BREAKING: MSU Football Lands First 2026 Commit

Posted by author January 24, 2025 Football

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Michigan State had a one-in-four chance of landing tight end Joey Caudill of Lexington High School (Ohio) this early in the game.

The Spartans won out, with Caudill making the announcement on his X, formerly known as Twitter, account.

100% committed! #GOGREEN @MSU_Football @Coach_Smith @CoachWozniakTE @CoachCGrundy pic.twitter.com/DWSDRuDzZZ

— Joeycaudill10 (@Joey_caudill10) January 24, 2025

Caudill’s commitment kicks off the Spartans’ 2026 class. Michigan State had been hitting the class hard since the summer, weening off from the 2025 class and turning its focus to the future. This marks a huge improvement from Coach Jonathan Smith’s first full cycle in 2025 when he didn’t receive his first commit until April.

Caudill is a 6-foot-5, 215 pounds and though he will play tight end at the college level, he is Lexington’s quarterback. There are obvious parallels to Penn State star and potential first-round pick Tyler Warren, who was a three-star quarterback from the 2020 class and was moved to tight end.

That ended well.

The Spartans’ most recent commitment is the No. 66-ranked “athlete” in the class, per 247Sports, and is a three-star. He is the No. 46 player in the state of Ohio. Michigan State has made it clear that they like true football players — versatile playmakers who can do it all on either side of the ball.

Spartans running back coach Keith Bhonapha said back in August that playing both sides of the ball (or the ability to handle multiple positions, tasks) was part of the prototypical Spartan under the Smith regime.

“I talked about you know, guys playing both sides of the ball. I think that gives us a big opportunity to really evaluate their [football intelligence],” Bhonapha said. “Because if a guy can play both sides of the ball in high school. … Doing those sort of background checks can see what kind of football mind he has, we’re already ahead of the curve. I think at the end of the day, I want those guys that are hungry, that are competitive, and have that urge to continue to take the next step. That’s really what I’m looking for. But you know, they gotta be fast. I know that. They gotta be able to score touchdowns.”

The Spartans have a potential gem in Caudill, who gives them a lot to work with.

Michael France is Sports Illustrated’s Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.

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