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Michigan State football: Ranking the Spartans’ 2019 recruiting class by position group
By Tom Brew
Published:
Michigan State’s 2019 recruiting class is ranked No. 28 in the 247Sports team composite rankings after the first two days of the Early Signing Period that runs through Friday. In the Big Ten, the Spartans are ranked seventh, behind Michigan (8), Penn State (10), Ohio State (12), Nebraska (24), Purdue (25) and Wisconsin (27).
It’s a step down from a year ago, when Michigan State had the No. 6-ranked class in the Big Ten. The Spartans have a 18-member class signed at the moment, and there is one 5-star recruit, a 4-star recruit, and 16 3-star recruits.
Here’s how we rank the Spartans’ class by position:
No. 1: Offensive line
5-stars: Devontae Dobbs, OG, Belleville, Mich.
3-stars: Spencer Brown, OT, Walled Lake, Mich.; Nick Samac, OG, Mentor, Ohio: J.D. Duplain, OG, Strongsville, Ohio; Damon Kaylor, OT, Huntington, Ind.; Maverick Hanson, OT, Farmington, Mich.
Skinny: Quality and quantity is a wonderful things in recruiting, especially when it’s with the offensive line group. Dobbs is the highest-ranked recruit in Michigan State’s class and he could start right away in 2019. There are four others as well, making this the largest position group this recruiting season. Maverick Hanson was a late flip from Central Michigan. “I do believe from an offensive line perspective, this may be the best class we’ve ever signed in my 12 years here,” Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said.
No. 2: Defensive backs
4-stars: Julian Barnett, CB, Belleville, Mich.
3-stars: Tate Hallock, S, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Skinny: Barnett is the only 4-star recruit in the class and he, like Dobbs, could get a chance to play right away for the Spartans, too. Hallock played both ways in high school, but will probably start his career at safety.
No. 3: Quarterbacks, running backs
3-stars: Brandon Wright, RB, Euclid, Ohio; Anthony Williams, RB, Bolingbrook, Ill.; Payton Thorne, QB, Naperville, Ill.;
Skinny: The Spartans like both out-of-state running backs and they were good gets, considering depth could be an issue with LJ Scott heading to the pros. Thorne is a quarterback they are excited about, too. He’s excited as well. “This has really been an honor for me to get the opportunity to play at a program like that and play on that stage, and I’m really looking forward to it. I prayed about it a lot and my family was praying about it and I had a lot of conversations with my close friends and my family,” Thorne said, “and after I left Michigan State, I just had a peace about me which made the decision a little bit easier that I felt like that was the right place for me.”
No. 4: Linebackers
3-stars: Luke Felton, ILB, Youngstown, Ohio; Marcel Lewis, ILB, Clinton Township, Mich.;
Skinny: The Spartans beat Michigan for Marcel Lewis, which was nice. This group isn’t very big, and we could see another name added to this list before February. Felton, the third-highest player ranked in this class, fits the mold of Michigan State linebackers. He could benefit from a redshirt year to get bigger, but that might be hard to do considering his talent level.
No. 5: Wide receivers/tight ends
3-stars: Tre Mosely, WR, West Bloomfield, Mich.; Jase Brown, WR, Toledo, Ohio; Alantae Brown, WR, Chicago (committed but not signed)
Skinny: This is a good group that could surprise some people down the road. Mosley had more than 1,000 yards on 55 receptions with 11 touchdowns as a high school senior. There’s certainly room for quick playing time if he can get ready quickly.
No. 5: Defensive line
3-stars: Michael Fletcher, DE, Flint, Mich.; Adam Berghorst, DE, Zeeland, Mich.;
Skinny: This group is really small, considering how much the Spartans like to rotate defensive linemen.
No. 7: Special teams
3-stars: Jake Boewmeester, P, Australia
Skinny: Michigan State is joining the college trend by signing an Australian punter with plenty of Aussie Rules Football experience. It’s been a crapshoot thus far for other schools with these Australian punters. Some have been really good, some not so much. This is clearly a wait-and-see situation.
Tom Brew has been a recognized reporter in Big Ten sports for decades. Among other projects, he writes about Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.