The end of the spring evaluation period has come. Not much news over the past week on the MSU football recruiting trail. The fact that Scout and Rivals haven't posted much tells you how exciting this period has been. A quiet period is coming up, as are a bunch of camps.
Spartans stand out for four-star ATH (24/7) - Miami athlete Lamar Robbins has been racking up offers, with more than 20 at this point. But MSU and West Virginia are two that stand out. MSU is looking at Robbins as a receiver or corner. He prefers receiver, but said he cold play both sides. He checked out MSU and the coaches online and liked what he saw. (That's why CoachDantonio.com exists. BTW, I'm sure the songs on that site are on Coach D's iPod). Robbins checked out the roster and liked seeing a few players from Florida there, including Denzel Drone, Juwan Caesar and two 2012 commits.
"I was going to see how many Florida kids there were," Robbins said. "I do that for any college. I’m from Florida and I want to see my guys on this (roster). It would make me feel more at home."
Five to watch in-state and out-of-state (24/7) - Dan Kilbridge at Spartan Tailgate takes a quick look at five players in-state and five players out-of-state that MSU has a good shot to land. Notable players include Delton Williams, Kevin Robbins, Riley Norman and Braylon Edwards' brother Berkley.
Finley ready for camps (Rivals) - Detroit offensive tackle Dennis Finley is one of the top uncommitted players in Michigan for 2013. MSU has yet to offer and Michigan hasn't shown interest. If the Spartans were to offer, they would have a great shot at landing him. Finley will be attending a few camps in the upcoming weeks and MSU will have a chance for an in-person evaluation. The Spartans need some offensive linemen, but appear to be picky when it comes to offers.
Weekly Caleb Benenoch update: He's going to visit Alabama, as more offers roll in. Some places have downgraded his commitment to MSU to "soft verbal." He decided to start doing some homework on MSU, which should be done before the commitment.
How many O-Linemen has #MSU put in the nfl in the past 10 years... #homework
— Caleb Benenoch (@CalebBenenoch79) May 26, 2012
He's not going to like what he sees. He told quarterback commit Damion Terry that he might not be able to take an official visit to MSU until September. If MSU can get him on campus, I'd give them a shot at holding on to him, but I don't know if Benenoch makes it to September without decommitting. He continues to tell fans on Twitter that he isn't decommitting.
Spartans sit well with Harris (24/7) - Three-star Pennsylvania receiver Jay Harris has been high on the Spartans for a while, and Spartan Tailgate caught up with him for an update. MSU and Penn State are Harris' top two, and he hopes to make a decision this summer or early in the fall. The MSU coaches have compared the speedy receiver to Keshawn Martin as a slot receiver and returner. Given that Martin was just drafted into the NFL, it's a smart pitch.
"When I went up there for my junior day that was the first person they compared me to," Harris said. "They’ve been throwing that at me and showing me some stuff."
Spartans look to Georgia DE (24/7) - Some more Georgia recruiting resulted in an offer to two-star Georgia defensive end Davin Bellamy earlier this month. Despite the ranking, he holds offers from Florida State, Auburn, South Carolina, Arkansas and other southern BCS schools. Bellamy says the southern schools are recruiting him the hardest, but leaving the heat is a draw toward MSU. He is still doing research on the Spartans, and their recent track record of winning and developing defensive ends is a positive.
"I want to take an official there," Bellamy said. "I hate the heat so it’s a much cooler climate which would be perfect. I always wanted to live up north and Michigan State is putting kids into the league. They have the best defensive ends duo in the game, so I love them."
Boone adds another (Scout) - Two-star Chicago quarterback Darrien Boone recently picked up an offer from Central Michigan. MSU appears to be set at quarterback, but Boone said he will visit MSU on June 16.
Barnett pitches for Florida star (24/7) - Three-star Florida receiver/tight end Travis Johnson has nearly 40 offers, but MSU is making a hard to push to try to bring him north. Defensive backs coach Harlon Barnett has visited Johnson twice in the last few weeks, hoping to make an impression. Johnson says he will narrow it down to five or so in the next "week or two" and will then schedule his official visits.
B1G interest picks up for Morgan (24/7) - Looking at 2014, Illinois linebacker Nyles Morgan picked up his first offer from Illinois last week, and he's hoping to add more. Playing in the Michigan Elite/IMG 7-on-7 in Avondale last weekend, Morgan said he will be visiting MSU on June 9. He said MSU sees him as a middle linebacker.
Super soph. LB talks MSU visit (24/7) - Not a big update. Currently the No. 1 prospect in the Illinois class of 2014, linebacker Clifton Garrett says he plans on visiting MSU this summer. He has Ohio State currently at the top of his list.
Looking ahead to the camps, Matt Dorsey lists some in-state prospects to keep an eye on at camps in the coming weeks.