Football Recruiting Roundup: 5/24

My latest football recruiting roundup for The Only Colors is here. Does the Rose Bowl mean more to recruits than we think?

MSU Football Recruiting Roundup: 5/17

If you didn't know by now, I've been writing football recruiting roundups once a week over at The Only Colors for a while. I figure I may as well link to it here from now on.

Here is the latest, with updates on Texas OL commit Caleb Benenoch and some southern prospects MSU is going after.

Also, a quick note: B.J. Cunningham officially signed with the Dolphins, the team announced today. It is a four-year rookie contract.

Gary Harris named Indiana Mr. Basketball

In the closest race since 2005, MSU incoming freshman Gary Harris was named Mr. Basketball in Indiana on Sunday.

Harris picked up 154 votes, while Indiana-bound Yogi Ferrell had 103 votes. Per BTNStatsGuy, Harris is the first Indiana Mr. Basketball to head to MSU.

Harris, whose parents both went to Purdue, was heavily recruited by the home-state teams as well as Kentucky. But Harris signed with MSU, upsetting a lot of people in the Hoosier state. The shooting guard is a consensus five-star recruit and was listed as the No. 11 prospect in the country by ESPN. MSU's 2012 recruiting class is ranked No. 7 by ESPN.

Last month, fellow MSU signee Matt Costello was named Mr. Basketball in Michigan.

The Trey Zeigler dilemma

If you haven't heard yet, Central Michigan guard Trey Zeigler has decided to transfer since his father was fired as head coach a week ago.

The Recruit Scoop tweeted that Zeigler is down to Duke, MSU, UCLA and Detroit as his options. Zeigler tweeted he is visiting Duke this weekend. He averaged 15.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a sophomore this past season for CMU, which finished the season 11-21 overall. Zeigler chose to play for his father at CMU over MSU, Michigan, Duke and UCLA, among others, out of high school.

Zeigler would have to sit out next season due to NCAA transfer rules, but would have two years of eligibility left. Should MSU be interested?

MSU commit Matt Costello named Mr. Basketball

For the fourth straight year, an MSU basketball commit has been named Michigan's Mr. Basketball.

Bay City Western's Matt Costello is set to come to East Lansing next season, joining Derrick Nix and Keith Appling as Michigan Mr. Basketball winners on the Spartans' roster. Dwaun Anderson was committed to MSU at the time he won the award last season, but the passing of his mother led to him choosing not to enroll at MSU. He later enrolled at Wagner.

In Costello, MSU has a big man who can rebound and hit the outside shot. He averaged 25.1 points, 17.8 rebounds, four blocks and four assists per game this season. He also reportedly had a bit of a mean streak and can mix it up on the glass. His versatility is in the mold of Draymond Green or Alex Gauna, and Costello could take Green's spot in the starting lineup next season, although he needs to get a little stronger. He is ranked the No. 82 player in the country, according to Rivals.

Costello would be be the 12th MSU player to have won the award since it began in 1981, not including Anderson. The others are: Sam Vincent (1981), Matt Steigenga (1988), Anthony Miller (1990), Jon Garavaglia (1993), Jason Richardson (1999), Marcus Taylor (2000), Kelvin Torbert (2001), Paul Davis, (2002), Drew Neitzel (2004), Nix (2009) and Appling (2010)

Lansing Sexton's Denzel Valentine, another MSU commit, finished second for the Mr. Basketball award.

Harris named McDonald's All-American

For the third straight season, MSU has an incoming freshman named a McDonald's All-American. This time, it's guard Gary Harris.

The last two seasons, Keith Appling and Branden Dawson have represented MSU at the game, which will take place on March 28 in Chicago.

Harris is rated the No. 11 recruit in the nation, according to Scout.com, which has MSU's incoming freshman class ranked No. 10 in the country.

To illustrate how important the game is, in 2010, Appling took 15 shots in 17 minutes, including nine three-pointers, finishing with 10 points. It's pretty much every man for himself showing off in front of people.

The first McDonald's All-American team was named in 1977 and included future Spartan Earvin "Magic" Johnson. MSU has had 15 McDonald's All-Americans all-time.

All your wide receivers

After signing four receivers to letters of intent for the 2012 recruiting class and picking up transfer DeAnthony Arnett, MSU has added one more wide receiver: Tres Barksdale of Ohio, who will be a preferred walk-on. Yeah, they're making up for their losses at the position.

From the MSUSpartans release:

"Tres Barksdale is an outstanding all-around athlete, who comes from a very good high school program," (Mark) Dantonio said. "He has attended our summer camps, so we have first-hand knowledge of his skill set. Tres has great size, so he can go over the middle or up in a crowd to make a catch. He's also displayed the ability to gain yards after the catch. We look forward to his further development as a player and believe he'll have a very productive career at Michigan State."

Dantonio statement on recruiting, Urban Meyer

From MSU:

“There’s a need to correct some inaccurate news accounts that have appeared over the last two days. Let me be clear: some general recruiting statements I made were completely taken out of context when combined together by a reporter not in attendance. The timing of my comments was a reflection of an occurring matter on Signing Day and had nothing to do with Urban Meyer and Ohio State. My comments regarding ‘unethical’ behavior were general in nature, according to my current coaching philosophy, and not directed toward any particular institution.”

