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Spartan Pupdate is staying an extra night

2013-06-18T18:25:38Z

Chicago St. Rita athlete Tommy Mister spoke highly of Michigan State before he even visited the campus, but his visit went differently than planned.

"I came down Saturday and was going to go home with my parents," Mister said, "but Coach (Ron) Burton said Enoch (Smith) and Brian Allen and others were staying there so I could talk with them about MSU.

"My parents said since we stayed at Iowa State for two days, I might as well do it here, too. So Brian Allen, Enoch Smith, Chris James were here and I stayed with them and we all went to Buffalo Wild Wings and stayed at the Marriott."

Having the other recruits, including commits, around him during his visit was the highlight, Mister said.

"I visited (Saturday) and I liked it and all, but I loved that I stayed," Mister said. "It was great hanging with Allen, he was really funny and always singing. I played basketball with the linebacker commits and (Byron) Bullough beat me in one game and I told him he was the first white kid to beat me. I had a lot of fun with those guys.

"They were telling me all the ins and outs and why they love it there."

Mister spent time touring campus and meeting coaches Saturday, but the time spent with Coach Mark Dantonio left a lasting impression.

"My mom and dad really fell in love with Coach D," Mister said. "We talked with him for an hour and he really surprised me. He doesn't act like he does when you see him on TV."

Mister said his dad loves the Big Ten and is "100% percent MSU."

Mister also didn't plan to camp at MSU on Sunday, but borrowed equipment and did so anyway and felt he performed well and was in the top few running backs there.

Originally intending to make a decision on June 23, Mister said he might push his decision back now -- also after receiving a Wisconsin offer Monday.

-- It's not every day that a defensive end winds up doubling as his school's kicker and punter, but that is exactly what Glyeb Ewing does for Waukon (Iowa).

Ewing, who set the school record for PATs as a freshman, camped at Michigan State last Wednesday.

"I got an invite and I knew Michigan State is good and wanted to spark some interest and, obviously, I did," Ewing said. "I had talked to a bunch of schools but not really MSU, so I wanted to check out the campus and the school, too."

The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Ewing, who has five offers, including Oregon State, impressed the coaches enough that they spent time talking with him after the camp.

"I just explained about me, where I'm from and who has been talking to me," Ewing said. "I met Pat Narduzzi, Ron Burton and Brad Salem, who is my recruiting coordinator. They said they really liked my speed."

Ewing had 77 tackles last season, including 26 for a loss and 5.5 sacks. He also was 38 of 46 on extra points.

He also has or will camp at Colorado, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, Iowa, Minnesota or Oregon and Oregon State.

-- 2015 Appoquinimink (Del.) quarterback Landon Archangelo made the trip out to East Lansing for the one-day camp Sunday for his second visit to East Lansing.

Archangelo, who trained with Kirk Cousins before Cousins became a star at MSU, visited for the spring game a few years ago.

"I actually was at the spring game with Kirk and Keith (Nichol) dueling it out about four years ago," Archangelo said.

This time, he came to show the coaches what he can do and said the camp went really well.

"A lot of the coaches talked to me throughout the camp in different drills," he said. "They complemented me on my footwork and football IQ.

"In 7-on-7, Coach Dantonio was watching my rep when I shot a post up the field for a 40-yard touchdown and told me, 'good read, son.'"

Archangelo, who is transferring to Christ School (Arden, N.C.) this year, also went on a tour of the facilities and watched film in the quarterback room. He said he hopes to come back for a game this fall.

-- Michigan State has been targeting the state of Florida heavily in this class and one of they players they have offered is cornerback Amani Oruwariye, who plans to get up to East Lansing soon.

Cant wait to see what East Lansing is about #GoGreen
— Amani Oruwariye (@ooFUTURISTICoo) June 18, 2013

Oruwariye is planning a visit to MSU in July with his mom. He will visit Rutgers then come to MSU and from East Lansing, he will go to Louisville.

Spartan Pupdate is at the MSU Elite one-day camp

2013-06-17T15:55:05Z

Michigan State entered Sunday's one-day camp with eight commitments in 2014 class and seven were on campus -- many meeting for the first time.

