Michigan State is hitting the recruiting trail hard this week as the team is on a much-needed bye (about two weeks too late) and the needs are beginning to pile up.
The 2027 class is coming to a close as we’re less than two months until signing day and the staff is trying to put the finishing touches on it while also looking ahead to 2028. That’s where running backs coach Devon Spalding has his attention as he’s made one of the best prospects in the 2028 class one of his top priorities.
Cartae Ligon was on campus for the Northwestern game and although the Spartans lost, he came away impressed with what he saw from Pat Fitzgerald and the program.
Most recruits have had positive things to say about Fitzgerald but the results have yet to come in the form of commitments, but the staff is working extra hard on Ligon given the need the Spartans are going to have at running back when Cam Edwards and Jaz Patterson graduate. In fact, Spalding was at Ligon’s high school this week to check in on him while the Spartans are on bye.
MSU RBs coach Devon Spalding visited this morning during the bye week: https://t.co/ME9RYbCCFV
— Jason Killop (@JasonKillop) October 28, 2026
Michigan State is aiming high with a rumored increasing budget for future rosters and Ligon has been locked into the crosshairs of Spalding and Fitzgerald.
This is great news for the future of Spartan football recruiting.
Ligon is ranked the No. 140 overall prospect and No. 11 running back in the 2028 class out of Ohio and the Spartans are ready to go to battle for his services.
Devon Spalding has had a nightmare of a debut season
Spalding’s first season as Michigan State’s running backs coach has been filled with trials and tribulations but that should be nothing new for anyone who has paid even a sliver of attention to the football program over the past few years.
Injuries have been piling up once again, but the running backs room has been hit especially hard.
Cam Edwards went down in the first month of the season after a promising start had fans believing that he would be the first 1,000-yard rusher since Kenneth Walker III.
Jaz Patterson stepped in to carry the load in the backfield and he played well before missing the UCLA game and now he’ll have an extra week to heal up before facing Michigan. The Spartans need him back for that one because the run game was missing in action against UCLA as Marvis Parrish — the team’s third option — also went down with an injury and didn’t come back.
Kenneth Williams fielded the workload which was surprising given the fact that Brandon Tullis was the team’s top returning rusher this year. And Jace Clarizio is apparently not even traveling with the team these days.
The running back room needs serious help.
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