Four-star Indiana lineman picks MSU over national champion Hoosiers

Michigan State needs help in the trenches. It just added a piece to the 2027 recruiting class that could help down the road.

Caleb Johnson, a four-star interior offensive lineman who measures in at 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, announced his verbal commitment to Michigan State on Saturday. The Noblesville, Indiana, native picked the Spartans over 25 other offers including the national champion Indiana Hoosiers.

Johnson is the 14th commit in MSU’s class, and its highest-rated prospect as a four-star recruit. Both 247Sports and its composite rank Johnson in the top 250 recruits in the country for the 2027 class. Johnson is ranked the 11th best interior offensive lineman according to the 247Sports Composite and 13th overall based on 247Sports’ own rankings.

Johnson visited Michigan State on May 29, one of three visits he went on including Indiana on May 15 and Big Ten peer Iowa on June 5. He also had offers from Colorado, Illinois, Cincinnati, and Minnesota, among other schools.

COMMITTED 🟢⚪️!!!@MSU_Football@coachfitz51@CoachTabacca@CoachJohnson64@CoachBGasser@MalikGill5@greinerzd68@Bryan_Ault@LemmingReport@KyleNeddenriep@SWiltfong_@AllenTrieu@IndianaPrepspic.twitter.com/LwV0RHpLmQ

— Caleb Johnson 4 ⭐️ (@CTJohnson27) June 13, 2026

In high school ball, Johnson played right tackle and center last season. He also threw shotput and discus in track and field, two explosive events, in addition to basketball.

Johnson is the third offensive lineman to join Michigan State’s recruiting class, alongside tackle prospect Jack Carlson (Brighton) and interior lineman Grant Adloff (East Grand Rapids).

To get Johnson’s early pledge is a big recruiting win for new head coach Pat Fitzgerald, perhaps the first real splash of his 2027 class. Up to now, it’s been a steady stream of three-star talents who picked the Spartans over some more modest collegiate options. Johnson is a guy that a whole lot of teams — good teams, proven teams — wanted on their roster. Whatever vision Fitzgerald and offensive line coach Nick Tabacca shared, it earned his trust.

More important than the optics of star ratings, Johnson also fills a position of great need. Tabacca is tasked with rebuilding a room that has been devastated for the better part of a decade by poor recruiting, transfer portal departures and an overall lack of execution under multiple coaches.

This will mark back-to-back recruiting cycles that Michigan State picked up a lineman ranked four stars or higher. Last year, it was the now-incoming freshman Collin Campbell (Williams Field, Ariz.), who was a four-star prospect and stands 6-foot-7 and 295 pounds. It’s an infusion of talent that has been missing, especially in the two-year Jonathan Smith era, where the Spartans’ best linemen proved to be one-year transfer rentals Luke Newman and Matt Gulbin, who went on to the NFL.

It’s a long way until national signing day, and even longer before Johnson — at a position where freshmen rarely start — will get on the field. In the meantime, his commitment should add intrigue to what that future may look like.

cearegood@detroitnews.com

@ConnorEaregood

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Caleb Johnson, four-star lineman, commits to Michigan State Spartans