Michigan State football made up serious ground with 4-star DB Jaden Mangham

For about two months, it looked like Michigan State football’s chances with four-star defensive back Jaden Mangham were dwindling.

West Virginia did a great job with Mangham, becoming the presumed favorite to land him after it looked like Michigan State was in a good spot. The Mountaineers were essentially considered “locks” with crystal balls flooding in for Mangham and the coaching staff tweeting “let’s go!” which is their bat signal when they land a recruit.

Mangham had a commitment date of Aug. 1 set and he scheduled one final visit to East Lansing for the first annual Spartan Dawg Con event hosted by Mel Tucker on July 31.

It seemed like too little, too late.

The four-star athlete was just giving his home-state program one final shot out of courtesy, but the event seemed to have legitimately made an impression on him, enough to have him second-guessing his final choice.

Mangham was supposed to announce on Aug. 1 but he said that his air conditioning and internet went out so he had to postpone. Could this have had something to do with being torn between West Virginia and Michigan State? Potentially, but the visit to East Lansing clearly had a major impression on him even if his AC and internet did cause problems with his scheduled commitment.

Michigan State is right back in the mix and there are some plugged-in guys who believe the Spartans have become the team to beat.

This would be quite the recruiting victory for Tucker and Co.

Mangham would make three straight four-star commits

Michigan State just landed Antonio Gates Jr. last week and then followed that up with four-star defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren to kick off the weekend.

After landing just one four-star (Katin Houser) through the first half of the cycle, Tucker is on the verge of picking up three straight in July/August. That would truly inject more hope into the fanbase. After being jokingly dubbed “3-star U” by rival fans and even some pessimistic MSU faithful, three straight four-star commits would change the narrative.

Mangham is ranked the No. 285 overall prospect in the class and Michigan’s No. 7 recruit, according to the composite.

Hopefully we hear a decision sometime soon, possibly on Monday. Will the made-up ground end in a Michigan State pledge? The momentum says it’s highly possible.