Who here loves New Year's resolutions? I know I do—at least through January, then not so much after that. How about Michigan State New Year's resolutions? There's nothing better than shooting for the stars and setting goals that require almost a whole year of commitment, so why not do the same for our favorite collegiate sports teams?
Let's set some goals for a few different Michigan State programs.
I try to be mostly realistic here, but the point is to see some positive things come from MSU sports, some that we may not have seen in a long time, starting on the football field and the basketball court.
5. Improvements in recruiting
One of the main concerns for Michigan State football is the state of recruiting, specifically from the high school ranks. I understand that high school recruiting is becoming less important as the years go by due to the increased usage of the transfer portal, however, picking up these higher-end high school kids is still important to lay your foundation so long as you are getting kids that want to play for you and are satisfied NIL-wise.
No, I'm not a fan of that being the case, but that's just how it is now. Regardless, it looks like both the football and basketball teams could reel in some better classes. Starting with the 2026 class would be ideal, that way we can start getting some more instant-impact freshmen like Nick Marsh and Jase Richardson more often, as they both were key to their teams' success.
Since 2020, the average MSU basketball recruiting class rank according to 247Sports is 26th nationally. That's not necessarily bad, but it's been fairly inconsistent, ranging from the No. 4 class in 2023 to the No. 51 class in 2020.
On the football side of things, there is a lot more improvement to be desired. The average class rank since 2020 is 39th nationally, and these are primarily due to the classes Mel Tucker brought in during his time in East Lansing. In order to compete with the best in the conference, this program needs stronger classes.