Michigan State may have missed out on several receiver targets in the 2027 class, but the latest wideout pledge has just jumped into the recruiting rankings.
Courtney Hawkins is one of the best receivers coaches in the business and he always has a good chance to land his top targets. Althought he Spartans aren’t going to come away with guys like Dakota Guerrant, Ronnie Gomiller, Arnold Mugerwa, Isaiah Alvarez, or Maliek Brown, it may be due to the fact that there were only limited spots in the class for receivers.
Hawkins has had to be pretty selective, and he landed a wideout he really liked in the 2027 class right after his official visit a week ago.
Zach Forbish, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound receiver from Texas, committed to Michigan State over Pitt and Wisconsin right after a June 5 official visit. He chose the Spartans after clearly making them a priority by scheduling no other officials and committing on the final day of his visit.
At the time of his commitment, Forbish was an unranked recruit which was rather surprising given the fact that he was the top receiver for one of the best teams in the talent-rich state of Texas. In fact, he led Frisco Lone Star to the state title game last season after catching 41 passes for 820 yards and 12 touchdowns. He deserved a solid ranking.
Well, he finally got it.
Just this week, the track and football star picked up his first recruiting ranking on 247Sports, and it was actually rather respectable. He’s now the No. 877 recruit and No. 107 receiver in the class. Not too bad for being unranked a week ago. There’s still a long way to climb if he wants to sniff four-star status, but I don’t think his rise in the rankings is done yet.
Courtney Hawkins deserves better
I really like the Forbish commitment, but what I have been surprised and disappointed about has been the slew of receiver targets that have all committed elsewhere or canceled Michigan State visits. The handful of receivers mentioned above (Guerrant, Alvarez, Gomiller, Brown, Mugerwa) were all top targets of Hawkins’ not long ago, but they all said “no thanks” to being coached by one of the best in the business.
And I know Hawkins is a good recruiter because I’ve seen who he can land and develop. He’s picked up commitments from guys like Germie Bernard, Keon Coleman, and Nick Marsh and he’s turned Jalen Nailor, Jayden Reed, and the above trio of transfers into NFL-caliber receivers.
Hawkins has an impressive resume, but it’s about time elite receiver recruits begin acknowledging that and picking Michigan State. It’s going to take a program “rebirth” for that to happen, though. He has been a bit limited due to the poor offenses that Michigan State has spit out over the past five years, or so, as well as the fact that the Spartans haven’t made a bowl since 2021.
As good of a recruiter and coach that he is, it’s nearly impossible to sell hope and an NFL future to receivers when the program has been in the gutter for years.
I expect that to change in 2028 and beyond.
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