Pat Fitzgerald received his first 2027 commit as Michigan State football coach. This was actually one of his first high school commits as a Spartan head coach, but he did add a few guys to his 2026 class back in December. He'd still like to add Samson Gash, too.
Before we get too ahead of ourselves here, Michigan State landed unranked running back Savior Owens from Massillon, Ohio. That's important because Ohio is a key battleground state for Michigan State recruiting, and it's good to see that Fitzgerald is already focusing on that.
Maybe he got a chance to pick Mark Dantonio's brain.
I'm not sure how he'd have time to do much of anything outside of football, though. Outside of meeting with all of his players to construct his 2026 roster, he's had to recruit via the portal, he signed a 2026 class, and he's already focusing on the 2027 group. He's been non-stop working and recruiting.
Owens chose Michigan State over Wisconsin, and he was one of those lightly-recruited prospects that usually excelled during the Dantonio era.
It turns out Fitzgerald saw the vision even before the recruiting services.
Savior Owns gets first 2027 recruit ranking
Less than 24 hours after committing to Michigan State, the previously-unranked running back got his first ever recruit ranking.
According to the update to his 247Sports profile, Owens is the No. 722 recruit in the country as well as the nation's 59th-best running back in 2027. Underrated recruits from the state of Ohio have had a ton of success in East Lansing, even at the running back position specifically. Le'Veon Bell was essentially a two-star prospect, but then became the NFL's best running back for a year or two.
We'll just have to hope that Owens is cut from the same cloth, but it does feel like Fitzgerald knows the importance of recruiting Ohio and the rest of the immediate Midwest because that's how Dantonio found a ton of success at Michigan State.
Landing guys from Michigan and Ohio who were overlooked by the Wolverines and Buckeyes has paid off for Michigan State in the past. Will history repeat itself?
We're about to find out in about seven months.