Hindsale (Ill.) Central center Brian Allen, Mt. Carmel (Chicago) defensive tackle Enoch Smith Jr. and St. Charles (Ill.) North offensive tackle Chase Gianacakos spent the day working on uncommitted prospects De La Salle (Chicago) offensive tackle Jamarco Jones, Niles (Ill.) Notre Dame for Boys running back Chris James and Sun Prairie (Wisc.) defensive tackle Craig Evans (a Wisconsin commit).

While that group worked on securing more commitments, another joined the fold and brought the class to nine as Dayton Marshall defensive back Vayante Copeland committed to MSU during his visit.

The rest of the visiting commitments participated in drills throughout the day.

Here are some notes on those commits and many other participants:

-- Rochester Adams tight end Matt Sokol (MSU commit) has gotten better and better each of the times I have seen him in the past month. It appears Sokol's confidence at tight end has only grown and grown, and he was shining on the field Sunday.

In 7 on 7, Sokol was very vocal and wanted the ball on every play -- in a very positive way. He is competitive and carries a fire to him. Throughout drills, he showed good hands and an impressive combination of speed and size.

-- Traverse City St. Francis linebacker Byron Bullough (MSU commit) had at least four interceptions in the 7 on 7 portion and was an incredibly physical player throughout drills.

-- I knew Youngstown (Ohio) Ursuline quarterback Chris Durkin (MSU commit) was a big kid, but seeing him in person is even more impressive. His size is matched by a big arm. He moves well in the pocket and does a good job of always being in a good position to throw the ball -- he doesn't drop his hands.

-- Upper Arlington (Ohio) linebacker Chris Frey (MSU commit) looked great lined up next to Bullough in 7 on 7. Frey is a quick kid in coverage and has good side-to-side mobility.

-- 2015 offensive/defensive lineman Kyonta Stallworth received an MSU offer early in his visit. MSU is the third to offer the big rising junior, joining UCLA and Florida.

-- 2014 Chicago St. Rita running back Tommy Mister impressed during one-on-ones. One high school coach turned to me and said, "Number 30 is really good. He can hit a small window and be gone."

Michigan State is recruiting Mister as an athlete on the offensive side of the ball.

-- 2015 Brother Rice quarterback Alex Malzone was fresh off a baseball game Saturday but still came to camp Sunday and showed off a strong arm. Malzone really looks the part at quarterback.

-- 2015 Cleveland St. Ignatius twins Andrew Dowell and David Dowell drew a lot of attention at the camp. Andrew is a 6-foot, 195-pound running back with good hands and is really quick. David is a speedy slot receiver who can really go up and get the ball downfield.

Both received their first scholarship offer at the camp from Toledo.

-- 2014 Orchard Lake St. Mary's cornerback Jalen Watts-Jackson showed off the same vertical leap that impressed me at the Michigan Elite 7 on 7 in May. He picked off Durkin in the endzone and made another leaping pick right in front of Mark Dantonio.

Watts-Jackson also spent some time lined up at safety, where he showed good cover skills as well.

-- Watts-Jackson's teammate, 2015 cornerback Tyson Smith, also had a good performance. Smith was impressive in drills and showed quick feet.

-- 2015 Huber Heights (Ohio) safety Tyree Kinnel was another standout in the secondary in 7 on 7. He was flying all over the field and was quick to read the quarterback.

-- Franklin Township (N.J.) linebacker Jameer Outsey came out for the camp and performed pretty well. He moves well for someone of his size (6-3, 225) and covered in the flats, too. He spent time working at defensive end at the camp as well.

Freep Guest Column: Alternate jerseys and helmets continue to impress recruits

2013-06-17T14:44:19Z

Every time a team breaks out a new uniform, people say it's all about the recruits.

Based on what we saw this weekend, it remains true. For a team like MSU, it's a good way to stick out.

