Michigan State, Mel Tucker gear up for National Signing Day
With National Signing Day just hours away, Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker is feeling confident that the Spartans will close strong with the 2022 recruiting class.
Michigan State currently 20 high school prospects committed to the program, and their class ranks No. 18 in the country according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Tucker is confident that the players committed will sign their letters of intent tomorrow, but nothing is ever certain in recruiting until pen meets paper.
“Guys who are committed, of course you expect those guys to sign, but you never know until you actually get the paperwork back,” Tucker said. “Nothing surprises me anymore in football, especially in recruiting. We feel really good about the guys that we have committed.”
With 20 commitments, there is still room in the 2022 recruiting class to add more talent, and the Spartans are in on several key battles, including 5-star OL Kiyaunta Goodwin, and 4-star WR Armani Winfield, among others. Programs are allowed to sign 25 high school prospects per recruiting class.
“I’m sure we’ll be able to get to the number at some point,” Tucker said of the 25-player cap. “If we don’t get to it this month, we’ll get to it in February.”
The Spartans have a lot of momentum on the recruiting trail after going 10-2 on the year and accepting an invitation to the Peach Bowl – one of the prestigious New Year’s Six bowl games.
“There’s a lot of guys, there’s a lot of teams out here playing ball, and when it winds down to these precious bowl games, to be a part of it means that you’ve done something significant,” Tucker said.
“It has a tremendous effect on our recruiting. Being on the road the last couple of weeks – I’ve been all over the country, and everyone is talking about Michigan State. The high school coaches, the high school players, everyone involved in recruiting, they’ve taken note and are excited about what we’re doing.”
However, something Tucker likes about this 2022 class is that most of these players committed to the program either before the season began, or early-on this season – before the Spartans finished with 10 wins and earned the Peach Bowl bid.
“We’ve been able to recruit well even before the season started because people know our staff, what we’re all about,” Tucker said. “We’re a ‘get it done’ staff. We’re going to figure it out. We’ve been recruiting hard, so it’s not really a surprise to a lot of the football people.”
Still, Tucker knows the impact that winning has on recruiting, and he noted that some high-profile recruits that Michigan State would have a hard time getting the attention of are starting to take notice of what’s happening in East Lansing.
“Because of the success we’ve had on the field, we’re able to maybe get some folks to take a look, to consider us, that maybe haven’t in the past – and they like what they see once they really take a look behind the curtain,” Tucker said.
“We’ve been able to attract some folks to take a look, and what almost all of them say – that are not from the state – is that it’s way, way, way better than we thought it was going to be.”
Tucker noted that high school recruits have short memories. While parents or older siblings may remember the success that Michigan State had on the football field in the mid-2010s, when the Spartans won three Big Ten championships, the recruits from 2022, 2023 and beyond need to see continued success – which is what Tucker and his staff showed them this year.
“They’re really looking at who’s doing what right now, and then kind of projecting that team into the future,” Tucker said. “Everyone sees that we have momentum and that we have a bright future.”
