5-Star David Stone, multiple 4-Star's highlight massive recruiting weekend at MSU
Michigan State football is closing out its June official visit window with a bang, as the Spartans are currently hosting a plethora of talented prospects on campus.
The headliner is five-star Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy defensive lineman David Stone. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound native of Oklahoma has made numerous trips to East Lansing over the past year-plus, but Michigan State can truly lay out the red carpet for Stone this weekend for his official visit.
Stone has taken previous OVs to Florida (June 2), Miami (June 9) and Oklahoma (June 16) this month. The Spartans and Sooners have long been perceived as the favorites in this recruitment, with OU holding an edge. Stone's sister is a current student at Oklahoma, and the Sooners hold the distinction of being the "hometown program" for Stone. Oregon and Texas A&M are also heavily involved in this recruitment.
Stone is considered the No. 5 overall player, No. 2 defensive lineman and No. 3 player from the state of Florida in the 2024 recruiting class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.
Michigan State also has the opportunity to regain a pair of commitments that were lost earlier this cycle.
Four-star River Rouge (Mich.) wide receiver Nick Marsh, who once was the Spartans' first verbal commitment in the '24 class, is back on campus this weekend for his official visit. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder re-opened his recruitment back in March, and recently released a 'Top 5' that includes Penn State, Kansas, Pittsburgh and Oregon alongside Michigan State.
The Spartans' stiffest competition here appears to be the Nittany Lions, who hosted Marsh on an official visit over the weekend of June 9. The Michigan native has also taken OVs to Kansas (June 15) and Pitt (June 2) this month, and one can never rule out Oregon as a threat given the Ducks propensity for offering large NIL deals to high school recruits.
Still, Michigan State gets the final official visit for Marsh before he's set to announce his college decision on July 7. This is arguably the most important recruiting battle for the Spartans of this 2024 cycle. Marsh is ranked No. 102 overall, the No. 16 wide receiver and No. 3 player from Michigan in the class.
Another former commit who made his way to campus this weekend is four-star Miami (Fla.) Central cornerback Jamari Howard. The 6-foot-2, 175-pounder decommitted from MSU back in mid-May, as in-state programs Florida State, Florida and Miami turned up their interest.
This has been an interesting recruitment to watch, to say the least. When Howard originally committed to the Spartans way back in September, it was viewed as a surprising development. Rumors and speculation of Howard's pending decommitment soon followed and ultimately came to fruition, but MSU may be in position to bring the Florida native back into the fold this weekend.
The only other official visit that Howard has taken this month was to Rutgers back on June 9. If one of the Florida schools ramps up their efforts in this recruitment again, it will be tough for the Spartans to pull Howard out of the south, but his decision to take an official visit to East Lansing this weekend is an encouraging sign. Howard is ranked No. 85 overall, the No. 10 cornerback and the No. 13 player from the Sunshine State in the '24 class.
Two other Top 100 players are also in East Lansing this weekend.
We'll start with four-star Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei offensive lineman DeAndre Carter. The 6-foot-4, 340-pounder is one of the most highly-sought after prospects of the cycle, having garnered 28 offers during his recruitment.
While Carter has not released a top group, the perceived leaders in this battle include Auburn, Michigan State, Texas and USC. The California native took an official visit to Auburn last weekend, and has already scheduled a fall OV to Texas on Sept. 30 when the Longhorns host Kansas. Carter took an unofficial visit to USC for the Trojans' spring game, and also took an unofficial to MSU back in mid-March.
Carter is ranked No. 88 overall, the No. 2 interior offensive lineman and No. 13 player from California in the 2024 cycle.
Moving on to another intriguing prospect, four-star Seattle (Wash.) O'Dea running back Jason Brown is another standout athlete who is in East Lansing this weekend. Like Carter, Brown has not released any 'top group' in his recruitment, but the perceived leaders include Alabama, Georgia, Texas, USC and Washington in addition to MSU.
Brown is taking a methodical approach to his recruitment. This weekend's OV to Michigan State is the only official visit the 5-foot-10, 205-pounder has scheduled. The Spartans have relied almost exclusively on transfer tailbacks during the Mel Tucker era. Landing a major prospect at running back from the high school ranks would be a huge win for the program.
Brown is considered the No. 90 overall player, No. 8 running back and No. 1 players from Washington in his class.
Speaking of intriguing recruitments, Michigan State is heavily involved in another one in three-star Providence (R.I.) La Salle Academy defensive back Justin Denson. The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder is listed as a cornerback on 247Sports' recruiting service, but the Spartans have targeted him as a safety prospect.
Denson announced a 'Top 5' that included Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, Michigan State and Texas A&M a few days ago, and announced a commitment date of July 1. That timetable has lends itself to optimism for the Spartans, who will get Denson's final official visit prior to his announcement. The Rhode Island native has taken previous OVs to Florida (June 9) and Oklahoma (June 17).
Denson is ranked No. 615 overall, the No. 59 cornerback and No. 1 player from Rhode Island in the 2024 class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.
Finally, there are two more confirmed visitors to East Lansing this weekend, twin brothers and offensive line targets Mercer and Charlton Luniewski out of Cincinnati (Ohio) Hills Christian Academy. The brothers are considered a "packaged deal" and are expected to play for the same college program.
While both are considered three-star recruits, Mercer is ranked above his brother as the No. 844 overall player and No. 67 offensive tackle prospect in the class. His measurables are impressive at 6-foot-7 and 300 pounds, and he's received 25 scholarship offers including Wisconsin, Duke, Boston College, Minnesota, Wake Forest and Tulane among others.
Charlton, meanwhile, is considered the No. 1397 overall player, No. 112 interior offensive lineman in the '24 cycle. He's a bit smaller than his brother at 6-foot-5, 280 pounds and has received 16 scholarship offers. Programs that have offered both brothers include Cincinnati, Appalachian State, Connecticut, Kentucky, Pittsburgh and Virginia among others.
While the twins have not set a timetable for their recruitment, nor revealed a top grouping, Michigan State has placed itself in an excellent spot here and could earn the twins' commitment this weekend if all goes well.
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