Here is my latest Freep guest column

Welcome Aboard - Vayante Copeland

2013-06-16T20:37:44Z

Defensive back Vayante Copeland, Dayton, Ohio (Thurgood Marshall) - 6-foot-1, 185 pounds

Ratings: Scout (4 stars), 247sports (3 stars), Rivals (3 stars), ESPN (not ranked)

Notable offers: Louisville, Cincinnati, Duke, West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota

Michigan State had success with a defensive back from Dayton, Ohio with current safety R.J. Williamson and the Spartans are looking to strike gold again in 2014.

Dayton Marshall defensive back Vayante Copeland committed to Michigan State on Sunday after his visit.

Copeland is the first defensive back in the class and will likely play cornerback once he arrives in East Lansing.

He is the ninth member of the 2014 class, and the third from Ohio.

We'll have more here later. Highlights below.

2014 commit bios

Spartan Pupdate is at Sound Mind Sound Body Day 2

2013-06-16T00:13:37Z

The tight end position is an important one in the Michigan State offense and one of the best at Sound Mind Sound Body this weekend was 2015 Clarkston tight end Cole Chewins.

"(This weekend) was great," Chewins said. "Lots of coaches are out here evaluating me and I was getting lots of reps and getting work against the best kids from around the state and even other states."

The 6-foot-7, 210-pound rising junior also was at Michigan State on Wednesday for 7 on 7 camp.

"(Camp) went well," he said. "I went with my school team and we beat AWP, which is considered an elite team. I thought we had a pretty good showing overall."

He also had visited Michigan State previously, including for the spring game and a spring practice, which he said "left a really good impression."

"I really like Michigan State's program and where it's headed," he said. "I usually talk with Coach (Brad) Salem, but I've even been to some of their special teams camps when I was about 10 years old, so i always talked with Coach (Mark) Staten. they've always been really nice to me."

Apart from the Spartans, Chewins has been hearing from Michigan, Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Bowling Green. This weekend, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota also expressed interest.

For now, Chewins is focused on the coming high school season at Clarkston, which could be special.

"We got a lot of big guys," he said. "Our line is going to be big again with (David) Beedle and (Nick) Matich and our running back, Ian Eriksen, he's a great kid and I think we have real good team chemistry.

"I think we have a chance to win some championships."

-- Michigan State has a couple of Canadian players on its roster, and a group from Gridiron Academy drew a lot of attention at SMSB.

Leading the way was 2016 St. Peter's (Ottawa) cornerback Patrice Rene, who picked up an offer Saturday.

"I think this weekend went pretty well for me, it was pretty great," he said. "I picked up my first offer (Saturday), from Akron, and I'm really happy. I think I had a great performance, but there still is room for improvement. I can't be satisfied, I have to keep working."

Akron wasn't alone in taking notice of the 6-foot-1 cornerback, as Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin were among those who talked with Rene.

"They all like what they see in me," he said. "I'm still young and for my age I have that talent and for my size, you don't really see a 6-1 defensive back that often, so that's something they really liked in me."

Rene grew up a fan of a couple of Big Ten schools in particular, but a recent visit brought MSU to the radar.

"As a kid, I always like Michigan and Ohio State because of the rivalry," Rene said, "but we recently visited Michigan State with the quarterback Michael O'Connor. So that really opened my eyes to Michigan State.

"I loved the facilities and Coach (Mark) Dantonio and I met the defensive backs coach, too. So I really started liking Michigan State, too."

Rene will be looking to move to the United States either this year or next to play football. He mentioned current possibilities include Cass Tech, Philadelphia's Imhotep Charter and somewhere in Texas.

-- Another Canadian prospect that visited Michigan State in April, 2017 Lester B. Pearson (Ottawa) DB/RB Jonathan Sutherland, also had a good performance in Southfield.

"My quarterback Michael O'Connor took a visit there, and I went with him," Sutherland said. "So, I got so inside of all of it. It's a nice place. I saw the training facilities and the indoor facilities. It's a really nice place."

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound athlete also was at Sound Mind Sound Body for the second time and enjoyed the experience.

"It went good, lots of kids competing and working for scholarship," he said. "I liked it a lot."

Sutherland camped at both running back and cornerback, showing good skills and quickness at both spots -- but he prefers defense and thinks that is where his college future will lie.

