Michigan State football makes cut for elite 4-star DL Luke Montgomery

Mel Tucker is trying his best. to make up ground after years of lackluster seasons since 2017.

Heck, even 2016 was a massive disappointment, but Mark Dantonio quickly turned things back in the right direction in 2017 with a 10-win season but things went right back to mediocrity in 2018 and 2019 because of lifeless offenses and poor recruiting.

In a short period of time, Tucker has turned the roster on its head and he’s made it his own, for the most part, by taking advantage of the transfer portal.

And soon, recruiting should pick up.

Tucker’s first recruiting class was ranked No. 44 which was expected due to the pandemic not allowing him meet anyone face-to-face and the fact that he was hired late. His second class is hovering around the 25-30 range and he’s starting to flex his recruiting muscle. The 2023 class could end up being his best and he’s making serious progress with some of the nation’s top prospects.

One of those top recruits is four-star 2023 defensive lineman Luke Montgomery who was in East Lansing last weekend and just released his top 12 on Tuesday. And yes, he included the Spartans.

Montgomery clearly liked what he saw from Michigan State and Tucker over the weekend, including the Spartans on a loaded list that includes South Carolina, Oklahoma, Stanford, Ohio State, Tennessee, Penn State, Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, Georgia, and Michigan.

Not too shabby.

Tucker will have his work cut out if he wants to steal the No. 53 recruit in the 2023 class from his home-state Buckeyes.

Tucker hoping to kickstart Michigan State football’s 2023 class

Michigan State’s 2022 class is growing by the week and after adding seven commitments in the month of June, Tucker has to start focusing his efforts on kicking off the 2023 class.

A big relief came when Michigan State landed its quarterback in the 2022 class, flipping four-star Katin Houser from Boise State, so that may help the staff really dive into the final stages as well as the 2023 cycle.

Getting these kids on campus early is a good sign and Montgomery would be a huge get if the Spartans are able to turn him green.

Whoever kicks off the 2023 class for Michigan State will have to be OK with being the leader and peer recruiter of the group.