Michigan State’s record may not be doing much to sell the season, but the Spartans are still making noise where it counts with recruiting. The latest sign: top-100 2027 athlete Gideon Gash is hanging around East Lansing again, and that keeps the door cracked on a possible flip from Texas Tech.
Gash, ranked No. 58 nationally, committed to the Red Raiders over the summer. Even so, Michigan State has stayed involved, and the Spartans were always going to have a real shot because of the family connection.
Samson Gash is already in the program, and his older brother, Caleb Gash, is on the team too. There had been chatter that Samson and Gideon could have been a package deal, with the brothers separated by just a year.
Samson was one of the top receivers in the 2026 class, but as a true freshman he’s been stuck behind veteran wideouts and transfers on the depth chart. He has seen action mostly on special teams, and he also delivered a major play that was controversially overturned in front of his brothers.
Gideon was in East Lansing again this past weekend, this time with his Detroit Catholic Central teammates. Corey Robinson noted that the 2027 top-100 athlete and his teammates were on hand for the game to see Samson’s play.
A school trip changes the feel of a visit a little, but it also fits neatly with Michigan State’s approach. Catholic Central is one of the top high school programs in Michigan and has a steady track record of producing Division 1 talent, so building a pipeline there makes plenty of sense. It also gives the Spartans a chance to extend the relationship beyond Gash himself and get in front of some of his teammates, too.
The visit by itself doesn’t guarantee anything, but the fact that Gash was back on campus for a second time in six weeks is a positive sign for Michigan State.
The bigger picture for the Spartans is that the recruiting operation looks different now under Pat Fitzgerald. Not long ago, when the team was struggling, the recruiting side felt flat. There weren’t many late-season wins, no real surprise flips to track, and the whole thing looked like it had lost some juice.
That has changed under Fitzgerald.
He’s trying to rebuild a culture centered on accountability and toughness, with winning supposed to follow. That kind of reset has been missing for about six years, with only the 2021 Peach Bowl season standing out from the stretch of decline that came after Mark Dantonio’s retirement - and even the final two years before that.
Now the program feels like it’s moving back toward the identity it had in its best days under Dantonio, and recruits are starting to respond to that message. Michigan State is still working through a rebuilding year, but some prospects are clearly willing to give Fitzgerald the benefit of the doubt.
In Other News...
Mel Tuckers Northwestern Return Comes At A Big Moment For MSU
Mel Tucker is leaning on a familiar lesson as Michigan State continues its rebuild: a football program works best when everyone pulling in the same direction is actually pulling in the same direction. He pointed back to his time at Northwestern as an example of how important alignment is across the university leadership structure, and he framed that idea as part of the bigger job in front of him while the Spartans keep preparing for another important stretch.
Northwestern now brings a personal wrinkle, too. Tucker is set to face his former team and defensive coordinator David Braun, a matchup that adds a little extra weight to a game already carrying meaning for Michigan State. Tucker said he takes pride in what he was part of at Northwestern, but his attention remains on getting the Spartans where they need to go. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Showed Something Fans Desperately Needed To See
For a Michigan State program that has spent too much time searching for signs of life, Saturday offered a little of everything the fan base has been waiting to see. The Spartans dug out of a 16-point second-half hole against Illinois, with Alessio Milivojevic delivering one of the cleanest outings of his young tenure, completing 22 of 26 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns. The offense had a better rhythm once the game tightened, and Nick Sheridans play-calling helped Michigan State find answers when it needed them most.
Still, the ending left the sort of sting that tends to linger, because the comeback only got the Spartans as far as overtime. After trading blows with Illinois into the extra session, Michigan State came up just short in a 38-37 loss when a two-point try failed, leaving plenty to sort through even as the team can point to real progress. Pat Fitzgeralds visible passion on the sideline matched the urgency of the moment, and for once the Spartans could at least take something concrete from the performance even if the final result refused to cooperate. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan States Most Puzzling Illinois Usage Change Came In A Huge Spot
Michigan States 38-37 overtime loss to Illinois was already going to be remembered for its late swings, but the personnel choices inside the game were just as eye-catching. With injuries thinning out the secondary and linebacker group, the Spartans had to shuffle roles on the fly, and that meant leaning on true freshman cornerbacks in important spots while sorting through a defense that was short-handed in the middle of the field.
Offensively, one of the stranger wrinkles came with tight end Carson Gulker, who actually lined up at quarterback and completed a pass, a small but telling sign of how much Michigan State was willing to dig into its bag. At the same time, running back Marvis Parrish, listed as the second back, saw limited involvement, leaving another subtle usage question hanging over a game the Spartans had every chance to steal. [Read more 🡒]