What better way to put sad basketball feelings behind you than by moving on to football!
Spring football gets underway this week, but football never really sleeps in the world of recruiting. Every week, I'll try to recap the previous week in MSU football recruiting. I'm a little new to this, so I promise these will get better as we go along.
Spartans After Texas Wideout (Rivals) - (UPDATE: Jones committed to Baylor on Monday night. So much for waiting). MSU continues to make inroads in Texas. The Spartans have already picked up OL Caleb Benenoch for the 2013 class and are looking at wide receiver Vequan Jones. Rivals lists Jones as a four-star prospect and the No. 23 receiver in the country. Some other schools that have already offered the big wide receiver include Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas Tech, Baylor and Illinois, among others. MSU will look to get Jones up to campus in the coming months, but don't expect a decision anytime soon.
"I will probably make my decision sometime after my senior season. I am going to look at playing time, the coaching staff and the school spirit. I want to go to a school where I feel comfortable and the team has a chance to win championships."
Akron Wide Receiver Has Spartan Offer (Rivals) - Kevin Gladney is a three-star prospect, per Rivals, and is getting a lot of attention from Big Ten schools. After signing a big receiver class in 2012, MSU is only going after a few select pass-catchers for 2013, with Gladney being one of them. He hopes to get up to MSU soon and is visiting Michigan on April 14.
Spartans Evaluating Toledo Tight End (Rivals) - Three-star prospect Keith Towbridge has received interest from a lot of MAC and BCS-level schools, including MSU, but a scholarship has not been offered yet from the MSU coaches. Towbridge attended a camp at MSU last summer and the Wisconsin game in East Lansing last October. Again, MSU hasn't offered yet, but Towbridge does want to make a selection before his senior season. (Side note: "Towbridge on Trowbridge" has a nice ring to it).
"I am looking for several things. The academics they have are important and the surrounding of the university. I want to feel comfortable about going there even if I was not playing football. As for football, I want to go to a place where they have good coaches who are able to get the most of the players. I also want to go to a school that uses the tight end a lot."
Ramesh is No. 2 (Scout) - A few days after running back/linebacker Austin Ramesh was offered by MSU, the Wisconsin product committed to the home-state Badgers. Although the Spartans didn't pick him up, MSU continues to recruit Wisconsin very hard.
Irish Land Four-Star Lineman (Scout) - Illinois offensive lineman Colin McGovern committed to Notre Dame during the week. It doesn't appear MSU offered McGovern, although there was some interest. Basically, it's another skilled Midwest offensive lineman who is off the board now.
Van Dort Has Early Interest (Scout) - Looking ahead to 2014, Zeeland West tight end Jordan Van Dort is starting to get interest from Big Ten schools, led by the in-state pair MSU and U-M. Van Dort visited during MSU's junior day and will be checking out U-M spring practice soon. He also has heard from Wisconsin and wants to hear from Ohio State. At 6-foot-5, 285 pounds, it's possible he would get moved to the offensive line, which he said he would be OK with.
Webb on Big Ten Practices (Scout) - Former University of Detroit-Jesuit wide receiver Damon Webb is now at Cass Tech, which would appear to be bad news for MSU. Webb talks a lot about U-M in this story, but says MSU has talked to him about playing defense. He also has visited Illinois. Webb seems to like MSU, but we know that's not where most Cass Tech kids end up.
Big Year Ahead For Wiegers (Scout) - Detroit Country Day quarterback Tyler Wiegers is expected to have a big junior season next year, and he's already hearing from a lot of in-state schools. Not surprisingly, he's most interested in MSU and U-M. It sounds like he's going to visit MSU this week.