Recruitments can pop up and end in the blink of an eye, and this was one of them. Wide Receiver Kyle Kerrick out of Coatesville, Pennsylvania became the seventh commitment to the 2012 recruiting class yesterday. Here's how the recruiting services view him:
247 Sports: No Ranking
Rivals: 3 stars, 5.5 Rivals Ranking
Scout: 3 stars, #72 WR
ESPN: Grade of 45
I wouldn't stress about the ESPN ranking, as a grade that low is usually a placeholder until they can rate him properly. Kerrick had offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Pitt, Syracuse, and West Virginia, which is a solid set of BCS offers. Pitt, WVA, and Temple all offered Kerrick by early April, and judging from this newspaper article, Michigan State wasn't actively in the picture yet.
Kerrick had a fine junior season for Coatesville West, catching 30 passes for 510 yards and 11 touchdowns. Before you freak about the low number of passes caught keep in mind that this is high school football, and most coaches are content to run the ball into the line an interminable amount while shaking it up with a forward pass every now and then.
Scout.com also had information on Kerrick's performance at a combine last June:
Kerrick participated in the Schuman's National Underclassmen Combine on June 12th, 2010 and ran a 4.53 40-yard dash, had a 30-inch vertical leap, a 8-foot-10 inch broad jump and did 20 reps of 155 pounds on the bench press. He was named Combine MVP at the wide receiver position.
4.53 is a pretty darn good 40 time, and a 30-inch vertical leap is what one would expect from a Big Ten receiver. Couple Kerrick's jumping ability with his 6'3", 185 lb. stature, and there's the makings of a future possession receiver for the Green and White.
Kerrick's commitment doesn't mean Michigan State is done recruiting at wide receiver. The Spartans took three wideouts last year (Juwan Caesar, Andre Sims Jr, and Roger Williamson) along with two in 2010 (Keith Mumphery and WR/CB Tony Lippett), so my best guess is that there's room for one more wide receiver in this class. The most likely candidate for this spot is Farmington Hills Harrison player Aaron Burbridge, but if he goes elsewhere Ohio wideout Monty Madaris could become an option. For now, let's welcome Kyle to the 2012 class.