When you think of spring ball, you don’t exactly think of recruiting, but that’s a huge component of March and April football. It’s especially important for Pat Fitzgerald and Michigan State as they begin their rebuild after four years of bowl-less Spartan football.
Michigan State needs to have a strong spring on the field obviously, but recruiting is important considering it’s going to help build momentum for the program.
What’s even more important for Fitzgerald is focusing on in-state recruiting, then the Midwest. He’s trying to follow Mark Dantonio’s blueprint, it seems, and he’s really honing in on the Midwest.
Fitzgerald also knows how important in-state recruiting is. He’s locking in new visits over the next month seemingly every day, and the Spartans just got another massive one scheduled with one of the top 2028 prospects in the country.
Antijuan Wilkes Jr., the No. 91 overall recruit in the 2028 class, just announced that he’s taking a visit to East Lansing on March 28 to kick off his mini spring tour. He’ll be at Michigan a few days later, and then Ohio State four days after that. Clearly this is going to be a massive Big Ten battle.
@AllenTrieu @CoachDaws_ @CoachRush_CTFB pic.twitter.com/fmoDuAXaVv
— Antijuan Dishun Wilkes jr (@AntijuanDishun) March 26, 2026
Fitzgerald has his work cut out for him if he’s going to land the Cass Tech star, but there’s a long way to go in his recruitment. The Spartans are barely even started on their 2027 class but Fitzgerald is clearly making Wilkes a priority, and rightfully so.
Pat Fitzgerald continues to address the offensive line
The one position group that I feel like I can trust Fitzgerald with the most (outside of linebackers) is the offensive line. He’s been addressing the offensive line in the transfer portal and he’s landed some offensive line help in the 2027 class already and is looking to get started on 2028.
Nick Tabacca has a good starting point with the offensive line he has in his first season as the offensive line coach, but we’ll see if these guys can stay healthy because that feels like it’s always the issue. There are some good pieces in place and if we can see some improvement in the trenches in 2026, we’re going to see guys like Wilkes commit to Michigan State.