Michigan State Football: Losing Andrel Anthony is massive gut-punch

Losing out on three-star wide receiver Andrel Anthony to Michigan on Friday was a massive punch to Michigan State football’s gut.

For weeks, it looked like Andrel Anthony was Michigan State bound and Mel Tucker was about to secure his biggest recruiting win since taking over back in February.

And then a last-minute trip to Ann Arbor a week before his commitment was the game-changer. What happened on that unofficial visit with his family is unknown, but he liked what he saw enough to go from a Michigan State lean to wide open yet again. Michigan was back in the mix as Jim Harbaugh was putting on the full-court press.

It seemed like an interesting turn of events because Michigan State doesn’t have a single receiver committed in 2021 while Michigan has three who are all rated higher than him.

Was this a Harbaugh flex, showing Tucker that he currently owns the in-state recruiting by proving it with a last-minute flip? It seems that way, but Anthony could still be a solid slot receiver for the Wolverines and he would have been Michigan State’s highest-rated commit.

This was just the latest gut-punch for the new coaching staff in terms of in-state recruiting. A one-time favorite to land Anthony as well as Jamari Buddin and some even thought Jaylen Reed was high on the Spartans, Michigan State has to get back to the drawing board. Recruiting isn’t going to be easy until the team can prove worthy with results on the field.

Unfortunately, the program is back in a pre-Mark Dantonio state where it’ll have to prove itself all over again and Anthony’s commitment to Michigan is proof of that.