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Michigan State Recruiting: 10 priority 2017 football targets to watch for

By Connor Muldowney

Dec 5, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio celebrates after the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Conference football championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Michigan State won 16-13. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio celebrates after the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Conference football championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Michigan State won 16-13. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Connor Cook (18) drops back to pass against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the second quarter in the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Connor Cook (18) drops back to pass against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the second quarter in the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /

Michigan State has a long history of producing NFL-caliber quarterbacks under head coach Mark Dantonio. His first quarterback product was Brian Hoyer, then it was Kirk Cousins and it’s soon to be Connor Cook who will be drafted early in the 2016 NFL Draft — maybe even the first round.

With Messiah deWeaver coming in with the 2016 class, Brian Lewerke in the 2015 class and Damion Terry and Tyler O’Connor battling it out (with Lewerke) for the starting job for next season, the future is still very bright at the position.

The Spartans, like most college football programs, like to take at least one quarterback every recruiting cycle and Michigan State is looking at a pair of Georgia gunslingers. One is Bailey Hockman, the No. 68 player in the class, who doesn’t have a clear-cut favorite right now, and the other is Davis Mills.

Mills, reigning from Norcross, Georgia, could be the next great quarterback in East Lansing on a long list of them. If elite quarterback recruits want to commit to a school based on success of the current head coach in placing his guys in the NFL, they should look no further than Michigan State.

Davis Mills is ranked the No. 98 overall player and the fifth-best pro-style quarterback in the 2017 class, according to 247Sports‘ composite.

Next: 5. Antjuan Simmons, OLB

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