Coach: Michigan State commit Samson Gash 'a weapon for any offense'

Michigan State’s impressive June recruiting push hit another gear on Tuesday in more ways than one.  On one hand, the Spartans added the fastest player in the state in Detroit Catholic Central wide receiver Samson Gash. Secondly, the commitment offered the latest indications that Michigan State’s recruiting operation, from a communications and evaluation standpoint, continue to rev up. Gash’s commitment marked the Spartans’ 16th verbal in the month of June, and Michigan State’s fourth in-state pledge. “Michigan State has been in here a lot,” said third-year Detroit Catholic Central head coach Justin Cessante. “They definitely put their time in at Catholic Central as far as recruiting.” Michigan State recruited Catholic Central tight end Jack Janda hard. Janda committed to Wisconsin in early June. And that’s about the time that the Spartans’ recruiting efforts began to take a turn. While putting in time with Janda, Michigan State coaches also were able to get a closer look at Gash. Those evaluations resulted in an offer for Gash in mid-May, the day after Wake Forest offered. Illinois, Purdue, West Virginia and Iowa also offered in May.  “I have talked to a lot of coaches about Samson,” Cessante said. “Most coaches, when they see him in person, didn’t know he is as big as he is. He is 6-foot and a half inch, he’s pushing 190, he’s well put-together.  “They like how smooth he runs his routes. They like his hands, how he can adjust to the ball in the air, especially when there’s a defender on him. I think all of those things make him a weapon for any offense.” Gash’s father, Sam Gash, played at Penn State in the early 1990s, and played 12 years in the NFL at fullback.  Samson Gash camped at Penn State last summer and took an official visit to Happy Valley. A few schools took a look at Gash and didn’t offer. “The humorous knock on him, which seems funny at this point, after a phenomenal junior year was, ‘We don’t know if he’s fast enough,’” Cessante said.  It’s unclear whether Penn State was among the schools who shared that feeling, but Gash went out and posted a 10.4 in the 100 meters in June, the fastest clocking in Michigan high school state finals history. Gash didn’t run track as a sophomore in 2023, due to a minor injury. So that extra-gear speed remained a little bit of mystery, prior to this spring, for those who didn’t believe what they were seeing on film. MORE inside SpartanMag.com.