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Michigan State lands first 4-star pledge of Mel Tucker era

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Mel Tucker has landed his first four-star prospect since taking over the job at Michigan State.

On Saturday, the Spartans received a verbal pledge from 4-star offensive lineman Geno VanDeMark, a native of New Jersey. He’s the highest-ranked player in MSU’s 2021 class currently and is the lone 4-star pledge, based on 247Sports’ Composite rankings.

VanDeMark made his announcement with a post on Twitter.

“Without further ado I am thrilled to announce my commitment to Michigan State University,” VanDeMark wrot eon Twitter.

VanDeMark is listed as a 6-foot-5, 295-pound offensive guard who is ranked as the No. 4 overall prospect out of the state of New Jersey. He’s the No. 18 player at his position and the No. 317 overall player in the class.

From 247Sports recruiting analyst Brian Dohn:

Good frame with power to play interior. Comfortable on right or left. Athleticism shows when pulling. When staying low, his power shines. Can scrape and get to second level. Strong upper body. Engages quickly, drives legs and can turn block. Strong initial punch.

Plenty of schools showed interest in VanDeMark during the recruiting process. He received 19 offers, picking Michigan State over Power 5 schools like Arizona State, Miami, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Purdue, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.

With VanDeMark’s commitment, Michigan State is up to 13 verbal pledges in the 2021 class. The Spartans rank 66th nationally and 13th in the B1G.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB