Meet Michigan State’s 2021 recruiting class
Breaking down the Michigan State football recruits who signed letters of intent Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period:
Signees
TE Kameron Allen
School: North Forney (Forney, Texas).
Vitals: 6-foot-5, 220 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 66 TE.
The buzz: MSU needs play-making tight ends after converting two kickers this season. Allen is built in the Jimmy Graham hybrid mold as a pass catcher who can flank out wide. He has 38 catches for 743 yards with eight TDs in 10 games this season.
OT Brandon Baldwin
School: Independence (Kansas) Community College (via Southfield A&T).
Vitals: 6-foot-7, 315 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 41 junior college player, No. 5 junior college offensive tackle.
The buzz: MSU is taking a chance on the hulking Baldwin, who has not yet played a college game after spending 2019 on Independence’s practice squad and this fall’s canceled season. He has a long reach and good footwork — Baldwin played basketball and his father, Vince, is a local hoops scout — and the Spartans need immediate depth at tackle.
CB Antoine Booth
School: DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Maryland)
Vitals: 6-foot, 185 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 103 cornerback.
The buzz: Booth joined Tucker’s class in April as one of the early commitments and comes from good bloodlines — his father having played in the NFL. He comes from the same high school powerhouse that produced Darien Harris, the former MSU linebacker and current director of player engagement. Booth projects as a prototypical Harlon Barnett-style press corner who can be physical at the line of scrimmage.
OT Ethan Boyd
School: East Lansing.
Vitals: 6-foot-7, 285 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 660 overall player, No. 52 offensive tackle. The buzz: Like Baldwin, Boyd is another edge lineman with the size and toughness the Spartans need up front to improve a languishing run game. His technique with his hands and feet stand out and will be critical as he adds strength and weight to his lengthy frame. The hometown product was one of the first to join on with Mel Tucker’s new program in April.
CB Charles Brantley
School: Venice (Florida).
Vitals: 6-foot, 160 pounds
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 508 overall player, No. 38 cornerback.
The buzz: Like Booth, Brantley projects as an aggressive force in pass coverage and also has MSU ties with his cousin, former receiver Herb Heygood. Barnett was recruiting Brantley while coaching at Florida State, and he also landed his teammate and fellow cornerback Steffan Johnson.
LB Carson Casteel
School: Florence (Alabama).
Vitals: 6-foot-3, 210 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 78 inside linebacker.
The buzz: One of the more recent pieces to the class, Casteel opted out of a commitment to Troy to pick the Spartans and arrives at one of MSU’s biggest areas of need going into 2021. A physical run-stopping presence, Casteel also brings speed in space needed from linebackers in the 4-2-5 defense.
QB Hampton Fay
School: All Saints Episcopal (Fort Worth, Texas).
Vitals: 6-foot-5, 210 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 40 quarterback.
The buzz: Fay is a big-bodied gunslinger from talent-rich Texas who displays the type of leadership and arm strength MSU is seeking. Expected to enroll in January, Fay completed 109 of 182 passes for 1,450 yards with 14 TDs and six interceptions in seven games this fall and finished his final high school game on Dec. 5 with a 391-yard, three touchdown passing performance.
LB Ma’a Gaoteote
School: Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas).
Vitals: 6-foot-2, 220 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Four stars; No.
155 overall player, No. 11 outside linebacker. The buzz: The former USC commit is a huge haul for Tucker, the highest-rated player in the class. A tackle machine who can move north and south as well as laterally, Gaoteote could make an immediate impact at a thin position. Could become Tucker’s version of what twotime All-American Greg Jones brought to Mark Dantonio’s early defenses. Also keep an eye on his brother, Palaie, who left USC for the transfer portal recently. It could be a two-fer special.
S Michael Gravely Jr.
School: Euclid (Ohio).
Vitals: 6-foot-1, 193 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 91 safety.
The buzz: The thumping, rangy safety was named to Ohio’s Division I first-team All-State by the state sportswriters association last week and second-team all-state all division by MaxPreps after posting 23 tackles, five breakups and a fumble recovery in five games.
DT Derrick Harmon
School: Detroit Loyola.
