The key to winning in college football is to win the recruiting cycles — and in this age, the transfer portal.
Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald is entering his first season as head coach. As he prepares to build a winner in East Lansing right away, he also has his eyes on building for the future.
We are a few months past the hot times of recruiting on the calendar as the team currently has its eyes on the 2026 season. It seems like as good a time as any to take a look at where the 2027 class currently stands.
Early signing day is not until December but as of now, Michigan State has 15 commits in the 2027 class.
Offense
The list of 15 commits is split right down the middle with seven coming on the offensive side of the ball:
- Grant Adloff, OL
- Jack Carlson, OL
- Zach Forbish, WR
- Caleb Johnson, OL
- Savior Owens, RB
- Ryan Pankey, TE
- Eli Stumpf, QB
Fitzgerald prioritzed the offensive line with three commits. Caleb Jonnson is the highest-rated prospect in the class. The four-star is currently ranked as the No. 3 player in Indiana, according to 247Sports.
Each year, coaches like to bring in at least one quarterback in a recruiting cycle. For Fitzgerald, his first with the Spartans is Eli Stumpf. At 6-foot-4, Stumpf is a three-star QB who held offers from the likes of Toledo and Kent State. He is ranked as the No. 43 quarterback in the class.
Defense
The defense currently has eight commits spread across all three levels:
- Matthew Brady, LB
- Ty’ire Clark, S
- Lawrence Kanneh, DE
- Ohimai Ozolua, DL
- Cordaro Parham, CB
- Henry Sakalas, LB
- Jack Schuler, DE
- Don Spillers, S
With a Fitzgerald-led team, it is hard to ignore the linebackers. Matthew Brady and Henry Sakalas patrol the middle of the defense in this class. Both players hail from Illinois as Top 50 players and committed on back-to-back days in early June.
Ohimai Ozolua is the top-ranked defender in the class to this point. The three-star defensive lineman comes in at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds with plenty of growing left to do. Ozolua is currently a Top 20 player out of Illinois.
The 2027 class for the Spartans comes in at No. 50 nationally and No. 17 in the Big Ten, according to 247Sports. Their 15 commits is also the third-fewest in the conference to this point — behind Iowa (13) and USC (14).
It is early in Fitzgerald’s tenure as head coach in East Lansing. This will be one of the first classes he puts together. How much time does Fitzgerald have to build an elite recruiting class for Michigan State before facing criticism?