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Michigan State lands 2026 three-star California offensive lineman Quinn Buckey

On3 imageby: Jason Killop06/13/25KillopOn3
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Michigan State added another important offensive line recruit Friday afternoon in three-star tackle Quinn Buckey. He announced his decision via social media following a series of official visits to Oklahoma State, UCLA, Arizona and Vanderbilt.

Buckey held additional offers from Stanford, Arizona State, Minnesota and California, among others. He is the No. 865 overall recruit, No. 47 offensive tackle and No. 38 player from California in the 2026 class, per the On3 Industry Rankings.

Buckey took his official visit to Michigan State over the weekend of April 11. He has grown quite close with Spartan offensive line coach Jim Michalczik during his recruitment.

“Michigan State is a program that I’ve known for a while,” Buckey previously told SpartanMag. “I went to the game back when Stanford played them in the Rose Bowl. They’ve always been a consistently good team that just puts out a lot of good players, so it was definitely very intriguing for me.

“Just hearing about Coach Michalczik and how he develops his guys and gets them to the league, he did that a lot at Oregon State, which is really enticing as an offensive lineman.”

During his spring official visit, Buckey sat down with Michalczik in his office to break down film. That meeting impressed Buckey, as he was able to gather information about Michalczik’s coaching style.

“We watched a little bit of the (spring) scrimmage, then we watched some of my film,” Buckey said. “He (Michalczik) likes the way I can move at my size, my ability to change direction and explode onto the ball. Those were some things he mentioned he liked about my game.

“He’s a super technical guy, which is good. At the end of the day, everyone is going to be 6-foot-5-plus, 300 pounds-plus, so the technique is what really separates you on the field. I think that’s an amazing thing to have as a coach.”

Buckey becomes Michigan State’s third offensive line commitment in its 2026 class, and the second of the week. He joins On3 four-star Collin Campbell, of Gilbert (Ariz.) Williams Field High School, and in-state three-star lineman Eli Bickel, of North Branch High School.

Those three join four-star quarterback Kayd Coffman, of East Kentwood (Mich.) High School, and three-star tight ends Eddie Whiting, of Sioux Falls (S.D.) Jefferson, and Joey Caudill, of Mansfield (Ohio) Lexington, as Michigan State commits on the offensive side of the ball.

On defense, Michigan State holds commitments from three-star linebacker Braylon Hodge, of Englewood (Colo.) Cherry Creek High School, three-star Fayetteville (Ga.) Whitewater cornerback Kelsey Deriso, three-star Memphis (Tenn.) Whitehaven rush end Cory House and former Iowa State safety commitment Brayden Thomas.

Michigan State also received a pair of defensive commitments from the June 6 official visit weekend in three-star Frisco (Texas) Lone Star High School defensive tackle Christopher Knauls Jr. and three-star Jacksonville (Fla.) Impact Christian High School safety Eliyjah Caldwell-Hardy. 

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