Vitals: 6-foot-4, 359 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 970 overall player, No. 56 defensive tackle. The buzz: Massive is the best word to describe Harmon, who eats up blockers at the point of attack and is disruptive in the backfield. Watching his weight in college will be key, but Harmon delivers impact with limited need for a running start.
CB Steffan Johnson
School: Venice (Florida).
Vitals: 6-foot, 160 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 137 cornerback.
The buzz: A two-way player in high school who played as a read-option quarterback, Johnson brings speed to wherever he lines up. His athletic ability and ball skills, coupled with a need
to add strength and bulk immediately, could allow the former Rutgers commit to transition into a nickel back role as he develops his coverage skills.
S A.J. Kirk
School: Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio). Vitals: 6-foot, 200 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 592 overall player, No. 46 safety.
The buzz: Kirk left the Columbus area and helped Hoban win a Division II Ohio state championship this season. The brother of former Ohio State star Mike Doss is a hardhitting strong safety type, and Kirk could transition to linebacker in the 4-2-5 to bring muchneeded sideline-to-sideline speed and tackling ability to the middle of MSU’s defense.
DE Alex Okelo
School: Pearl-Cohn (Nashville, Tennessee). Vitals: 6-foot-5, 217 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 987 overall player, No. 54 weakside DE. The buzz: Getting to the quarterback is Okelo’s specialty – and a huge void for the Spartans at defensive end. Okelo’s long arms are perfect for shedding blocks from tackles, and his footwork and quickness could garner him playing time quickly if he can add some mass to his frame.
RB Davion Primm
School: Oak Park.
Vitals: 6-foot, 201 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 63 running back.
The buzz: Primm was the first player to buy into Tucker’s sales pitch, committing less than a month after the pandemic shutdown, a huge get to help MSU make inroads back into Detroit area recruiting. While running behind fellow commit Rayshaun Benny, Primm showed strong legs, good balance and ability to power through contact.
DE Tyson Watson
School: Warren Mott
Vitals: 6-foot-6, 270 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 738 overall player, No. 47 strong-side defensive end.
The buzz: Like Okelo, Watson uses his power forward-height and footwork to be a backfield disruptor with force on contact. His longarmed frame could take his future a number of different paths, from pass rush force on the edge to sliding inside to tackle or flipping to offensive tackle with added mass to be an agile run blocker.
OG Kevin Wigenton
School: Hun School (Princeton, New Jersey). Vitals: 6-foot-5, 290 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 67 offensive guard.
The buzz: Wigenton is another powerful presence in the interior of the offensive line and among the pied pipers to his peers in building this class after committing in late April. The aggression, size and power Wigenton shows on the line is evident, and his mobility and footwork in pulling has aided his development.
Commitments
DT Rayshaun Benny
School: Oak Park
Vitals: 6-foot-5, 275 pounds
247 Composite ranking: 4 stars; No. 203 overall player, No. 16 DT.
The buzz: Benny is a powerful, big-bodied athlete who delivers violent shock at the point of attack on both sides of the ball, whether blocking for fellow MSU commit Davion Primm as an offensive lineman or punishing opposing ballcarriers on defense. He suffered a knee injury in a July car accident but made it back to guide Oak Park deep into the state playoffs before the recent shutdown. He told the Free Press he plans to sign in Februrary.
RB Audric Estime
School: St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, New Jersey).
Vitals: 6-foot-1, 215 pounds.
247Sports Composite ranking: Four stars; No. 245 overall player, No. 12 running back.
The buzz: MSU got a commitment from Estime in September before his monstrous senior season. In eight games, Estime led New Jersey with 1,857 yards and 22 TDs. He could be the type of significant addition Nick Saban landed with Sedrick Irvin in his first MSU class, and playing time would be immediate for the Spartans’ struggling run game.
OG Geno VanDeMark
School: St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, New Jersey).
Vitals: 6-5, 295 pounds
247Sports Composite ranking: Three stars; No. 434 overall player, No. 21 offensive guard. The buzz: VanDeMark is a mauling hulk who paved the way for high school teammate and fellow MSU commit Audric Estime to lead New Jersey in rushing this season. When the Spartans landed him, VanDeMark was a four-star prospect and he continues to show ferocity at the point of attack.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.