Apologies for this being late. With the holiday and me not having power, it took a while to find time to write this. Then, I posted it this morning, but some sort of error resulted in an incomplete post going up, and I had all sorts of problems with the site. I had to rewrite some things, but it should all be resolved now.
Not many major updates over the past week in MSU football recruiting. The recruiting services did check in with some top priorities to see where MSU stands.
Before we get into the roundup, Jim over at Shaw Lane Spartans put together some graphs showing when and how MSU has gotten commitments from its recent recruiting classes. Not surprisingly, 50 percent of commitments from the 2010-13 classes have come in June/July August. But it's still an interesting number. Go check out some of the other graphs.
Now, on to the roundup.
A top four for Salmon (Scout) - Two-star Florida DT Devyn Salmon is down to his top four: MSU, Missouri, West Virginia and Cincinnati. Those offers don't sound like a two-star prospect, do they? MSU needs interior defensive linemen in this class, and Salmon — who went to the same school (Plant City) as Denzel Drone — is a priority.
Several sticking with Williams (247) - Three-star Pennsylvania athlete Delton Williams seemed close to committing to MSU after his teammate Damion Terry did a few months ago. But he didn't, and Williams' stock continued to rise. Then he was in a car that was pulled over in June and he was charged with marijuana possession. Since then, Williams said Penn State has backed off, while MSU and Nebraska are waiting for his court date this month. The Spartans and Cornhuskers are now his top choices.
"That means a lot to me," Williams said. "(MSU) might be that place for me when I'm ready to commit. If you hear I committed to Michigan State, don't be surprised."
Florida DT talks top six (Scout) - Three-star Florida DT Monty Nelson lists MSU, Wisconsin, Wake Forest, Louisville, Pitt and West Virginia as schools that stand out to him. Nelson is listed at 6-foot-2 and 320 pounds, so this is a big boy. When describing each school, he said he would like to hear from MSU more.
Michigan State -- "It's another great program with a great education. I haven't talked to them as much as I would like to. I watch them on TV."
Harris: "It's a big relief" - (247) - Wide receiver commit Jay Harris talks more about his decision to commit to MSU. The Spartans showed how important Harris was when receivers coach Terrance Samuel visited him on the first day of the evaluation period in April.
"That showed me their interest level was very high and obviously they think a lot about me," Harris said. "The first day you can even talk to your high school players he was there and that meant a lot to me, that was a big factor.
Hot list: Offensive/Defensive line (247) - Spartan Tailgate takes a look at the linemen who are the closest to committing to MSU. Offensive and defensive line are the main positions of need remaining in the 2013 class.
Spartans still in Hunt for Benenoch? (Rivals) - Since decommitting from MSU, Texas OL Caleb Benenoch has decided not to pull the trigger too early again. He says he wants to take several visits — including MSU — and take his time with his decision.
"I've kind of taken a step back from recruiting to focus on my game and next season with my teammates," Benenoch stated. "I don't expect to have made a decision until after my senior season and official visits."
Detroit OT has impressive options (Rivals) - Not much of an update on Cass Tech OT Dennis Finley. He now holds double-digit offers, including MSU, Ohio State and Wisconsin. He's a top priority for MSU, given that many top offensive linemen are already committed.
"Coaches have told me that I have a lot of potential that I have not realized yet," he stated. "They like how well I move and that I am quick for a linemen my size. At Michigan State I like really like the coaching staff. I like how the coaches and the players were like an actual family."
Ball talks Spartans visit (Scout) - MSU was able to convince three-star Ohio athlete Marcus Ball to take a visit recently. He enjoyed the experience and MSU liked him, but with MSU looking to move him to safety/linebacker, they aren't ready to accept a commitment.
"It's kind of complicated," said Ball. "Coach Dantonio told coach Narduzzi and (assistant) coach (Mike) Tressel they could go ahead and offer me. But they also told me right now they are not ready to take a commitment from my position which is the star position (hybrid safety/linebacker) so I guess I'm offered, but if I wanted to commit right now I couldn't. But that is ok as I'm not in any rush to commit right now anyway."
Carr looking for more (Rivals) - Three-star Indiana offensive lineman Shakir Carr was a top performer at the MSU camp a few weeks ago. He already has offers from most MAC schools, so BCS offers likely will come during his senior season. As mentioned above, MSU needs some linemen, so the Spartans will be sure to watch Carr next fall.
Midwest: Camp emergers - 2014 (Scout) - Allen Trieu takes a look at the top 2014 performers from the June camp circuit, including several MSU targets.
MSU looked good to 2014 star (247) - 2014 Washington D.C. defensive back D'Andre Payne visited the Midwest powers a couple of weeks ago. He apparently enjoyed the players lounge and the indoor facility at MSU. He didn't work out for the MSU coaches due to a hip injury.