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Michigan State Recruiting: Spartans inexplicably miss on 4-star DE Malik Vann

By Connor Muldowney

Nov 12, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio stands on the sidelines during the second half of a game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 12, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio stands on the sidelines during the second half of a game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michigan State recruiting seemed to be in a good spot with four-star defensive end Malik Vann, but inexplicably missed on him.

Just a couple of weeks after he was seen wearing green and white gloves at an event for The Opening and praising the Michigan State staff, four-star defensive end Malik Vann from Fairfield, Ohio, committed to Cincinnati.

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How does that happen? The Spartans were in great position for him and he had just revealed that his leader for some time (Notre Dame) had informed him that there was no room in their class for another player at his position. That automatically shot the Spartans back into the lead.

Josiah Scott, an early enrollee from Fairfield, was teammates with Vann last year and it seemed like he might be a major selling point for the Spartans. Vann came to the spring game on April 1 only to watch his good friend earn a potential starting cornerback spot in his first year. That could be motivation for him to join MSU and do the same next year.

However, that wasn’t the case. Vann shocked just about everyone by committing to Cincinnati and saying “thanks but no thanks” to programs like Michigan State, Alabama, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Moral of the story? Mark Dantonio and the staff need to do better. There’s no reason that they should miss on a guy who they had led for like this. Especially to a program in Cincinnati that’s not necessarily known for swiping recruits from the Spartans.

Related Story: MSU Recruiting: 5 bold predictions for April

This one hurts, there’s no way around it. Vann is going to be a stud at the next level and a future NFL Draft pick. Michigan State missed big time, but it’s time to move on to the next.

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