Max Bullough had his first real swing-and-miss on Monday as an upcoming Michigan State official visitor committed elsewhere before seeing East Lansing.
Michigan State offered three-star linebacker Rome Ewell on May 4 and he immediately locked in an official visit with the new staff for June 19. He would be kicking off his official visit schedule at Houston before then making his way to Louisville or Kansas State (247Sports has both listed for June 5) and then Iowa State.
The Spartans were supposed to follow those three trips.
Unfortunately, the productive linebacker from Springtown, Texas, decided to stay “home” and commit to Houston shortly after his weekend visit.
IM HOME!!!!! #committed #C365⭕️ @CoachJ_O @CoachC_Osunde @CoachWEFritz @wesley_fritz @CoachAArmstrong @CoachShawnBell @UHCougarFB pic.twitter.com/Sf7C4ArLa0
— Rome Ewell (@Rome_Ewell) June 1, 2026
The loss of Ewell isn’t going to make or break the 2027 class, but it would have been nice to get a rising linebacker from SEC country who Michigan State got in early enough on. The only Power Four offers he had before receiving the Michigan State one were Houston, Iowa State, Kansas State, Louisville, Boston College, and Arizona State.
He was clearly garnering Power Four interest, especially in the Big 12 and ACC, but he decided to keep his talents close to home, committing to Houston which is a 4.5-hour drive from Springtown.
Ewell is ranked the No. 1,028 recruit and No. 91 linebacker in the 2027 class by 247Sports.
There will be other linebackers that Bullough and Joe Rossi can focus on in the 2027 class.
Max Bullough won’t have trouble landing linebackers
If there’s one thing that Bullough isn’t going to struggle at, it’s going to be recruiting top linebacker talent. Ewell was a late addition to the 2027 class big board so it probably wasn’t going to be likely to beat out the Big 12 and ACC teams who already offered.
The Spartans may have just hosted a four-star linebacker who’s committed elsewhere over the weekend and they’ll also be hosting three-star Missouri commit Caleb Green on June 19.
On top of those guys, Michigan State is also in the mix for three-stars Henry Sakalas, Bryce Breeden, and Matthew Brady. Gideon Gash is listed as a linebacker on 247Sports, but he projects as a defensive back at the next level. He’s obviously Michigan State’s top priority.
The Spartans will have plenty of options and I’d assume that the board of targets expands before signing day makes things official. We also can’t forget that room is being left open for transfers.
Linebackers are not a concern in East Lansing.
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