Oak Park Quarterback Dwan Mathis Flips Commitment From Michigan State to Ohio State

Bad news, Spartan fans. Dwan Mathis, a four-star quarterback in the 2019 recruiting class, has flipped his commitment from the Michigan State Spartans to the Big Ten rival Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Oak Park signal-caller originally committed in late September, and was the second commit in the class behind Walled Lake Western offensive tackle Spencer Brown.

Mathis ranks No. 251 nationally according to the 247Sports Composite. He also ranks sixth in the state of Michigan, and is the ninth-ranked pro-style quarterback in the country. Only Belleville’s Julian Barnett ranked higher in MSU’s 2019 class.

When Michigan State originally offered Mathis back in July, the four-star prospect said it was his “dream offer.”

The Buckeyes offered Mathis in early May of this year. After the offer, Mathis said he was “100 percent committed” to Michigan State. However, even though the Buckeyes were late on the train, Urban Meyer and company convinced him to jump ship.

Mathis said in his Twitter note that the “decision weighed heavy” on his heart, which I am sure it did. Certainly this was not an easy choice for him. But when looking at the quarterback depth for the Spartans right now, incumbent starter Brian Lewerke has two years left, Rocky Lombardi is only a redshirt freshman and Theo Day is a true freshmen.

The Spartans also have Mickey Macius on the roster. Macius is a senior who could earn the third-string quarterback role. One has to believe that Day, like Lombardi last year, will be redshirted this season.

Lombardi is a player the coaching staff has been impressed with. He is more than likely going to be the backup quarterback this season. Once Lewerke graduates, Lombardi should have first crack at the starting gig. So knowing all of that, the earliest Mathis may have played is his senior year, or junior year if redshirted, and that’s not even for certain if Day is indeed redshirted and could possibly beat him out for the job.

So, while I don’t ever like to see talented players leave Michigan State, I understand the decision. I may not agree with it, and it sure sounded like Mathis was a Spartan at heart, but things change, and again, I get it.

MSU’s recruiting class now drops to 10 total players, with Barnett remaining as the only four-star recruit currently. That number will eventually reach into the 20s, and it will be interesting to see if MSU adds another quarterback to the group.

Update: Five-star offensive tackle Devontae Dobbs commits to Michigan State. He is now the highest-rated recruit in the class.

We wish you the best of luck in your endeavors, Dwan.