Three-star 2022 tight end Jack Nickel commits to Michigan State

Michigan State has added a 14th verbal commitment to its 2022 recruiting class, as three-star tight end Jack Nickel announced his decision on Thursday to join tight ends coach Ted Gilmore, head coach Mel Tucker, and the rest of the Spartans.

Nickel plays for Milton High School in Milton, Georgia. Born in nearby Alpharetta, both are northern suburbs of the Atlanta area. Nickel is listed as a 6-foot-4 and 230-pound prospect. He joins three-star tight-end Michael Masunas at the position in the 2022 class, and is the fourth recruit now out of Georgia in the Mel Tucker era. Nickel is highly-regarded for his blocking prowess and high football IQ, and is a very capable pass-catcher as well.

Nickel is considered a three-star prospect by both 247Sports and Rivals, but ESPN lists him as a four-star. The 247Sports Composite lists him as the No. 23 tight end in his class and the No. 48 prospect out of Georgia on the individual level. He also comes from a strong football family, as his father played tight end at Stanford.

Nickel features offers from fellow Big Ten programs Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, Penn State, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin. He also had offers from several other Power-Five programs, such as Notre Dame, California, Virginia Tech, Oregon, LSU, Miami, Kentucky, Florida State, Colorado, and Louisville, among others.

Nickel originally committed to Notre Dame, verbally, on July 27, 2020 before decommitting on April 13, 2021 and reopening his recruitment.

Nickel visited Michigan State early after the dead period ended, arriving on campus on June 4 of this year. He followed up his visit with a trip to the LSU Tigers camp on June 17, and an official visit to Cal on June 25. However, clearly his trip to East Lansing sold him on the Spartans.

With Nickel’s commitment, Michigan State’s 2022 recruiting class currently stands at 14 members. In addition to Nickel and Masunas (out of Arizona) at tight end, it also includes fellow Georgia and three-star prospects Kristian Phillips (offensive line), Quavian Carter (linebacker/safety), and Malik Spencer (safety). The rest of the group includes Katin Houser (quarterback), Gavin Broscious (offensive line), Tyrell Henry (athlete/wide receiver), Braden Miller (offensive line), Shannon Blair (athlete/defensive back), Ashton Lepo (offensive line), Jaron Glover (wide receiver), Ade Willie (cornerback), and Jack Stone (kicker).

Nickel is MSU’s ninth commitment since the extended dead period on in-person recruiting was lifted on June 1. The recruiting dead period is currently back in place through July 24.