The final day of September ended up being a busy day for Michigan State as it made headlines for varying reasons.
Tom Izzo spoke to the media after one of his team’s final practices before Friday’s exhibition game against Incarnate Word and shared that he felt good about his recruiting class, and just hours later, he secured a commitment from four-star center Jaydn Jenkins from Pennsylvania. What great timing that was. Usually when a commitment feels imminent, it never is.
Jenkins is the No. 60 overall recruit in the class and now he joins five-star point guard Antonio Pemberton as the other Spartan pledge in 2027.
Is the class wrapped up for the Hall of Famer? It sure looks that way. Izzo landed both of his Grind Week visitors and there’s been talk that he could be looking at a two-man class. If that’s the case, I’d say he did pretty well with two top-60 guys and one of them (Pemberton) being a five-star.
Jenkins is going to be a bit of a project offensively, but he has a ton of potential and Izzo loves his lengthy, athletic, rim-running bigs who like to play defense. He’ll fit right in.
Izzo just doesn’t miss during Grind Week.
Cam Ward officially out for Incarnate Word
As was kind of expected, Izzo is going to hold Cam Ward out for the Incarnate Word scrimmage on Friday and while he didn’t elaborate, it’s believed to be a precautionary measure.
Ward suffered a sprained ankle last month and was seen in a walking boot during Grind Week. Fortunately, it’s nothing serious and this is one of those “why risk it?” situations. Michigan State isn’t going to need Ward to beat Incarnate Word in a game that doesn’t mean anything. There’s no need to rush him back to the court for a glorified scrimmage and risk further injury.
In Ward’s place will be redshirt sophomore Jesse McCulloch who has patiently been waiting for his opportunity to shine. He’ll get that opportunity against Incarnate Word as the starting power forward.
The McCulloch believers are feeling (maybe prematurely) vindicated right now.
Pat Fitzgerald jokes about PJ Fleck’s “gross” viral moment
PJ Fleck has always been kind of a weird guy, and his fellow Big Ten coaches are starting to realize that more and more. Pat Fitzgerald took note of “the grossest thing I’ve ever seen” after Minnesota’s upset win over Washington.
That “grossest thing” was Fleck wiping blood off of his own player’s face and smearing it on his own face. He’s right, it was nasty, but it went mega viral.
On his weekly radio show, Pat Fitzgerald said there’s no way he’s copying Minnesota coach PJ Fleck’s viral (gross?) blood wipe.
— Connor Earegood (@ConnorEaregood) September 30, 2026
“I’ll give blood but I ain’t touching blood,” he said. “That was the grossest thing I’ve ever seen.” pic.twitter.com/h4xiVgnLYM
Every single clip that surfaces of this man goes viral because he’s an absolute nutcase.
If “football guy” Fitzgerald would never do something that you did and thinks it’s “the grossest thing” he’s ever seen, you’re probably in the wrong and doing something very weird and gross.
Sorry for making you either watch the video again or for the first time. It’s something that really sticks with you. Thankfully Michigan State has a coach who is sane enough to avoid this odd new postgame ritual.
Add us as a preferred source on Google