Jay Johnson, Mel Tucker pull off unprecedented recruiting feat at Michigan State
Michigan State has yielded positive results on the recruiting trail over the last week, but perhaps no development was more impressive or as vital as the Spartans landing four-star West Linn (Ore.) High School quarterback Sam Leavitt.
Considered the top player from the state of Oregon, the No. 373 overall player and No. 23 quarterback in his class in 247Sports' composite rankings, Leavitt was a highly sought-after prospect. The four-star had been committed to Washington State since early July, and was also being pursued by a Washington program that is coming off a 10-2 regular season.
But, the Spartans' got their man at the game's most important position for the 2023 class.
Recruiting is a vastly important part of college coaching, and that importance is only amplified at the quarterback position. In a lot of cases, a team can only be as good or go as far as their starting quarterback can lead them.
While both Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker and offensive coordinator Jay Johnson have come under scrutiny following the Spartans' disappointing 5-7 campaign in 2022, the pair have showed recruiting abilities rarely before seen in East Lansing.
During the 2021 recruiting cycle, Michigan State landed another four-star signal-caller in California native Katin Houser, who was ranked No. 215 overall and the No. 14 quarterback in his class.
By landing Houser and Leavitt in back-to-back classes, Johnson and Tucker accomplished something Michigan State has never done in the prior 23 recruiting cycles that the 247Composite metrics have existed for. According to Spartan Tailgate's Corey Robinson, Houser and Leavitt are the first two composite four-star quarterbacks to commit to the Spartans in back-to-back years in the 247Sports era, which dates back to the 2000 class.
Katin Houser and Sam Leavitt become the first ever back-to-back 4 ⭐️ Quarterback commits for Michigan State in the 247Sports era, which dates back to the 2000 class pic.twitter.com/a3SSQgTzPl
— Corey Robinson (@C_Robinson247) December 16, 2022
The last pair of four-star (or better) quarterbacks that Michigan State landed in back-to-back years was Jeff Smoker (Class of 2000) and Aaron Alexander (2001), but the 247Composite did not exist at that time.
The Spartans have come close on a few other occasions of landing two composite four-star QBs in two years. MSU signed Tyler O'Connor in 2012 and Damion Terry in 2013 — Terry was a composite four-star, but O'Connor was only considered a four-star by 247Sports, and his rankings by Rivals and ESPN kept him as a composite three-star.
Former Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke (Class of 2015) was a composite three-star, but was close to earning a fourth star, having been ranked inside the Top 400. He was followed by Messiah deWeaver, a four-star that the Spartans signed in 2016.
It's good to see Michigan State had quality talent and depth to its quarterback room, and the future is bright with Houser and Leavitt. It will be interesting to see if Hauser is able to push and challenger incumbent starter Payton Thorne and backup Noah Kim this spring.
Personally, I understand the fanbase's frustration with Thorne this season, but I think the redshirt junior got a bit too much of a bad rap this season. Thorne did not take the steps forward we expected for a second-year starter, but the quarterback was tasked with orchestrating an offense devoid of a consistent running threat without Kenneth Walker, and with a below average offensive line.
With that said, Thorne wasn't able to elevate Michigan State's limited offense, and maybe one of the younger, more physically-gifted prospects can do that. Thorne is a solid option for the Spartans in 2023, but if Houser takes strides this spring, maybe the coaching staff will take a swing on him come September.
