Eli Bickel, three-star North Branch OL, picks Michigan State football for 2026

Posted by author February 20, 2025 Football

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Eli Bickel is the fourth player to commit to the Spartans and coach Jonathan Smith for 2026.
The three-star North Branch junior picked the Spartans over Northwestern, Cincinnati, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and other Mid-American Conference programs.
The 6-foot-6, 270-pound Bickel projects to be a tackle with his long arms and frame.

Michigan State football continues to build its future depth in the trenches.

Offensive lineman Eli Bickel became the fourth pledge to coach Jonathan Smith’s 2026 recruiting class Wednesday night. The three-star North Branch junior picked the Spartans over Power Four squads in Northwestern and Cincinnati and MAC programs such as Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan.

MSU added four offensive linemen in its 2025 class following a wave of attrition after Smith’s hiring in November 2023, with those losses and in-season injuries leading to depleted depth as Smith went 5-7 in his debut in East Lansing. The Spartans also brought in five offensive linemen in Smith’s first class for the 2024 season.

The 6-foot-6, 270-pound Bickel projects to be a tackle with his long arms and frame. He also wrestles at 285 pounds for North Branch this winter.

Bickel joins an MSU class that already has commitments from three-star quarterback Kayd Coffman from East Kentwood and two tight ends (Eddie Whiting from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Joey Caudill from Mansfield, Ohio).

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

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