All signs are pointing to Michigan State football missing out on four-star Haslett, Mich., running back Kory Amachree who is announcing his college decision on Friday, May 23.
About a week ago, when Amachree announced his top six, it looked like Michigan State was in the driver's seat. The Spartans received a crystal ball to land him on 247Sports and the top six was fairly beatable for Jonathan Smith and Co. However, the tides have seemingly turned and Kansas has taken the lead in the recruitment with about 48 hours to go.
That has led to Smith making some alternative plans in the scenario that Amachree does, in fact, pick the Jayhawks on Friday. He is getting ahead of this, setting up a backup plan already.
On Wednesday, the Spartans reportedly offered three-star Toledo running back commit Michael Dukes who happens to also be an in-state kid from Martin Luther King High in Detroit.
While he's not the highest-rated recruit in the class, he's listed as the 94th-best running back and is a mid-three-star prospect, given an 85 rating by 247Sports (89 is usually a four-star).
Dukes holds 11 offers after receiving one from Michigan State and the Toledo commit (as of Feb. 19) is also high on Rutgers, according to 247Sports. Rutgers just offered him on May 10 and has already secured an official visit with the Scarlet Knights for May 30. This Michigan State offer should lead to an official visit for Smith and Co.
It's nice to see that Smith has a backup plan in place already, but losing a four-star from his own backyard has to hurt.