OK, the floodgates are open now. The Spartans received their second commitment for 2015 from Michigan quarterback Jayru Campbell. This is another big time commit, since Campbell is likely to be a consensus 4-star recruit and since he had offers from places like Alabama and Notre Dame. Campbell already has good size for a QB (6'3"), but he probably will grow at least another inch or 2 by next year. Let's check out his video.
Campbell clearly keeps the Spartans moving towards very mobile quarterbacks. He doesn't appear to possess 4.3 speed, but he looks to be about as mobile as Tyler O'Connor and Damion Terry - both of whom are quite fast. Unfortunately, we're looking at highlights here, so we can't really get a sense of some important traits like how he reads defenses and handles pressure, but at least we can see that he has a strong arm and good accuracy on some deep passes. And again, we're talking about a sophomore here, who should develop a lot over the next 2 years.
Bottom line: I don't think MSU has ever recruited as much talent at quarterback as it has in the last 5 years. Campbell is another excellent prospect, who also happens to play for Cass Tech, a UM pipeline. Campbell's commitment could really get the ball rolling on Cass Tech becoming an MSU pipeline.
Update: it looks like Stallworth has not quite committed yet, so we may need to be patient and nervous for a while.
OK folks, I'm hesitant to write a post about a 2015 commit because recruiting is really starting to push some boundaries and because it feeds too much into a cult of anticipation, where we obsess about potential rather than enjoying the players that are actually performing today. It's human nature - we love the prodigy more than the fully realized genius. I do it too, so I'll go along with it, at least until the day high school sophomores start committing. At that point, I'll consider college football to be way too out of control for me to partake of it.
With that, the Spartans' first commitment of the 2015 class is a huge one. MSU received a commitment from Michigan offensive/defensive lineman Kyonta Stallworth, who looks set to become a consensus 4-star recruit and perhaps one of the top 3 recruits in the state of Michigan. His composite 247 score would make him the highest rated recruit in at least 2 years. He is currently listed at about 6'4" and around 265 lbs, and since he is just entering is junior year, he could still grow another inch or two (which would be solid for an offensive tackle). Let's look at some video.
Stallworth seems to have it all at a young age. When run blocking he shows very good power and an excellent ability to latch on to defenders, while in pass protection he shows pretty good feet and balance and a strong base. Honestly, the only quibbles I have are that I wish he was a little more explosive - but folks, we're talking about a sophomore so I'm pretty sure that in 3 years he'll have that part figured out - and I always worry about highly rated guys coasting on their laurels - we'll have to wait and see if he can avoid that pitfall.
Bottom line: this is a big time pick up for MSU, one which may end up rivaling the commitment of William Gholston, back in the day.
