Meet Michigan State’s 2016 Recruiting Class
Signing day has come and gone and as the dust settles on the final faxes coming in to schools, Michigan State's recruiting class of 2016 is set.
MSU brought in 20 recruits with 13 signing on Wednesday and seven already being enrolled in school early. There is also a recruit from Salt Lake City, Mufi Hunt, who came into school in January of 2016 despite being part of the 2015 signing class. This makes 21 scholarships for the 2016 class.
Michigan State also has a fullback, Reid Burton, who will be walking on from East Lansing High School.
As of this writing, Michigan State's recruiting class comes in at 18th on Scout, 19th on Rivals and 21st on 247Sports. A consensus top-25 class for Dantonio this year.
Without further delay, here are the recruits. Click the headers to see video highlights of the players if not embedded.
OFFENSE
DeWeaver, an early enrollee, joins a quarterback depth chart already loaded with Tyler O'Connor and Damion Terry, so he will have to be patient at this position. Dantonio said "DeWeaver is a big, talented quarterback, who has displayed great decision and play making ability. Messiah has very good accuracy and arm strength as well as the mobility to extend plays. He’s an excellent game manager, who led Wayne High School to the state championship game as a senior."
Donnie Corley (Wide Receiver, 4-star, Detroit, MI)
An early enrollee to Michigan State Donnie Corley is known in the state of Michigan as the kid who caught the Hail Mary for Detroit Martin Luther King to win a state title. Corley has shown those flashes of brilliance all year with King and looks to be able to succeed at the next level. As with all the wideouts in this class there will be great and healthy class. It is worth mentioning Corley is "leading the sprints" in winter workouts.
Cameron Chambers (Wide Receiver, 4-star, Sicklerville, NJ)
An early enrollee to Michigan State, Dantonio remarked about him "Cam is physically imposing on the football field, plus he has the speed to take the ball all the way to the end zone on every catch. He has exceptional ball skills combined with an impressive football IQ. He has a hunger to be the best.” That sums him up well, Michigan State hit a home run in the skill player department with these wideouts.
After bringing in the #1 running back from Ohio in LJ Scott in 2015, Dantonio lands the #1 wideout from Ohio in 2016. His speed and vision are huge pluses on his scouting report and could factor in to return duties as early as this year if he works at it.
A converted high school quarterback from West Bloomfield he will need to transition quickly to wideout to contribute as Michigan State has brought in a lot of wide receiver talent in this class. Jackson's upside in terms of versatility is among the best in this class.
With seniors Josiah Price and Jamal Lyles currently on the roster Michigan State needed to target tight ends and got one of their top targets early in Noah Davis. Coming from a strong St. Xavier program in Cincinnati, he will contribute early in his career it would seem.
Matthew Allen (Offensive Center, 3-star, Hinsdale, IL)
An Allen from Illinois, Michigan State fans know a thing or two about this family. Matt is the youngest brother of Jack and Brian. Here's the best part, according to Jack, Matt has the potential to be the best Allen to play at Michigan State. Exciting stuff.
AJ Arcuri (Offensive Tackle, 3-star, Powell, OH)
At 255 pounds, Arcuri will probably redshirt to add weight to be able to play in a run heavy Big Ten conference. Arcuri after a junior year visit said "The coaches were all so welcoming and told it how it was. The whole program is built and run by a great group of people. It’s the school I see myself succeeding at because of the outstanding coaches and staff. It's the program I want to be apart of.”
Lukusa is an early enrollee to the school and will benefit from the extra time to work out and potentially earn some playing time. At 6'5" and 330 pounds out of high school he is already in the prototypical size you come to expect out of Big Ten lineman and he's a freshman. Lukusa is a multi sport athlete so all that size can move quickly too.
Campbell, a late addition who committed in late January, came to an MSU camp in the summer and when he decommitted from Purdue, MSU jumped at the chance to bring him in. At 275 pounds he may redshirt to add weight and prepare for the run heavy Big Ten.
Burton is the lone walk-on in this year's class. Burton lost his entire senior high school season to a knee injury at an offseason camp. Played fullback, H-back and defensive end for coach Bill Feraco at East Lansing. Burton will have to earn his scholarship as losing his senior season is tough but good for him to be able to get a chance at Michigan State.
DEFENSE
Josh King (Defensive End, 4-star, Darien, IL)
King had numerous offers across the country and he chose Michigan State. He is easily one of the crown jewels of this recruiting class. He has speed and athleticism that is a step above what Michigan State usually brings in according to 247Sports. The pass rush already features 5-star Malik McDowell and King figures to supplement and the eventually succeed him.
Hunt, an early enrollee to the school, has an interesting situation as he is a practicing Mormon and is expecting to go on a mission trip for his faith at some point during college. He was hoping to be on the trip by now according to some who know his situation however a knee injury limited him from his service mission. A quick bodied lineman who can play multiple positions on the line he will be an asset whenever he can get on the field.
A Michigan State commitment for over a year Jones' signing addresses needs that Mark Dantonio set out including depth along the defensive line. Jones is quoted as saying: "It all seemed like it was just a brotherhood there. It just seemed like there was support. It was everything about the support matching football and it was somewhere I could be comfortable.”
At The Opening camp, Panasiuk set a record of bench press reps of 185 pounds, 43 times. Needless to say he's strong and can move guys around from the interior at 6'3" 285 pounds. Very strong commitment for MSU here.
Joe Bachie (Inside Linebacker, 3-star, Cleveland, OH)
An early enrollee to Michigan State, Dantonio has remarked "Bachie is an outstanding all-around athlete. Joe was the top leader on defense from his inside linebacker position as well as being a major contributor at running back in addition to returning punts." Expect a great competitor with some versatility in this commit.
“All in a nutshell, I just love the program. I love the coaches and I love the area. That’s why I chose Michigan State.” Randle said about Michigan State and why he came here. His mother ran track at Sexton so he has ties to the area. Randle impressed at the Army All-American Game earning himself many different offers in the area from Big Ten and MAC schools.
Andrew is the lone corner in the 2016 class after Michigan State loaded up at corner in 2015. He has the length to deflect passes and cover well, according to scouting reports. He also played running back in high school.
Keeping the pipeline from Detroit Cass Tech up, Vance is a great hard hitting safety who specializes in stopping the run according to scouting reports. His one on one pass coverage needs some work but he'll have time to figure out his skill set as the safety position is pretty solid so far for Michigan State.
Lyke is an early enrollee at Michigan State, and is a tough aggressive safety on the field according to scouting reports. Lyke and Vance are both great run stopping safeties who can hit hard and have attacking mentalities. Lyke's ball skills are well respected in Illinois, we'll see how they translate at the collegiate level.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Coghlin is a unique kicker, he can kick with both feet to employ a variety of trick kicks that could open up many different onside kick possibilities for the Spartans. He will walk on this fall then go on scholarship in the spring. He faces a depth chart of senior Michael Geiger and junior Brett Scanlon he should redshirt.
Bradley Robinson (Long Snapper, 2-star, Troy, MI)
Dantonio makes sure every position is loaded with quality as Robinson's commitment will show. Coach had this to say about him "Bradley is one of the top-ranked long snappers in the country. He’s worked extremely hard at perfecting the craft of long snapping. Bradley has displayed very good velocity, consistency with snap times, and accuracy. He has good size along with the ability to protect and cover.” Bradley at 6'2 and 210 has versatility off the line in special teams too.
And there you have it, the 2016 Spartan class. Who are you most excited to see in Spartan Stadium next year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Information from 247sports and Michigan State's official site were used in this report.
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