Nov 2, 2024; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Jonathan Smith looks over his sidelines during the first quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images Dale Young-Imagn Images

Michigan State Misses on Priority Recruiting Target

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Caleb Sisk | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 6:36 PM ET

The Michigan State Spartans have made a name for themselves as one of the better 2026 recruiting classes following a great start to the month of June. With the month of June continuing on, so will the Spartans with their search for the next commit to join the Green and White.

Despite this active search for their next commit, the Spartans have to wait a little longer after being dealt bad news. While Michigan State has done well at many positions, including the safety position, it has also done poorly at a few select positions. This includes the running back position, where it has yet to land a commitment.

The Spartans were hopeful to land their running back commit on Monday, but news would circulate that their top target on the running back board, class of 2026 three-star Jamal Rule of Charlotte, North Carolina, who has started to shoot up the recruiting boards, would likely not be committing to Michigan State, but instead to a fellow Big Ten school.

The talented recruit picked up many offers even in the month of June, such as the Spartans. Michigan State offered him almost mid-way through the month and made him a priority-level running back target before convincing him to replace his official visit date, which he would set for this past weekend.

Rule was originally slated to visit Boston College but would visit Michigan State instead. While the Spartans gave it their best Hail Mary, they couldn't fight off the lead that a fellow conference created.

Rule announced on Monday that he has committed to Nebraska.

The prospect revealed his finalists days before his commitment with a social media post of himself in a pool claiming that he would be making a "big splash" wherever he is going, and that will be Nebraska, which has been recruiting him as a priority since last year.

The Spartans will be forced to open up their recruiting book even more because they are still in need of a running back in the 2026 recruiting class. Ideally, they need at least one commit, but two wouldn't hurt. They currently don't have a commitment at the position, which is nearly unacceptable.

It is also worth mentioning that despite missing on Rule, they still landed three of the four guys in total that visited in their official visit closing weekend,

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