Next up in our series of incoming freshman football players is wide receiver Samson Gash. Gash comes to MSU via Detroit Catholic Central. He stands at 6’0” and 180 pounds and is ranked anywhere between the 28th and 60th best incoming receiver. On3 gives him his highest rating and ESPN the lowest but both, as well as 247 Sports, give him 4 stars. Gash was highly recruited with offers from 20 universities including Alabama, Georgia, Penn State, Wisconsin, West Virginia. Gash clearly wanted to stay
a bit closer to home and is ready to tear it up in East Lansing. Choosing Sparty is even more impressive since his father, former NFL fullback Sam Gash, went to Penn State.
The top quality Gash has is his speed. He set a Michigan state record in the 100 meter dash as a junior with a 10.41 time. The speed will be utilized to pull away from defenders and potentially make him a big play threat. Another way he can make a difference is in the return game. He can change directions quickly and is a linear runner. This style also can make him very useful in quick screens, which MSU is very likely to use a fair share of this fall. Gash also is not afraid to go up and get the ball. He has been called “vicious” as a blocker and can win at the line of scrimmage with quick release and go. Overall, he provides a great deal of upside and can be an impact receiver from the start with Marsh no longer here.
What I like about Gash is the quality of opponents who have had big time offers from power four schools that he has been able to best. He is a leader who was integral in Catholic Central winning the State Championship this year and had some opportunities to deliver and he did just that. His biggest weakness would be route running. This is something I find to be pretty common in young and fast receivers. If you can outrun everyone on the field, who cares about the route? That obviously changes in college so his attention to improving that asset of his game will only speed up his development. He already has a solid football IQ based on his upbringing and family of athletes so his continued development should be something we can tangibly see as the season progresses.
The highlight video shows Gash’s ability to go up and get the ball, his return skills and speed, his productivity in the screen and his quick moves at the line to break open. If he catches something in stride….he’s gone.
I like what Gash had to say about why he picked MSU. This coming after an Alabama visit that had Tide analysts placing wagers on the flip. Gash was originally recruited by Jonathan Smith and Courtney Hawkins. When Fitzgerald signed on, Gash reopened his commitment and Fitzgerald was wise to keep Hawkins as the two were able to persuade Gash to stick with MSU. Gash liked how he will have an ability to be impactful from the beginning, get playing time, and bring MSU back to what it was. MSU has had some big-time receivers and many have found success in the NFL. With Gash’s skill set and even higher upside it’s almost painful to think about what he’d look like with Marsh on the other side. We obviously know that Marsh has that “golden shoe” wide receiver mentality, but Gash seems, so far, to be cut a bit differently. Dare I say, perhaps cut from a Spartan mold?
If the line can give Alessio time to throw and he can get it to Gash, we could see some exciting moments and perhaps MSU’s next big name receiver to go on to NFL success. I’m curious to know your thoughts TOC. We can only assume the price to keep him each year will go up if he proves himself, but is this a good fit? Let me know in the comments and feel free to drop any stat predictions you may be thinking.
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