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Safety Matt Morrissey, Lincolnshire, Ill (Adlai E Stevenson) - 6-foot-3, 180 pounds
Ratings: 247 sports (3 stars) Rivals (3 stars), Scout (3 stars), ESPN (NR)
Other notable offers: Boston College, Illinois, Syracuse
MSU has picked up a commit from safety Matt Morrissey, an MSU legacy whose father, Jim, played linebacker in East Lansing in the 1980s. His mother also went to MSU and his sister is on the women's basketball team. Matt was on campus Monday.
He's a versatile player who could play a few positions. He also had strong interest from Wisconsin. He's the third Core 6 athlete to commit to MSU and fourth Illinois prospect. He's the 13th commit of the 2014 class.
I'm officially committed to play football at MSU!!! Couldn't have done it without my family/friends #SpartanFootball pic.twitter.com/hShV0ac2u7
— Matt Morrissey (@MattMo8) July 15, 2013
Being a legacy, MSU was the heavy favorite, but when he didn't commit at camp and was checking out more schools, it seemed to be a question if MSU would end up losing him.
In the end, the worry proved to be for naught. Morrissey spoke to Rivals about the commitment.
"Michigan State was my leader for a long time and once they offered me it made it even harder to say no to them. I took some time and looked around but in the end I was comparing everyone to what Michigan State has to offer. It's the best overall fit for me and I just like the people at Michigan State. Getting to know the coaches, the players and some of the recruits just made me realize that I wanted to be at Michigan State even harder than I expected."
Morrissey still has some growing to do, and that could affect the position he plays. Most think linebacker or safety, but Morissey told Rivals the coaches mentioned the possibility of receiver. With the commitment secured, they're going to wait and see how he develops and grows over the next year.
Just want to say for the record that Matt Morrissey does NOT remind me of Jordan Kovacs.
— Heck Dorland (@HeckAtTOC) July 15, 2013
First off, Morrissey is 3-5 inches taller. Second off, his tape doesn't really show Kovacs' preternatural positioning/tackling abilities.
— Heck Dorland (@HeckAtTOC) July 15, 2013
Third, Kovacs weren't jumping no sideline routes from center-field for 100 yard TD returns or high pointing jump-balls in the end zone.
— Heck Dorland (@HeckAtTOC) July 15, 2013
He's already pretty tall for a defensive back, and, as you can see in the highlights below, is pretty speedy. Simply, he's a really good athlete, and MSU will take its time figuring out where he'll play.
Overall, Morrissey appears to be a very solid pickup with a good amount of potential. It continues MSU's strong recruiting in Illinois recently. MSU picked up one in 2012 (Jack Allen), one in 2013 (Demetrius Cooper), and they will be the only Illinois kids on the roster in 2013. Morrissey makes it four Illinois commits in 2014, and there could still be more to come. The Core 6 connection is very good. (If only they could have landed Jamarco Jones out of there. *shakes fist*).
A very good class gets better.
#MichiganState could land as many as seven or eight prospects from Illinois in 2014. They already have four.
— Jared Shanker (@JShankerESPN) July 15, 2013