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Football 'Crootin Roundup Is Moving On, Getting Ready For Camps

By ChrisVannini

It was only a matter of time before Texas OL commit Caleb Benenoch decommitted from the Spartans.

After weeks of analysts predicting he would decommit — and Benenoch saying he wouldn't — the news, first broken by 24/7's Sean Scherer, finally came out on Tuesday night.

"I’m decommitted from Michigan State," Benenoch said. "I’m looking around and didn’t want to hold a roster spot. It would be unfair."

Obviously the comparisons to Se'Von Pittman have come up. If you don't know, Pittman committed to MSU last year and basically admitted it was because of the drama at Ohio State. Once Urban Meyer set up in Columbus, Pittman changed his commitment to the Buckeyes. When word came around that Benenoch was still letting himself be recruited by other schools, the comparisons to Pittman began, which upset Benenoch.

He committed to MSU in March before even visiting. That's where the Pittman comparisons become too simplistic. Benenoch just got too excited that a top BCS school was so interested in him, so he jumped the gun. He probably didn't expect his stock to rise so much, so quickly, while MSU saw a diamond in the rough. Benenoch's parents were never fond of him moving so far away. In hindsight, Mark Dantonio probably shouldn't have accepted his commitment that early, but given the fact the top Midwest offensive linemen were being scooped up, MSU probably wanted to nab one in Texas whom they knew was a solid talent.

Now the Spartans are down to six commitments, which isn't bad, but they still need some offensive linemen. MSU knew Benenoch was wavering. Two days ago, QB commit Damion Terry received a letter from OL coach Mark Staten.

"Damion, Looking forward to getting you up here again in the summer. Our SR 1-Day Camp on June 16th would be a great time to be around a lot of your future teammates. Keep tight with Caleb! He really likes what you are about! Go Green! -Coach Staten

Benenoch decommitted, but it seems his letter was already in the mail.

Terry and RB commit Gerald Holmes tried to talk Benenoch out of it, hoping he still will end up in East Lansing.

Benenoch says MSU is still in the hunt, and he still wants to visit, but off the top of my head, I can't recall any players decommiting but still ending up at that school. If he actually ends up visiting, I'd give MSU a puncher's chance, but I'm thinking too many bridges have been burned.

More on other recruits after the jump

(The Sound Mind, Sound Body camp in Southfield is going on Wednesday, while MSU has a one-day camp Saturday. All of that will be in next week's roundup)

Heavy mutual interest between Miller, Michigan State (Rivals) - Three-star Toledo offensive lineman Matt Miller is a priority for MSU. The Spartans have offered, while other top Big Ten schools remain interested. He camped at Ohio State last weekend — the only camp he was planning on. His brother, Jack, plays at Michigan, which has shown interest, but hasn't offered.

"It is tough to say whether I would rather play with Jack or against him," Miller said. "I have had a lot of the Big Ten schools tell me that it will be a lot of fun 364 days of the year and then there will be that one day where it is going to be tough for mom to decide what color jersey she is putting on. As two brothers, a year and a half apart, we've been battling our entire lives together so it would definitely be fun going against him. At the same time, we played on the same team at St. John's and he and I are very close."

Pa. WR Harris mulling options (Scout) - Three-star Pennsylvania receiver Jay Harris holds an offer from MSU and is looking for one from Penn State. He was invited to a Penn State camp this weekend, but will be attending MSU's instead. It will be his second visit to MSU.

Cincy CB looks to grab Spartan offer (Rivals) - Three-star Ohio cornerback Jaleel Hytchye will be in East Lansing. He has a good amount of offers, and will be hoping to add one from MSU. But the Spartans have been very selective with offers to defensive backs, and some of those offered players will be at the camp as well. Hytchye is hoping to jump ahead of them in the minds of the coaches.

Change of plans for Moeller OL (24/7) - MSU is back in on a Cincinnati Moeller kid. Three-star offensive lineman Alex Gall told Spartan Tailgate a month ago that MSU didn't seem to have much interest in him any more. But Dantonio called him Monday night and asked him to come up and camp. With Benenoch's departure, MSU needs to get back on track with linemen. Gall will camp at Wisconsin on Sunday and said the Spartans and Badgers are at the top for him, although neither have offered yet.

Spartans 'pumped' to see Maclean (24/7) - Three-star Grand Blanc defensive end Luke Maclean will camp at MSU this weekend looking to earn an offer. He currently holds offers from Pitt, Cincy and some MAC schools. While he has played linebacker in high school, MSU is looking at him as a defensive end.

Gourdine getting his due (Rivals) - Basically the same deal as Hytchye, unranked Farmington Hills safety Isaiah Gourdine will be at the MSU camp looking to earn an offer. Other notable offers for Gourdine include Iowa, Cincinnati and San Diego State.

Jones' stock is soaring (Rivals) - Same deal. Another defensive back who will be at Sound Mind, Sound Body and the MSU camp, hoping for an offer. Three-star defensive back Joshua Jones has offers from Iowa, Illinois and MAC schools.

Top WR looking forward to MSU visit (24/7) - Three-star Maryland wide receiver Taivon Jacobs plans to head north next weekend to visit Ohio State, MSU and Michigan. MSU and Ohio State have offered.

Ohio OL talks Spartans (Scout) - With Benenoch gone, the offensive line is even more important for this recruiting class. Unranked Ohio offensive tackle Carson Baker will be camping at MSU on Saturday. He currently holds offers from Pitt and Toledo, and will be camping at Wisconsin.

Ohio lineman knows about Spartans (Scout) - Unranked Ohio offensive guard Durrell Bristol has offers from MAC schools, but is hoping to earn some more. Bristol goes to the same high school that Le'Veon Bell attended. As of the writing of this story (June 10), he had yet to be invited to the MSU camp.

4-star DT gearing up for MSU camp (24/7) - Looking ahead to 2014, Wisconsin defensive tackle Craig Evans is ranked as the No. 1 player in the state and the No. 6 DT in the class. He'll be camping in East Lansing. MSU offered last month and he also holds offers from Nebraska and Pittsburgh. Evans is a big fan of Pat Narduzzi.

He was pretty energetic and I liked that about him," Evans said of Narduzzi. "He was positive about their school and I liked that about him. He was very energetic and seemed like he liked to have fun."

Allen: 'I love it up there' (24/7) - 2014 Illinois offensive lineman Brian Allen will be making a two-day trip to MSU, visiting on Friday and camping on Saturday. He already has an MSU offer, along with Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. Allen is the younger brother of MSU redshirt freshman center Jack Allen, so Brian is very familiar with East Lansing.

"I love it up there." Allen said "It just awesome. My brother goes there so it already feels like a second home to me. Every time I go up there it does feel like home. They know how to develop linemen up there. So I really like them a lot."

Morgan talks East Lansing visit (24/7) - 2014 Illinois linebacker Nyles Morgan enjoyed his first visit to MSU. He already holds offers from Notre Dame and Illinois, but not MSU, yet.

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