"I really like jamming guys and intercepting the ball and running it back -- it feels good," he said.

More notes and highlights from the second day of the Sound Mind Sound Body camp:

-- Chewins showed good hands and has such a big frame to work with. As he adds more weight, he is going to be a fun player to keep an eye on. He also runs decent routes.

-- As a running back, Sutherland was really shifty and moved his feet quickly -- a strength that translated to his time at defensive back in one-on-ones. He played tight on the wide receiver at the line and wasn't afraid to be physical from the get go. He also was quick, and stuck with the wide receiver in and out of cuts fluidly.

-- 2016 Southfield running back Matt Falcon is a big kid, but rather athletic. He made a couple of nice catches in drills out of the backfield. Already at 6-1, 200 pounds, he could outgrow running back ... maybe.

-- 2015 Fayetteville-Manlius (New York) tight end Tyrone Wheatley Jr. already holds offers from Alabama and Michigan among others and he was fantastic at SMSB.

He is really coordinated at 6-6, 235 pounds and catches the ball well. He was great at a quick change of direction after catching a pass.

-- 2014 Michigan Collegiate athlete Brian Jones put on a show in the defensive back one-on-ones. In four consecutive reps, he made three picks and had a pass breakup. He really jumped routes and made good plays on the ball.

Jones doesn't have any offers, but has received interest from a handful of in-state Division 2 schools.

-- 2015 East Grand Rapids quarterback Mikey Roth isn't the biggest kid at 5-11, but he showed a live arm and keeps his feet moving.

-- 2015 Troy Athens quarterback Alex Mussat followed up a good Friday with an equally good Saturday. The level of accuracy was the same and he put the ball into a tight window on a out route, resulting in the wide receiver coming to the sideline and saying, "That was a great throw. He's a great quarterback."

Bowling Green coaches were showing a lot of interest, and he recently camped there.

Spartan Pupdate is at Sound Mind Sound Body Day 1

2013-06-14T22:52:04Z

2015 South Lake (St. Clair Shores) offensive tackle Kyonta Stallworth was one of the standouts Friday, particularly in the one-on-one drills.

"I think it went very well (Friday)," Stallworth said. "The coaches like my size and the way i can bend at the waist. They like how I got off the ball quickly and had a quick first punch."

Stallworth has generated some early attention and offers from Florida and UCLA, but is hearing from MSU a lot.

"MSU is very interested," Stallworth said. "They want me to come up to camp Sunday and said it is up to me, but they would like me to. Coach Dantonio wants me to come up there and do some good things for them and come up and be a part of the green and white."

Stallworth also is hearing from Florida State, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa and Ball State.

-- 2014 Chanhassen (Minn.) offensive tackle Frank Ragnow was a tough matchup for defensive linemen in drills Friday and took some valuable lessons from the experience, too.

"(Friday) was great, actually," Ragnow said. "I've been to a lot of camps. and it's pretty cool how the coaches are right there and everything. My high school does a lot of run blocking, so learning from the coaches on pass blocking was really good. i really liked the one-on-ones, too."

Apart from the physicality, Ragnow feels the one-on-one drills reflect the true skills of an offensive lineman.

"One-on-ones show your true self and if you can win without your perfect technique," Ragnow said.

Ragnow drew interest from Ohio State, Cincinnati and Michigan State at SMSB and said the Spartan coaches said they would be contacting him soon.

The 6-foot-6, 291-pound lineman has 13 offers currently, including Nebraska and Arkansas. He plans to get out and start visiting more schools soon and is probably finished with camps for the summer.

-- 2017 Highland Park (Texas) quarterback Lindell Stone made the trip up for the camp.

"I think it went great (Friday)," Stone said. "I met a lot of coaches and met a lot of really good players and see some good talent."

The rising freshman already hold an offer from UCLA, and had the chance to meet more coaches at SMSB, including Michigan State's coaches.

"I haven't had much contact with Michigan State yet," he said, "but I met some of the coaches (Friday) and Coach Dantonio and it was really nice meeting them."

