Michigan State football: Quavian Carter a product of Mel Tucker momentum

The recruiting dead period officially ended about two weeks ago and Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker has made his first splash commitment.

On Saturday afternoon in the middle of an official visit, three-star Georgia-based linebacker Quavian Carter committed to the Spartans, and it kind of caught everyone off guard. He was a relatively new name on the Spartans’ recruiting board for 2022 after receiving an offer in February, but he was sold on his official visit which could create a domino effect.

It’s pretty clear Tucker is trying to make Georgia and SEC country a priority.

In fact, as Colton Pouncy brought to light on Twitter, half of Michigan State’s six commitments in the 2022 class are from the state of Georgia. Carter joins three-star safety Malik Spencer and three-star offensive lineman Kristian Phillips as the other Georgia natives in MSU’s class.

Like the other two Georgia commits, Carter has plenty of size.

Although he’s listed as a safety by 247Sports, he was recruited by the Spartans as a linebacker and he stands 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds. He could actually fit that nickel position in MSU’s 4-2-5 defense as a linebacker/safety hybrid.

Mel Tucker showing off recruiting prowess

A casual Michigan State fan may look at this commitment and think “meh, three-star” but that’s not quite the case with Carter when you look at his list of offers.

He held offers from Michigan, Penn State, Florida State, Ole Miss, and Clemson. He was being recruited by some of the nation’s big boys and he even had an official scheduled for Ole Miss on June 25, but felt at home in East Lansing this weekend and pulled the trigger.

Tucker is showing that he can recruit at a high level, picking up a high three-star (ranked the No. 32 safety in the nation by 247Sports) from Georgia over some top programs, and this may be just the beginning.

We are only in the second weekend of official visits and Tucker is already impressing. The recruiting prowess is obvious and the momentum is building.