Michigan State football: 5 high-ceiling players who can raise the bar for Spartans

EAST LANSING – Michigan State football opened camp Thursday with plenty of job openings on both sides of the ball.

Mel Tucker and his staff continued to spend the offseason searching the portal for players, even as the Spartans lost some of their own big names to transfer, with Payton Thorne and Keon Coleman being the most obvious. But other departures such as Elijah Collins, Jeff Pietrowski, Jalen Hunt and Dashaun Mallory — holdover contributors during Tucker’s first three seasons who were part of Mark Dantonio’s final few recruiting classes — also open room for more new faces to become household names for MSU fans this fall.

And while many of Tucker’s recruits form the backbone of the team this fall, some have enough upside to help the Spartans surpass dampened external expectations coming off a 5-7, bowl-less season.

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“I think we’re gonna take this to the next level,” sophomore safety Dillon Tatum said after MSU’s first practice.

Here is a look at a few high-ceiling players who have the ability to raise the floor for how good the Spartans can be this season:

QB Katin Houser

Tucker’s first four-star quarterback signee, Houser got a brief baptism with six snaps against Akron as a true freshman to preserve his redshirt season last fall. First, the California native must endure what should end up being a two-man battle with fourth-year junior Noah Kim (though don’t sleep on true freshman Sam Leavitt). Regardless of whoever replaces departed two-year starter Thorne, the 6-foot-3, 213-pound Houser will get plenty of reps in practice and opportunities during games to show his strong arm, mobility, and leadership capabilities and live up to the program-changing hype coaches believe he possesses.

WR Antonio Gates Jr.

Gates is the closest MSU has to the freakish athletic ability of Coleman, who could blossom into a potential first-round pick at Florida State this fall. Yet the son of soon-to-be Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates also possesses more fluidity as a route-runner and owns more knowledge of the playbook than Coleman did his first two seasons. At 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, Gates also can run past defenders and find seams behind the secondary. Like Houser, there will be plenty of competition for Gates — some from classmates Jaron Glover and Tyrell Henry, some from one-time transfers Christian Fitzpatrick and Alante Brown. But with his pedigree, Gates will get ample chances to seize the open job with Tre Mosley and Montorie Foster.

RG Geno VanDeMark

While the 2022 class was deep in wide receivers and defensive backs, Tucker and his staff filled the 2021 group with offensive linemen — most of whom take time to physically develop as impact contributors compared to skill players. Brandon Baldwin, a junior college transfer, stepped in the final few games to replace Jarrett Horst at left tackle. Transfer tackle Keyshawn Blackstock arrives with expectations to produce like he did as a junior college All-American last fall. Ethan Boyd and Kevin Wigenton got reps on special teams. But it was VanDeMark, with his hulking frame, who took advantage of late-season injuries to veterans Matt Carrick and Brian Greene and helped generate some traction in MSU's languishing run game down the stretch. Continued strong blocking from VanDeMark, matched with left guard J.D. Duplain and center Nick Samac returning, could elevate MSU’s ability to run the ball between the tackles that had been glaringly absent for much of last fall.

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CB Caleb Coley/Dillon Tatum

MSU’s pass defense has been shaky at its best and putrid at its worst throughout Tucker’s tenure. Tatum and classmate Jaden Mangham became Tucker’s first two four-star defensive backs, both beginning last season at safety before Tatum shifted to cornerback and got the start at the end of last season. While the rangy Mangham appears a lock to get the starting job at free safety, the athletic 5-11, 200-pound former high school running back Tatum will have plenty of competition from returning two-year starter Charles Brantley, along with newly arrived transfers Terry Roberts and Semar Melvin. Then there's Tatum’s classmate Coley, who received plenty of buzz after enrolling in January before suffering an injury during fall during camp that limited him to three brief appearances and preserved his redshirt. MSU released a video Saturday of Coley sprawling out in front of Glover for an interception on a throw by Leavitt, a show of the type of athletic prowess he brings in challenging for snaps and potentially a starting job in the graduation losses of Ameer Speed and Ronald Williams II.

DE Bai Jobe

Any number of Tucker’s young rush ends from the past two recruiting cycles could fit here. Texas A&M transfer and one-time five-star prep prospect Tunmise Adeleye likely will claim one of the starting jobs and could blossom into stardom. Incoming four-star freshmen Andrew DePaepe and Jalen Thompson arrive with lofty expectations. Zion Young emerged midseason and looked like he was potentially becoming a major contributor before being suspended for the final four games last fall. MSU also added four-star recruit Ken Talley after he left Penn State during preseason camp in 2022, and he was able to practice but was ineligible to play. But it is true freshman Jobe — a basketball player when he arrived in America from Senegal — whose future feels limitless as he continues to learn the nuances of football and shifts his fleet footwork and high motor toward attacking quarterbacks instead of the basket. That entire group of defensive ends could make a major impact in improving the Spartans’ overall defensive production, particularly against the run, from a year ago. But don't forget about Jobe.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football: 5 high-ceiling players who can boost Spartans