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4-Star WR Joseph Scates Decommits From Michigan State
Michigan State lost a pledge for its 2018 class. Four-star Ohio wide receiver Joseph Scates is re-opening his recruitment after decommiting from the Spartans.
March 3, 2017
Michigan State lost a pledge for its 2018 class. Four-star Ohio wide receiver Joseph Scates is re-opening his recruitment after decommiting from the Spartans.
After a rough 2016 college football season, Michigan State is starting to endure an equally difficult offseason.
With the Spartans program dealing with sexual assault allegations against three of Mark Dantonio’s players, the school conducting a Title IX investigation into how the allegations were originally handled by the football staff and staff member Curtis Blackwell being suspended, the MSU head coach and his program are taking hits on the recruiting trail as well.
The Spartans were informed of the decommitment of 4-star Ohio wide receiver Joseph Scates on Tuesday night. He announced via Twitter that he is opening up his recruitment, which takes away some of the momentum that the Spartans had built in the state of Ohio.
“I would like to thank coach Barnett and coach Dantonio and coach Samuel for giving me the opportunity (to) play at Michigan State, but after a long talk with my teammates, coaches and family I’ve decided to back out of my pledge and open my recruitment back up,” Scates wrote.
Scates had been pledged to the Spartans for just less than six weeks.
It should be noted that the wideout visited Alabama and received an offer from the Crimson Tide this past weekend, so is Nick Saban and his staff giving Scates something to think long and hard about before next year’s National Signing Day?
Scates is rated the No. 19 wide receiver in the country by Scout and was one of three Ohio players committed to the Spartans for 2018. Four-star athlete Xavier Henderson and four-star tight end Trenton Gillison are still committed to MSU, but Scates could provide an offensive spark upon his arrival if he did choose to go to East Lansing after all. Ohio is an important state for Sparty, so Dantonio and his staff need to hold their own.
Michigan State now has three commits for its 2018 class: Henderson, Gillison, and quarterback Theo Day, who committed over the weekend.
