Official visits are right around the corner for Pat Fitzgerald and Michigan State and there are several key in-state visitors gearing up to take in East Lansing and get acclimated with the new staff.
Michigan State is in a good spot with several key in-state targets like Anthony Cartwright, Gideon Gash, and Drew Aagesen but a couple of other would-be visitors have seemingly fallen off the radar.
I wrote about Myles Smith taking Michigan State off his official visit schedule for an SEC program earlier this week which had to be a gut-punch for Fitzgerald and the staff. The top in-state EDGE was supposed to be in East Lansing for an official visit on May 29 but he instead flipped the Spartans with Oklahoma and now Michigan State is no longer hosting him.
Another supposed visitor is also probably no longer on Michigan State’s radar, especially since he just committed to the Spartans’ top rival.
Three-star athlete Lundon Hampton had been one of Michigan State’s top in-state targets since December under Jonathan Smith and the last coaching staff, and Fitzgerald kept him as a priority and scheduled an official visit with him for June 19. Unfortunately, he likely won’t be making that trip because he just committed to Michigan on Thursday.
Hampton is the No. 1,017 recruit in the 2027 class as well as the 82nd-best athlete on 247Sports and now he’s officially a Wolverine (commit). There’s obviously a long way until signing day so Fitzgerald could flip him, in theory, but seeing the way he pump-faked the Michigan State hat during his commitment ceremony probably left a sour taste in the Spartans’ mouths.
Hampton is a Grand Rapids, Mich., native and he could play either side of the ball. That will be a fun storyline to follow in the rivalry over the next few years.
Michigan State has to make an in-state splash in 2027
Winning key in-state recruiting battles is going to be huge for the future of the program under Fitzgerald and it’s going to start with the 2027 class.
Fitzgerald won a big battle at the end of the 2026 cycle by signing Samson Gash despite him receiving interest from Alabama, Penn State, Georgia, and West Virginia. Now, he’s going to have to battle to land his brother, a top-100 prospect, who’s being courted by Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech. Win that recruitment and he may see more dominoes fall.
I’m not exactly sure if Michigan State is “out” of the Myles Smith recruitment, but it sure seems that way. There’s still time to try and change his mind and make up some ground because he is one of the most talented players in the cycle, but I’m just going to assume the Spartans are out.
Anthony Cartwright would be another must-have recruit in the cycle. The four-star tight end is a legacy recruit but he’s also being pursued by some big-time programs like Miami, Oregon, and Michigan. He’ll be in East Lansing next weekend.
Picking up some under-the-radar guys like Don Spillers and Drew Aagesen will also be key.
Fitzgerald doesn’t need to knock it out of the park in the 2027 class, but if he can land 5-6 in-state targets and he’ll be in good shape heading into the 2028 cycle.
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