MSU Football Target Earns Elite Grade
Michigan State has cranked up its interest in the 2026 class throughout the fall and October saw them offer a plethora of junior class talent.
Among the names they offered was two-way star Jackson Samuels Ford of Malvern, Pennsylvania. He is 6-foot-4, 230 pounds and plays edge rusher as well as tight end. Ford just received his grade and rating from 247Sports, widely considered to be the authority on high school prospect evaluation.
"Debuting at No. 228 overall, Malvern (Pa.) Prep's Jackson Samuels Ford is another talented two-way player repping at edge rusher and tight end who projects to defense all the way," Andrew Ivins wrote. "Ford shows good athleticism on the corner as he can bend and change directions. He plays aware to get his hands up in passing lanes, while also showing some stack-and-shed capability. An ascending player who's still developing, Ford has assembled some impressive tape at this stage, especially considering his relative youth for the 2026 cycle. He reports double-digit Power Four offers."
Ford is the No. 15 athlete in the class and the No. 7 player from Pennsylvania, which has a stacked 2026 class akin to Michigan's. He is a four-star prospect with a fringe 90 grade.
Ford has a great frame, but it likely doesn't fit the prototype of what tight ends coach Brian Wozniak wants. He will likely stick to the defensive side of the ball and fit into the defense as a rush end for specialist coach Chad Wilt. Wilt explained the position this spring and it has been a noticeable mainstay in Joe Rossi's defense.
"This rush end position -- we were talking earlier -- it's it's a hybrid outside backer/D-end thing," Wilt said. "So sometimes, he’s going to have D-end jobs -- play over tight end, right? Play in the C-gap, be strong and sturdy and sometimes it might be ‘Hey, you're gonna be over this tight end man-to-man."
The rush end, according to Wilt, is a counterattack for modern offenses.
"We can take those guys that we have in our package -- I mean, there's a lot of things we can do with those guys," Wilt said. "And our check systems -- 'How do we want to play this formation? How do we want to play this set? How do we want to play open pictures? How do we play empty pictures?' We have variety within the scheme and system, and they're standing up, it becomes a little bit easier to get in and out of things."
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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