Thoughts on MSU's 2012 recruiting class

Toward the end of Mark Dantonio's presentation to the media about his newest recruits yesterday, there was a line that caught my attention.

"Right now, based on our record, I would say we have very, very few misses as recruiters here."

The line was in response to a question about the decision to offer every recruit four-year scholarships, something the Big Ten was pushing this year. But it also was a reflection of signing day as a whole. MSU never has elite recruiting classes, but they've won 11 games in back-to-back seasons led by average recruits and have become one of the top programs in the Big Ten.


(For video of the entire presser, click here)

But if they don't bring in top talent, how can they win?

This isn't going to turn into one of those "Player X is good and he only had three stars" arguments. Recruiting obviously is vital to success. There's a reason the SEC has won six straight national championships: they have the best players. But they also have the best coaches. Outside of the top 100 players or so, you have to trust coaches' ability to evaluate talent more than the analysts, as Joe Rexrode put it.

You can be successful without pulling in the top players every year. It's about finding players that fit and being able to develop them, and Dantonio and the MSU coaches have proven they can do it.

It's National Overreacting Day!

OK, maybe that's a little harsh.

I used to despise signing day and everything that had to do with it. You never know how guys are going to project, so what's the point of getting so excited?

But then I read "Three and Out," John U. Bacon's behind-the-scenes look at Rich Rodriguez's Michigan program. Then I really realized how much the day meant to coaches. Coaches who miss out on so much time with their families, looking to find players who can help them keep their jobs.

Mark Dantonio and the Spartan coaching staff aren't in that position. They've built a program over five years. They obviously want the best players, but they don't need a a freshman to come in and fill a starting spot right away. MSU has found success thanks to three-star recruits like Greg Jones, Kirk Cousins, Joel Foreman and Jerel Worthy. But success also has come thanks to bigger recruits like Will Gholston. Last season, Taiwan Jones and Matt Giampapa were the only true freshmen who played for MSU, a sign of depth within the program.

Narduzzi: Meyer starting recruiting war

A very interesting story in the Canton (Ohio) Repository today.

MSU defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi was a guest speaker at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Luncheon Club in Canton yesterday, and he didn't exactly have kind words for new Ohio State coach Urban Meyer.

Since taking over the Buckeyes (and not having to prepare the current team for a bowl), Meyer has been on the recruiting warpath and has the No. 3 class in the country, according to Rivals.com. Quite of few of those recruits had previously committed to Big Ten schools, including defensive end Se'Von Pittman, who decommitted from MSU to join the Buckeyes. 

"Jim Tressel and Mark Dantonio would never call or talk to each other’s commitments," Narduzzi told the paper. "People coach Dantonio knows well don’t come in and take players away. When you do, you lose friendships over that."

The business of recruiting and MSU

Via BTN's Tom Dienhart, BusinessofCollegeSports.com took at look at the recruiting budgets for men's and women's sports from 2010-11, and MSU is quite low on the list among Big Ten schools:

1. Michigan (9th overall): $1,480,357

2. Illinois (14): $1,328,931

3. Nebraska (19): $1,234,097

4. Ohio State (23): $1,134,013

5. Minnesota (24): $1,130,963

6. Penn State (26): $1,128,129

7. Purdue (41): $954,543

8. Michigan State (42): $941,157

9. Iowa (43): $931,989

10. Indiana (46): $899,047

11. Wisconsin (58): $765,384

12. Northwestern (60): $755,004

With the resources and revenue U-M has, it's no surprise they are so high on the list, but it's a little surprising how low MSU is at first glance. Tom Izzo's recruiting budget increased when he decided to decline an offer from the NBA, and the Spartans have some of the top recruiting classes in the coming years. Also, football recruiting under Mark Dantonio has always been above average, although not elite.

So what's the deal with DeAnthony Arnett?

For those of you who don't follow recruiting that heavily, DeAnthony Arnett was a highly-recruited wide receiver out of Saginaw who enjoyed all the attention he was getting last year.

He had some fun, posting fake commitment videos on Twitter before eventually choosing Tennessee over MSU, Michigan and other schools.

Arnett had 24 catches for 242 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman for the Volunteers this past season.  But now Arnett is seeking a transfer to a school back home because of his ailing father, telling ESPN, "I want to play football but I NEED to be here for my Dad and with my family."

Sounds simple enough. But Tennessee isn't making it easy. 

Report: Recruit Pittman switches commitment to OSU

The top prospect in MSU's 2012 football recruiting class, Ohio defensive end Se'Von Pittman, has decommitted from MSU and switched to Urban Meyer's Buckeyes, according to Bill Greene of Scout.com and other outlets.

Pittman committed to MSU in June, but rumors of him wavering on that had been around for a while.

This news comes as Ohio State has been using two coaching staffs: one with Urban Meyer recruiting, and the other working with Luke Fickell for the Gator Bowl. Now while this isn't the first time a team has had this benefit, it has drawn the ire of many, including the Michigan Wolverines.