More notes and highlights from the first day of the Sound Mind Sound Body camp:

-- 2014 Rochester Adams tight end Matt Sokol (MSU commit) had a good day from what I saw. He was, as always, a tough matchup in one-on-one drills.

He ran some good routes and continued to show good hands.

-- 2014 Fort Wayne Carroll safety/linebacker Drue Tranquill was the talk of the camp -- without a doubt. He received offers from Minnesota, Indiana and Western Michigan after his performance Friday.

Michigan, Iowa and Ohio State coaches were trying to figure out who he was and why they had no idea about him before Friday. Michigan State coaches were paying a lot of attention to the group he was in, too. Mark Dantonio was front and center of the crowd to watch Tranquill.

He camped at MSU on Wednesday and could be in line for an offer from the Spartans -- and more.

-- 2016 Bishop Luers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) wide receiver Austin Mack got his first offer this week from Indiana and is in line to get more in the future.

Mack didn't get in a lot of one-on-one reps, but the 6-foot-2 receiver looks the part and has shown his game well in camps this summer.

Michigan State talked with Mack and he will camp at MSU on Wednesday with his AWP teammate Jordan Hogue, who impressed at 7 on 7 at MSU on Wednesday.

-- 2015 Cass Tech quarterback Jayru Campbell showed up in an Alabama shirt for a little while before heading down to Tuscaloosa for camp.

The MSU coaches all took the time to talk with Campbell while he was there.

-- 2015 Troy Athens quarterback Alex Mussat had a really good day. He not only showed the arm to be a really solid quarterback, but was slinging it with accuracy, too.

On a day when many quarterbacks couldn't seem to hit receivers in stride or be on the same page, Mussat stood out. He gets good spin on the ball and throws a nice, tight spiral with pretty good consistency.

-- 2014 Cleveland Glenville cornerback Erick Smith was great in coverage today. He is a very athletic defensive back and will be a good get for someone.

-- 2015 Servite (Anaheim, Calif.) wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown is a very good prospect. He was the best wide receiver I saw Friday.

He is big at 6-foot-4, 200 pounds and really is a tough kid to match up with for cornerbacks. He showed off good hands and crisp routes in addition to being a prototypical wide receiver.

He consistently made the catch and beat the defender in one-on-ones.

-- 2015 Culver City (Calif.) cornerback Stanley Morgan made one of the best plays of the day when he jumped a route in the flat and made a diving interception during one-on-ones.

He already has a handful of offers, including UCLA and Utah.

-- 2014 East Kentwood offensive tackle Elliott Jordan, a recent commit to Western Michigan, was among the best offensive linemen out there.

He was tough to get past in drills and showed good athleticism.

-- 2015 Northville offensive lineman David Moorman also was really tough in one-on-ones. A likely guard, he was quicker off the snap than his opposing defensive lineman with consistency.

He wrapped up his day with an Eastern Michigan offer.

-- 2016 St. Peter's (Canada) cornerback Patrice Rene is a prospect to watch. He is incredibly long and rangy and matched up well with any wide receiver he was matched up against.

Photo of the Week: Varsity golf team (1931)

2013-06-14T14:17:22Z

The 1931 Michigan State varsity golf team poses on the steps.

Those are some outfits.

Photo via

Spartan Pupdate is opening camp season at MSU

2013-06-13T15:43:09Z

The Spartans camp season opened Wednesday with a 7 on 7 and lineman camp.

One of the standouts was Ft. Wayne Carroll's Drue Tranquill, who is an exciting player to watch in the secondary and certainly had the attention of the MSU coaches Wednesday.

"I spent a good amount of time talking to Coach Dantonio," Tranquill said. "I talked to him three or four times and was joking with the wide receivers coach, he was a funny guy. I also talked with the linebackers coach and the defensive coordinator a couple of times."

Tranquill covers ground effortlessly as a safety and had some really pass breakups at the camp, but his future at MSU might be at a different position.

"The camp went well and I feel like I played well," he said. "The coaches saw me a lot at safety and they do have three linebackers committed but don't really have a true STAR linebacker and a hybrid safety-linebacker.

