Sparty and the MSU football team run on the field prior to the Green and White Spring Game on April 25, 2015, at Spartan Stadium. The white team defeated the green team, 9-3.
On Jan. 15, the eight MSU recruits who enrolled early for the 2016 spring semester began their classes and attended Mark Dantonio's season recap press conference to be formally introduced. The recruits listed below are not enrolled early, but plan to be impactful freshmen for Dantonio, who possibly reeled in his best recruiting class since his first season at MSU in 2007.
Auston Robertson
Robertson is the top-rated recruit coming to East Lansing next year, according to espn.com, and holds the third-highest rating of all athletes in Indiana on 247sports.com. Robertson is a defensive end who will likely compete for a starting spot next season on the defensive line. Robertson is 6-foot-4, weighs 266 pounds and brings the physicality that MSU defensive lines have exhibited in past seasons under Dantonio. He is versatile enough to shift into the defensive tackle position, which could shift Malik McDowell, who is of similar build, to rush from the outside in certain packages.
Demetric Vance
The safety out of Cass Technical High School in Detroit should make an immediate impact. He is listed as only a three-star recruit, but could develop into an excellent safety for the Spartans. He recorded two tackles in the U.S. Army All-American game Jan. 9, and paired with hard-hitting safety Kenney Lyke, MSU might have found their future back line of defense.
Josh King
The defensive end opposite of Demetrius Cooper is wide open and King, a four-star recruit and the top-rated prospect in the state of Illinois, might fill that role. King towers at 6-foot-6 and 233 pounds, and turned in a solid senior season at Hinsdale South High School. King finished with only one tackle in the U.S. Army All-American game, but it was for a loss, and he was a disruptive force in the downs he played.
Justin Layne
Layne, along with receiver commits Cameron Chambers and Donnie Corley, will come to East Lansing and are expected to help fill the gaping hole at the position with the departures of Aaron Burbridge and Macgarrett Kings Jr. Layne, the top-rated wide receiver in the state of Ohio, committed to MSU on April 25, but will be taking his first official visit to the school on the banks of the Red Cedar on Jan 22. He stands at 6-foot-3, but weighs only 180 pounds, and will be in fierce competition with Corley and Chambers for playing time as a freshman.
Naquan Jones
Jones is another defensive line recruit coming to East Lansing, but the first of them to be a defensive tackle. He will look to fill in the rotation of tackles between McDowell and Craig Evans, and was the No. 2 rated prospect in the state of Illinois behind King, who will also be wearing green in the spring. Jones is a 6-foot-4, 283-pound force in the interior of the defensive line, and despite reopening his recruitment at one point, remains a MSU commit.
Brandon Randle
Randle was the No. 11 ranked recruit in the state of Michigan, and hopes to step in with fellow linebacker commit Joe Bachie and make an immediate impact, primarily on special teams to start. The 6-foot-2, 217-pound outside linebacker recorded one tackle and one pass breakup in the U.S. Army All-American game, which hosted five Spartan recruits.
Matt Allen
Matt Allen is the youngest of the three Allen brothers to attend MSU, and while he might not be an All-American like his brother Jack just yet, don’t doubt his ability. The center is expected to compete for the starting role at that position on the offensive line, and was a stone wall on the offensive line for his high school in Illinois. He will be playing alongside his other brother, Brian Allen, as the Spartans try to fill the holes left by seniors Jack Allen and Donavon Clark, as well as early departure Jack Conklin, who jumped to the NFL draft after his junior season.
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