Is anyone else longing for a football Saturday or even a fall camp interview? This offseason has felt like a decade, especially if you’re a Michigan State fan. It’s been an eventful offseason in East Lansing, starting with a coaching change, followed by plenty of attrition, and then followed by some up-and-down luck on the recruiting trail.
Oh, and sprinkle in both the athletic director and school president leaving for what some might call lateral jobs. That last part just capped off one of the toughest stretches of Michigan State fandom in two decades — hopefully.
The last time we all really felt good about both was in 2021 and that was the last time the football program had a pulse.
Mel Tucker had the program humming after an 11-2 season which was capped off with a Peach Bowl win over Pat Narduzzi and Pitt. Excitement was at an all-time high after that season and Tucker was being aggressive with who he targeted on the recruiting trail. He was going after five-stars regularly and he had fans really believing that he was going to land some of them.
One such five-star target who we were bamboozled into thinking would become a Spartan when he finally committed was defensive lineman David Stone from Del City, Okla.
Stone would call Michigan State “home” and he was always posting pictures of him wearing Michigan State stuff. He eventually chose Oklahoma after what he called a tough decision and now he’s the No. 1-rated defensive lineman in the new EA Sports College Football 27 video game because of course he is.
💪 Oregon, Ole Miss, Indiana each with two DTs in the Top 10
— College Football 27 (@EASPORTSCollege) June 25, 2026
Which school has the best defensive line in the country? #CFB27 pic.twitter.com/CRS4Nvz1gJ
It feels like those “what if” recruits or former players from the Tucker and Jonathan Smith eras have all become superstars after leaving Michigan State.
Stone is just the latest.
The recent Michigan State football “what if” list is long
Michigan State football fans have essentially seen every major transfer or missed top target go on to become a star or superstar wherever they ended up.
Stone is a prime example, but so are guys like Keon Coleman, Germie Bernard, Derrick Harmon, Sam Leavitt, Katin Houser, and countless top recruits who had Michigan State among their finalists before committing to a different program that could offer more stability.
The list of “what if” players is long and Stone has to be considered an all-timer. He loved East Lansing and Tucker and the fanbase treated him like a Spartan already. I’m sure he believes his decision, in hindsight, to pick Oklahoma was a no-brainer. At the time, Michigan State had a real shot and Tucker had Spartan fans believing. What a time it was to be alive.
Let’s have a fun football program again, eh?
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