Counter Intel: Michigan State Takes One From Ohio and Australia, Iowa Lands Another from Nebraska, Minnesota Nabs Top-20 Running Back, Clemson Strikes

By Mick Walker on May 10, 2020 at 11:05 am
Will Shipley
Will Shipley
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Counter Intel is the smart Ohio State fan's look at recruiting action taking place at Big Ten and top national programs.

Spartans land Ohioan and Aussie

After a busy month of April on the recruiting trail that brought 10 commitments for Mel Tucker and Co., they remain on a roll for the beginning of May.

When looking back at the Michigan State teams that were successful for the past decade, there is one thing those teams were full of – Ohioans. Former Ohio natives like Connor Cook, L.J. Scott and Le'Veon Bell were huge factors in the success that Mark Dantoni had at Michigan State. 

Now, with Tucker at the helm of the Spartan football program, he is trying to go back to that Ohio well. To date, the Spartans have offered 24 total prospects from the state of Ohio, according to 247Sports, and this past week Tucker landed his first Ohioan as Michigan State's head coach with the commitment of three-star safety Michael Gravely Jr.

Gravely hails from the historic Cleveland Glenville High School program that has produced players like Ted Ginn Jr. and Marshon Lattimore. Gravely is just the most recent member in the long lineage of Glenville players turned Division I athletes. More importantly than just one commitment, Gravely Jr. also signifies Tucker's want to, and ability to, recruit the state of Ohio that will be key for his success.

Gravely committed to Michigan State on Friday night at 8 p.m., but 12 hours earlier that day, the Spartans landed an Australia punter by the name of Mark Vassett. Just like Jesse Mirco, the Australian punter who Ohio State landed this week, Vassett is a member of ProKick Australia, a punting academy based in Australia that helps set up colleges with the top punters down under. Vassett got a shoutout from Mirco after announcing his decision. 

Commitments from both Gravely Jr. and Vassett this past week keep Michigan State's recruiting momentum going under Tucker.

Iowa nabs top Nebraska prospect

Last week, Iowa landed a total of three commitments, including its top-ranked player in David Davidkov and jumped up to the sixth-ranked class in the country.

The Hawkeyes kept rolling this week by landing three-star athlete Keegan Johnson from Bellevue West (Neb.) High School. Johnson is a Nebraska legacy and held an offer from the Cornhuskers. Instead, he decided to take his talents east and play his college ball for Kirk Ferentz in Iowa City.

As a player, Johnson is a long and lean athlete that could play a variety of positions in college but seems destined to line up at wide receiver for the Hawkeyes. He joins three-stars Brady Brecht and Arland Bruce IV as possible pass catchers for Iowa in the 2021 class.

With his 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame, Johnson is a good balance between the larger Brecht and shorter, shifter Bruce.

However, it wasn't all sunshine and roses for the Hawkeyes on the recruiting trail as three-star cornerback Jordan Oladokun decommitted. It seems likely that Oladokun's decommitment stemmed from his desire to take visits once they open back up, and Ferentz has long held a no-visit policy for his commits.

Gophers grab top-20 RB

Minnesota landed a commitment on Saturday from four-star running back Mar'Keise Irving, the No. 18-ranked running back in the country in 2021 out of Illinois. 

Irving, who is near the top 300 nationally and is ranked No. 6 in Illinois, is a 5-foot-10, 175-pound back who rushed for 1,733 yards and 22 touchdowns, and he added 405 yards receiving and four touchdown receptions.

Minnesota also landed its third commitment from Texas in the 2021 class last week, giving the Gophers more Texans than Minnesota natives in the 2021 class. This week, Minnesota landed a commitment from three-star safety Darius Green from Newton (Ga.) High School.

Green is a prototypical safety prospect with his 6-foot, 190-pound frame that will be a chess piece in the secondary for the Gophers. His commitment also gives Minnesota its second Peach State prospect in 2021, which is the same number of players that they have committed from Minnesota so far. 

P.J. Fleck continues to recruit on a national level to go along with his top 10 nationally ranked recruiting class.

Penn State picks up another receiver

After landing its quarterback of the future last week, Penn State picked up someone for him to throw to this week. Three-star athlete Lonnie White Jr. committed to Penn State on Thursday and gives the Nittany Lions their third commitment from Pennsylvania.

While White is listed as an athlete by ranking services, he projects as a wide receiver for James Franklin. He attends Malvern Prep, which is a little less than three hours from Happy Valley.

White has a lengthy 6-foot-2 frame that should make a nice target for Penn State's future quarterbacks.

Wolverines go back to Chicago area

Early Saturday afternoon, the Michigan Wolverines landed another linebacker in their 2021 class.

Three-star outside linebacker Tyler McLaurin has been considered a Michigan lean for a while now, and it all came to fruition this week. McLaurin attends Bolingbrook (Ill.) High School in Chicago, which also produced current Ohio State middle linebacker Tuf Borland.

McLaurin is the Wolverines’ second player from Illinois, joining five-star quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The Chicagoland area has been a place that Michigan has found success in with recent recruiting classes, and those connections helped them land McLaurin.

With his length and size, McLaurin should be a good complement to Michigan's middle linebacker commit Casey Phinney.

Three Top 100 players commit

On Tuesday afternoon, five-star all-purpose back and former Ohio State target Will Shipley committed to Clemson. A North Carolina native, Shipley decided to take his talents just a little further south to South Carolina.

Shipley projects best in the role that the Tigers currently use star running back Travis Etienne for. After losing the country's top-ranked player in defensive end Korey Foreman, Shipley becomes the Tigers' lone five-star commit in 2021.

On Friday afternoon, Alabama picked up a commitment from one of the country's best wide receivers. Four-star Jacorey Brooks is a top-50 player and the third-ranked wide receiver in the country. In last month’s NFL Draft, Alabama had two receivers go in the first round, and if Brooks develops properly, then he could be the Tide's next prospect turned draft pick.

Later on Friday, the top prospect in the state of Arizona, Saguaro High School offensive tackle Bram Walden, pledged his services to Oregon.

Walden becomes Oregon's top-ranked prospect in the class and a key recruiting win in landing one of the top prospects out west. Similar to Alabama's receiver development, Oregon is very good at grooming offensive linemen. The Ducks' star left tackle Penei Sewell looks like a lock to be a top-five pick in the 2021 draft, and if all goes well for Oregon, Walden can take over for Sewell once he leaves.

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