selling itself to Williams, including an opportunity for the defensive back to play some offense.
Michigan kicker could earn Spartan offer (Rivals) - JJ McGrath has been on MSU's radar for quite some time. The Macomb kicker has visited MSU a few times already, but it appears MSU may be close to offering him. SpartanMag reports MSU will look to add a kicker to the 2013 class. Having one of the top kickers in the country interested an in the state of Michigan could be a factor. McGrath's punting abilities also make him a desirable target.
Hicks talks new offers and MSU trip (24/7) - Ohio defensive back Darian Hicks still has MSU at the top of his list, even as offers from Pitt, Minnesota and Virginia have come. He will camp at MSU in June, along with camping at Ohio State at Michigan. This appears to be a situation where Hicks would pick MSU unless the Buckeyes or Wolverines make an offer. A tough spot.
Maryland DB names top six (Rivals) - In this video, Maryland cornerback Kirk Garner lists MSU among his top six choices. Penn State, U-M and Purdue also are in his top six. MSU is looking to add another defensive back or two, but have offers out to a lot of talented prospects, so the spots will go to whomever pulls the trigger first.
Flick looking hard at MSU (Scout) - Two-star Ohio offensive guard Ben Flick camped at MSU last summer and is hoping for an offer from them. He currently has offers from Buffalo, Marshall and Western Michigan. MSU found success with another lower-rated recruited out of Hamilton High School in Denicos Allen.
Mosley looking to visit (24/7) - Three-star Illinois athlete Darius Mosley has plenty of offers from Midwest schools. He doesn't know a ton about MSU, but a visit surely would help that. But there's a problem.
"I'm trying to visit Michigan State," Mosley said. "I don't have anyone to take me. I'm trying to visit there this summer."
That's how you know nothing fishy is going on.
Spartans want Jeppesen at camp (Rivals) - Three-star Portage lineman Nate Jeppesen has been an offensive guard for most of his high school career, but MSU and U-M want to see him on the defensive side. That could be enough for him to receive an offer from MSU. The Spartans are focusing on tackles more than guards on the offensive line and also need some defensive tackles in the 2013 class.
"Michigan State has said they like me a lot and they are just trying to figure out where I can fit in and get a scholarship offer."
Matt Morrissey is next in line (24/7) - 2014 Illinois safety Matt Morrissey has plenty of MSU ties. His father, Jim, played linebacker at MSU and his sister, Anna, plays on the MSU women's basketball team. MSU, U-M and Northwestern have shown the most interest thus far.
"I'm going to keep my options open, but I still am a Spartan fan right now."
Spartans reach out to Cali. DB (24/7) - Three-star California safety Brandon Arnold recently received an MSU offer and put the Spartans in his top five — which consists of some schools that haven't offered yet. Arnold isn't sure if he'll take a visit to East Lansing, but hopes to make a decision during his senior season.
Comments
Wow...back to back 11 Win Seasons is Starting to Pay off in Recruiting
I can’t recall MSU football ever making so many recruits top 5 or 6 all over the country. Even though we may not get most of these kids I think nationally we are starting to get taken seriously.
On a Seperate note I love how everyone thinks we are going to have a down year because of losing Cousins and our Receiving corps, but they forget that those kids were mostly 2 star recruits who coach D developed into the best class in MSU history. If this trend continues it’s going to be great to see this 3 and 4 star talent develop under Coach D!
by MSUMC25 on May 17, 2012 6:32 PM CDT reply
Speaking of football 'crootin
Hey, Joe! breaks that ’13 QB commit Damion Terry has just gone from unranked to 4* on Scouts, and will get rated on Rivals this month.
I think this goes to show two things: 1) Coach D & his staff have an eye for finding talent that is overlooked by other major programs, and 2) Other progams, and the recruiting services are both aware of that. Caleb Benenoch is of course getting all the love from his home region schools, which literally ignored him until he verballed with MSU, and now an unranked QB is debuting at 4 stars after committing here.
by MSUDersh on May 17, 2012 8:21 PM CDT reply
Cali?
Can’t remember the last time I heard about MSU going after a kid out there (then again, I don’t pay a ton of attention to recruiting stuff). This is pretty much exactly how I would want a coach to build a program and get recruits. Start local when you take over and work really hard to lay that groundwork. Then when it’s established, start reaching out to new areas. It’s a slow process, but we’re certainly starting to see some dividends.
"It was worth it. Every needle, every dose of medicine that I've taken. That's why you play the game. A chance to be on a Final Four team, a chance to win championships." Delvon Roe
by Ducking Delvon on May 18, 2012 8:19 AM CDT reply
Possible drawback however...
…is that the staff spends “too much” time recruiting out of state, and hurts the feelings of some local coaches. I think this happened a bit with JLS.
Scientists say the universe is made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. They forgot about morons.
by Spartan D on May 18, 2012 8:36 AM CDT up reply
Valid point
Though with the success Coach D has had, it should make more local kids be naturally interested. Also, I think JLS slapped himself in the face with his very zealous recruiting in the JuCo ranks. He ended up bringing in lots of older, experienced guys w limited remaining eligibilty, who expected to play right away. Which I imagine turned off kids who came into the program straight from HS
by MSUDersh on May 18, 2012 10:02 AM CDT via mobile up reply