"They filmed all of my games and will watch it and hopefully I'll have some good news soon."

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound safety is making his first rounds on the camp circuit, as the standout baseball player was focused on the diamond last summer.

"I always had a goal of playing in the major leagues, Tranquill said, "but I went down to San Antonio for the Army All-American combine and started getting involved with AWP and really found my passion."

Tranquill, who ran a 4.49 40-yard dash at Purdue's camp on Tuesday, is camping at Sound Mind Sound Body, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Notre Dame.

He plans to cut down his list of offers to three at the end of the month and take final visits in July. If MSU offers, Tranquill said he will be back for a visit to see the facilities, campus and meet with academic advisers from the college of engineering.

-- 2015 Orlando Timber Creek running back Jacques Patrick played with Detroit King's 7 on 7 team. Patrick, who has an uncle who coaches at King, already has more than 40 offers.

He currently is on a Midwest tour, visiting Ohio State on Tuesday and Michigan on Thursday.

Michigan State was on the docket Wednesday, for the camp and for a visit, which Patrick said was a "good visit."

"Spending time with the coaching staff was the best part," Patrick said. "I really enjoyed what they had to say."

One of the things the coaching staff stressed is how similar Patrick is to former MSU running back Le'Veon Bell.

"I think that is pretty cool, considering he just got drafted," Patrick said.

Patrick said he might visit again for a game.

Here are some notes from performers that stood out:

-- I had pretty high praise for Detroit King cornerback Avonte Maddox after the Michigan Elite 7 on 7 and he put up another good performance. Maddox recently earned MVP honors at West Virginia's camp and gained a Pitt offer after camping there, too.

He is solid in coverage, but also as a receiver and made a nice touchdown catch early in King's second game.

-- Lining up on the other side from Maddox was Jalen Embry. Embry also had a great showing at MSU and could be in line for an offer after camping Sunday at the one-day Elite camp.

The highlight I saw from Embry was a diving interception on an errant throw. He also had a nice leaping touchdown catch in the corner of the endzone.

-- Detroit King has a senior quarterback this year, but waiting in the wings in rising freshman Martinez Calloway. Calloway already is a pretty well built kid at around 6-foot-1 and the ball comes out his hand naturally and rather effortlessly. He has the look of being a big-time prospect down the road.

-- The star of the OL/DL portion was Clarkston's David Beedle. The big defensive tackle constantly blew by offensive linemen in one-on-ones and displayed good foot speed and strength through drills.

He will camp at Sound Mind Sound Body on Friday and with another strong showing, could add an MSU offer in the near future.

-- Waukon (Iowa) defensive end Glyeb Ewing drew some attention from the coaches. Ewing is a long and athletic kid who has a good burst as a DE.

-- A similar player to Ewing, Essexville Garber defensive end Alex Neering also is a kid with long arms and good speed to get in the backfield. He is a great player for Central Michigan to have in the fold.

-- New Haven (Ind.) wide receiver Jordan Hogue was very impressive on the day. In both AWP games I saw, he made tough catches look easy -- a couple of times between

-- Northville offensive lineman David Moorman is a strong in-state prospect for the class of 2015. He had a good showing in the OL/DL camp.

Moorman has very quick feet for his size (6-5, 275) and moves well. The most impressive part of his game is the quick punch he gets with his hands -- which he uses well.

-- Another in-state 2015 offensive lineman is Lake Michigan Catholic's DeKurtis Murphy. Playing at a small school, Murphy's showing in camp settings will be important as coaches look at him and he was good Wednesday.

He back pedaled effectively and, for the most part, kept the defender in front of him.

-- 2015 DeWitt quarterback Jake Johnson was pretty good in the one game I saw against AWP. He has a good arm and showed pretty good touch.

-- Bethel Park (Pa.) offensive lineman Casey Schreiner looked nice blocking as a center, and Walled Lake Western's Alex Joss also put on a good performance as an interior lineman. Both players use their feet well and leverage against the defensive lineman effectively. Schreiner was especially tough to beat up the middle.