(01.30.17): UPDATE – Just five days after announcing he was committed to Michigan State for the fall of 2017, 3-star Pennsylvania wide receiver Raheem Blackshear has reopened his commitment.
I am no longer committed to MSU
— 2Strong💪🏾 (@speedy_heem) January 30, 2017
It’s the second time that Blackshear has committed and then retracted said commit shortly thereafter, both cases happening this month. Before committing to MSU, he was verbally committed to Temple, which is roughly an hour drive from his hometown of Warminster, PA. Blackshear this past weekend made an official trip to Rutgers University, another east coast school relatively close by, and it appears that they are the favorite to land the wide receiver.
The loss of Blackshear from their list of pledges leaves MSU with two wide receiver commits for the Class of 2017 – 4-star Hunter Rison (Ann Arbor, MI), who has already enrolled at the school, and 3-star Cody White (Walled Lake, MI).
While it is uncertain where Blackshear will attend school in 2017, the only thing that does appear certain surrounding him is that he will make his formal decision this Wednesday on National Signing Day.
https://twitter.com/lsrodulski/status/825872352537931776
(01.24.17): On Tuesday, the Michigan State Spartans picked up their third commit in as many days from the Class of 2017. This time, it was wide receiver Raheem Blackshear (Warminster, PA) pledging to play for the Spartans next season.
MSU flips WR recruit Raheem Blackshear @speedy_heem from Temple to become Spartans' 21st 2017 commitment https://t.co/PitGm9wpJq
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) January 24, 2017
Blackshear, a former Temple commit, stands 5-foot-10 and 167 pounds. He’s regarded as the No. 38 player overall in the state of Pennsylvania and No. 258 at the wide receiver position. He had made just one official visit to MSU, last Friday, January 20. All it took him was four days from that trip to flip from Temple to the Spartans. Blackshear had been committed to the Owls since last July and made an official visit to the school as recent as January 13.
Blackshear reportedly had an offer from MSU back on January 6. He was being looked at by a number of schools out east, among those being both Army and Navy, North Carolina, Penn State, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
For Michigan State, that’s now 21 commits for the Class of 2017. The addition of Blackshear gives them three wideouts in the class, joining former Ann Arbor Skyline product Hunter Rison, and Walled Lake Western weapon Cody White. The former Rison is one of three to have signed and enrolled early at MSU. Blackshear is also the third commit in three days. On Sunday, MSU got a pledge from 3-star defensive lineman DeAri Todd (Lorain, OH) and another from 3-star cornerback Tre Person (Atlanta, GA). Both Todd and Person flipped from Boston College and Georgia Southern respectively.
The remaining 18 pledges from the Class of 2017 MSU, as with all high school football prospects planning to play collegiately, must sign their national letter of intent by next Wednesday, February 1.
**Recruiting/Scouting information courtesy of 247Sports