It is never too early to start thinking about what quarterback Michigan State might land in the 2024 recruiting class. Quarterback is obviously the most important position on the field, and it is imperative that the coaching staff restocks the position year over year.
Michigan State’s offensive coordinator and QB coach Jay Johnson has made some great headway thus far with several top quarterbacks in the 2024 class, as he knows how big of a year it will be to land a top QB.
Take a look at what QBs Michigan State has been pursuing in the 2024 class:
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4-star Jake Merklinger
It is safe to say Jake Merklinger is the No. 1 target on Jay Johnson’s board. The Spartans have made the Calvary Day School (Savannah, GA) QB a major priority, having him on campus multiple times to this point.
Merklinger ranks as a 4-star and the No. 94 overall recruit and the No. 9 quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
It is unclear who exactly is the main competition, but if his home state Georgia Bulldogs or the Clemson Tigers offer, it will make this recruitment much more difficult for Jay Johnson.
4-star Demond Williams Jr.
Another target on or near the top of Johnson’s board, Demond Williams Jr. is someone the staff would love to get on campus for a visit sooner rather than later. Williams Jr. is the son of Demond Williams Sr., who played for Michigan State as a defensive back in 2005 and 2006.
According to 247Sports, Williams is a 4-star that ranks as the No. 121 overall recruit in the class. Williams is the star QB at Basha High School in Chandler, Arizona.
UCLA, Ole Miss, Oregon and Cal are a couple of other schools that are heavily prioritizing the Spartan legacy.
Davi Belfort
Davi Belfort was originally someone that the staff heavily prioritized for the 2025 recruiting class. That was before Belfort transferred to Gulliver Prep in Miami, Florida, and reclassified into the 2024 class. Belfort is the son of mixed martial arts legend Vitor Belfort.
Now apart of the 2024 class, the staff still has him on their recruiting board. Because of the reclassification, Belfort does not have a ranking yet, but it should come soon.
Belfort will be prioritized by a lot of top programs when they reevaluate him being in the 2024 class.
4-star Ryan Puglisi
Ryan Puglisi has gone a little bit under the radar but is a prospect that is considered to be a QB on the rise. An Avon, Connecticut product, Puglisi turned some heads this past summer and has earned the attention of some big-name programs.
ESPN ranks Puglisi as a 4-star prospect and the No. 255 overall player, as well as the No. 11 quarterback in the class.
Both Alabama and Georgia have put their names in the mix for Puglisi, joining a slew of other power five programs.
3-star Daniel Kaelin
Another prospect that has shown a lot of interest in Michigan State is Daniel Kaelin, a Bellevue, Nebraska native.
Kaelin is a 3-star prospect that put his name on Jay Johnson’s board after working out for the coach on an unofficial visit in March and is someone that very well could end up being in the recruiting class.
Kaelin has a solid suitor list that features Arizona State, Duke, Florida State, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Rutgers and Vanderbilt.
3-star AJ Surace
AJ Surace visited Michigan State for the 2022 spring game and is someone Jay Johnson will be closely monitoring during his junior season at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
Surace is a 3-star prospect that currently ranks as the No. 294 overall recruit and the No. 19 QB in the class according to On3.
So far, Surace holds offers from Boston College, Duke, Indiana, Northwestern, Pitt, Rutgers and Tennessee. That list should expand as his junior season begins.
