Elite MSU, Michigan Football Players Share Interesting History
Often, the Michigan State Spartans are competing with in-state rival Michigan for the best talent in the state. Head coach Jonathan Smith has made it his goal to put the Green and White back on top in the mitten along with re-establishing a solid Midwest pipeline as a whole.
One of the best in-state recruits that former head coach Mel Tucker secured during his time in East Lansing was four-star safety Dillon Tatum from the 2022 class. Tatum, a West Bloomfield product, was originally listed as an athlete. He was the No. 12 athlete in the class and the No. 5 player from the state, per the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Tatum was an integral part of West Bloomfield's first-ever state championship win in January of 2021. The Lakers faced reigning Division I state champion Davison and thrashed the defending champions 41-0.
A jack-of-all-trades, Tatum was a valuable running back, too. The starting running back just happened to be former five-star running back and elite Wolverines running back Donovan Edwards. Edwards ran for 257 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries against Davison.
Edwards, from the class of 2021, was the No. 4 running back in the class and the No. 42 ranked player nationally. Before Edwards was breaking big-time runs for the Wolverines in big time games, he was the most important piece to a state championship. 247Sports recruiting expert Allen Trieu praised the ball carrier in his evaluation.
"Has looked college-ready since his sophomore season. Physically, he will enter college able to compete at the high-major level. Complete back who has shown he can run between the tackles and grind out tough yardage as well as hit the home run," Trieu wrote. "Runs with violence when he has to ... Great pass-catcher. Good pass blocker because of strength and willingness to be physical but still needs to polish technique there. Has intangibles and willed his way to some runs and also came up big in big moments for his team ... Complete prospect who can be a lead back at a high-major program and be an early round draft choice."
Tatum himself received high marks from Trieu as well.
"Projects most likely as a nickel corner in college," Trieu wrote. "Has run track and has gotten good results and that shows up in his straight-line speed but also in his conditioning and being able to play all three phases in high school. Shows good ball skills and has gotten interceptions from his safety spot. Has short-area quickness and twitch to be able to play man. Physically speaking, he is not big, but also is not undersized. It is not impossible a school gives him offensive looks but is most likely to play defense and be a special teams guy."
Tatum has yet to stand out in East Lansing like he did at West Bloomfield, but he will be a vital piece to the Spartans' secondary this fall.
Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.
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MICHAEL FRANCE