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The current state of Michigan State football is a far cry from what it was during the 2010s, the mini-Golden Era under then head coach Mark Dantonio. The Mel Tucker coaching hire was a disaster of epic proportions, on multiple levels, and the Jonathan Smith era was very short because it quickly became clear that he wasn't taking the Spartans anywhere.
MSU is starting over again, this time under Pat Fitzgerald, a hire that is high risk/high reward. Fitzgerald proved that he could win at Northwestern, despite limited resources, but he left the school in total disgrace.
Now we'll see what Fitzgerald can do when he has more of a traditional power/bigger brand name school behind him. He's never succeeded in the NIL era, so it's very difficult to speculate how this will all go.
What we do know is that Fitz will be given a massive war chest to work with. Big money is flowing into East Lansing, MI right now and that will translate into a much more talented roster. Eventually, it will lead to a much more substantial presence in the NFL Draft. Not so much this year, but down the line.
Last December, Michigan St. announced a historic $401,000,000 donation from Greg and Dawn Williams. $290 million of that is dedicated to Spartan Athletics, and it's meant to bolster the athletic department's $1 billion FOR SPARTA fundraising campaign. Greg Williams, CEO and co-founder of the fintech corporation Accrisure, provided the largest single financial commitment in school history, and one of the largest single amounts in college athletics history.
The previous donor record for State was $32,000,000. Eventually, Michigan State will be bringing in top tier talent, and they'll go back to producing high end NFL Draft picks again.
For the 2027 draft, the names to watch in Sparta are punter Rhys Dakin (but of course punters never get selected very high), offensive guard/tackle Luke Coenen, running back Cam Edwards and defensive lineman Jalen Thompson. None of them have a ceiling higher than day three.
However, State has a very rich NFL Draft history, with six players having been selected within the first three overall picks in their respective classes. They also produced a first rounder every year from 2014-16, and they saw six players get taken in the 2012 NFL Draft. Given the financial investments being made into the program right now, we might see something like this again, and very soon.
This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: With big money flowing into MSU football top talent should soon follow
Continue reading...
MSU is starting over again, this time under Pat Fitzgerald, a hire that is high risk/high reward. Fitzgerald proved that he could win at Northwestern, despite limited resources, but he left the school in total disgrace.
Now we'll see what Fitzgerald can do when he has more of a traditional power/bigger brand name school behind him. He's never succeeded in the NIL era, so it's very difficult to speculate how this will all go.
What we do know is that Fitz will be given a massive war chest to work with. Big money is flowing into East Lansing, MI right now and that will translate into a much more talented roster. Eventually, it will lead to a much more substantial presence in the NFL Draft. Not so much this year, but down the line.
Last December, Michigan St. announced a historic $401,000,000 donation from Greg and Dawn Williams. $290 million of that is dedicated to Spartan Athletics, and it's meant to bolster the athletic department's $1 billion FOR SPARTA fundraising campaign. Greg Williams, CEO and co-founder of the fintech corporation Accrisure, provided the largest single financial commitment in school history, and one of the largest single amounts in college athletics history.
The previous donor record for State was $32,000,000. Eventually, Michigan State will be bringing in top tier talent, and they'll go back to producing high end NFL Draft picks again.
For the 2027 draft, the names to watch in Sparta are punter Rhys Dakin (but of course punters never get selected very high), offensive guard/tackle Luke Coenen, running back Cam Edwards and defensive lineman Jalen Thompson. None of them have a ceiling higher than day three.
However, State has a very rich NFL Draft history, with six players having been selected within the first three overall picks in their respective classes. They also produced a first rounder every year from 2014-16, and they saw six players get taken in the 2012 NFL Draft. Given the financial investments being made into the program right now, we might see something like this again, and very soon.
This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: With big money flowing into MSU football top talent should soon follow
Continue reading...
