It had been largely quiet on the recruiting front for the majority of college football programs this month, after all the summer camps in June that allowed them to rake in prospects left and right.
That included Michigan State, who landed half of their then 12 commits from the Class of 2018 last month. They picked up No. 13 on Thursday, getting a pledge from 3-star defensive end Parks Gissinger (West Hills, California).
COMMITTED! pic.twitter.com/UInwC8vQZu
— Parks (@ParksGissinger) July 20, 2017
Gissinger (6-4, 227 pounds) is rated as the No. 77 player in the state of California and a top-40 player at the weak-side defensive end position in the country. His recruiting trail began back lat December when he made an unofficial visit to Northwestern, the only other Big Ten school to give him a look thus far.
The Wildcats, however, did not offer him a scholarship. Michigan State did back in February roughly around National Signing Day. Gissinger ultimately chose the Spartans over the likes of Iowa State, Kentucky, San Diego State and Vanderbilt, and even a pair of Ivy League schools in Harvard and Yale.
2018 CLASS COUNTER: 13
Gissinger’s hard commit to Michigan State now gives the Spartans a total of 13 pledges from the Class of 2018, a class that is currently ranked 9th in the Big Ten and 34th in the country.
Gissinger also becomes the third prospect on the defensive line from this class to commit to MSU. Back in June, among their wave of commitments came from twin brothers Jacob and Zachary Slade (Lewis Center, OH).
The Spartans have done the bulk of their work for this class in Ohio, eight of their 13 commits thus far hail from that state. Gissinger becomes the first pledge west of the Mississippi.
