National signing day has passed and the Spartans may have secured one of their most talented classes rankings-wise in recent memory.

Head coach Mark Dantonio and his staff have gone around the country to sign one of the most geographically diverse classes in a long time, following wins in the Cotton Bowl and Rose Bowl the past two seasons.

Dantonio has developed two-star recruits into NFL players, such as Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Darqueze Dennard and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell. MSU’s No. 22-ranked recruiting class features mostly three-star or higher recruits. The development of lower ranked recruits is encouraging to their highly ranked successors.

The work Dantonio has done in East Lansing has garnered MSU attention in states where the team previously didn’t have much of a presence. Of MSU’s 22 commits, six are from Michigan and five are from Ohio. The other 11 are from all over the country.

“It was an outstanding day for Michigan State and it speaks to the future that continues to be built here and the direction that this program is going,” Dantonio said.

This recruiting class features three players from the State of Texas: cornerback Josh Butler, offensive lineman Tyler Higby and wide receiver Darrell Stewart Jr. Before this class MSU had only received a commitment from one player from Texas during the last 10 years. This was current Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, who later transferred to Arizona.

Since 2005 the Spartans have only received commitments from three players coming out of Arizona — two in 2005 and one in 2007. This year’s class features quarterback Brian Lewerke and defensive end Cassius Peat, two players from Arizona.

The remaining six recruits come from six different states: Virginia, Florida, Utah, California, Kentucky and Illinois. As MSU continues to build its brand look for the team to continue building its presence in states that were previously untapped by the Spartans, finishing as the No. 3 overall team in the country in 2013 and No. 5 in 2014 has given the team reach across the country.

“We have got guys from Texas, Arizona, Michigan certainly, Ohio, Virginia, Florida, Illinois, Utah. We have more of a national brand this year maybe than we have in the past, because of our winning,” Dantonio said. “I think nationally in terms of what we have been able to do, we have been able to capitalize on that in recruiting and build a base, not just as a football team in the Midwest and the Big Ten but a little bit more of a national base.”