Sunday was a big day for Michigan State football coach Pat Fitzgerald. He was about to learn his fate with one of the top in-state targets who also happens to be a legacy recruit.
Anthony Cartwright would be choosing between some big-time programs and Michigan State was hoping that the legacy card would win him over. Unfortunately, just because his dad played basketball in East Lansing a few decades ago doesn’t mean that he’s a Spartan lock or even a lean.
Michigan State already had a tight end committed in the 2027 class with Ryan Pankey picking the Spartans earlier in June after an official visit but the program that Cartwright committed to also had a tight end in the class.
That apparently didn’t matter as the four-star tight end from Franklin, Mich., committed to Oregon.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the biggest surprise as a crystal ball came in for the Ducks over the weekend, teasing who the favorite was heading into decision day. What Dan Lanning and Oregon could offer the 20th-best tight end in the class was more than what Fitzgerald and the Spartans could.
Cartwright also spurned LSU, Miami, and Michigan in the process.
Michigan State is running out of 2027 targets
Four-stars were definitely not expected for Fitzgerald in his first recruiting class at Michigan State, but some of the misses have been really disappointing.
Missing out on guys like Myles Smith, Gideon Gash, Ronnie Gomiller, and now Cartwright, among others, has been tough, especially since most of those targets are in-state guys. And yet all three in-state targets listed above chose to leave Michigan State’s backyard for greener pastures, in their minds.
Michigan State doesn’t have the luxury of being able to promise title contention thanks to the state that Jonathan Smith and Mel Tucker left it in. The Spartans haven’t made a bowl game since 2021 and Fitzgerald has been out of coaching for a minute, so the misses make sense.
There will come a point, however, when Fitzgerald will have to win some of these battles for some elite in-state targets. Getting Gash, Smith, and Cartwright leave the state after all three were high on Michigan State at one point stings. Fitzgerald will need to make up for these tough misses with a splash commitment from at least a couple of the top in-state guys for 2028 (looking at you, Antijuan Wilkes).
It feels like the remaining list of 2027 targets is dwindling by the day.
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