Tate Myre, 16, was one of four victims killed in the Nov. 30 shooting. He is recognized as a hero for bravely attempting to stop the shooter, ultimately sacrificing his own life. Michigan State decided to honor him on Wednesday, making him an honorary member of the class of 2022 with a Twitter post early in the day to make him the first signee.

Myre was a member of the Oxford football team playing both running back and linebacker. He had dreams of playing football at the next level and had just taken a visit to Toledo two days prior to the shooting.

“I thought it was important to reach out to the family and obviously offer our sincere condolences,” Tucker said. “We had some ideas on some things we wanted to do pertaining for the family and we ran it by them and they were okay with all those things. Today, recognizing him as the first signee, that was a part of some of the things we wanted to do for him.”

Tucker said that Myre was put on the team’s radar this fall when he attended a game between Oxford and West Bloomfield during MSU’s bye week.

“I remember he took off up the sideline and I said ‘Who the heck is that?’ and I wrote his name down,” Tucker said. “I brought it back and I gave it to (director of player personnel) Saeed (Khalif) and I said ‘We’re going to look into this guy. He’s a really good player. He took off running and no one could catch him.’”

Even as Tucker has put together one of the top recruiting classes in recent Michigan State history, it would not be the same without Myre, who can now boast the powerful motto of ‘Spartan Dawg for life.’

“A Spartan Dawg is defined not by the plays they make on the field, but by the character they exemplify, the leadership they bring to their team and to their community, and for extraordinary individuals like Tate Myre, their heroism,” Tucker said in the video. “Tate is and always will be a Spartan Dawg.”