MSU showing recruiting clout against U-M, Notre Dame

Springtime recruiting championships are new to the Michigan State world, but with 11 commitments from high-priority targets in the past month and a consensus top-10 class ranking at this point, the Spartans are said to be winning.

The next question, then: Is someone else losing?

MSU's history under Mark Dantonio suggests that no one has to be – the Spartans have never cleaned up like this before in his tenure and have typically finished with classes ranked nationally in the 30s, yet they have 53 wins in the past five years, consecutive top-5 finishes as a team and national title aspirations for 2015.

But after Palatine (Ill.) Fremd safety Kenney Lyke became MSU's 13th verbal commitment for the class of 2016 on Friday, the Spartans have six pledges from prospects with Notre Dame offers, five with Michigan offers, four with Ohio State offers and two with Alabama offers.

The short answer is, don't shed any tears for the Crimson Tide or the defending national champion Buckeyes, whose class is pushing for No. 1 right now.

"Ohio State is turning away great players," said Steve Wiltfong, national analyst for 247Sports.com. "Still, I bet Ohio State is looking at that Michigan State class and saying, 'Damn, that's a good class.'"

Meanwhile, Notre Dame has just one player committed with an MSU offer, and Michigan has none. Both of those programs have a long way to go – many of the top prospects in southern and western regions wait until closer to signing day to decide -- and U-M is going on a camp barnstorming tour in June.

But at this point the Spartans seem to have as much head-to-head clout against both as they've had in decades. It will be tested again June 7, when the top-rated player in Indiana, defensive end Auston Robertson of Fort Wayne, picks one of the three.

Of the Spartans winning battles over Notre Dame, Wiltfong told the South Bend Tribune: "They've become a household name program for kids. A lot of these high school football players aren't historians, so their point of reference goes back four or five years, if that. Michigan State's been good for as long as they've been paying attention to college football."

Lyke cited MSU's recent success on the field and in the NFL draft, the fact that the Spartans have to "fight for everything they get" in terms of respect, and another constant under Dantonio – low pressure.

MSU coaches "don't really push you that much on their school," he said.

Contact Joe Rexrode: jrexrode@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @joerexrode. Check out his MSU blog at freep.com/heyjoe.