Four years ago, Nick Marsh was on campus for the best game of the Mel Tucker era.
The blue-chip in-state receiver was visiting Michigan State unofficially for the Michigan game and he got to witness the Spartans storm back from down 16 to beat Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines 37-33 in East Lansing where Kenneth Walker III scored five touchdowns. It should've been his Heisman moment, but we won't get into that.
Marsh got to take in one heck of an atmosphere in East Lansing, and the offense was explosive which had to sell the young receiver on a potential commitment.
As Michigan State completed the comeback against the Wolverines in one of the best home games of the past decade, Marsh came to an important realization: he wanted to be a Spartan.
The sophomore wideout told the media that he knew that day that he wanted to be a Spartan.
Marsh says the first time he truly felt like a Spartan:
— SpartanMag.com (@TheSpartanMag) August 18, 2025
“2021 vs that school down the road.”
Says he knew he wanted to be a Spartan since that day. Wants to get the team back to that level.
Honestly, this game probably won over a lot of recruits. Michigan State hosted Michigan in one of the best games of the season and it had the feel of a Big Ten title game or playoff matchup. The Spartans came from behind to pull off the win, earning the right to hoist the Paul Bunyan Trophy.
It was Michigan State's second straight win over Michigan under Tucker.
While Marsh did commit to Tucker before he was let go as head coach of Michigan State, he decided to give the new staff a legit chance to win him over, and they did. That win over Michigan made him want to become a Spartan and the new staff selling him on returning to glory made him want to re-commit to the program.
Now Marsh wants to help Michigan State get back to that level. This is a leader.