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Michigan State Football Recruiting: 5 must-have 2016 recruits for the Spartans

Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio during the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio during the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
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Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio during the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio during the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Take a look at the five must-have 2016 MichiganĀ State football recruiting targets.

Michigan State football was fantastic for most of the 2015 season. Coming into the year as a top 10 team with the second-best odds to win the Big Ten, Michigan State was expected to run the table leading up to the Ohio State game, but that didn’t go quite as planned. A loss to Nebraska, controversially, led to a dashing of any College Playoff hopes, right? Wrong.

The Spartans went on to defeat Ohio State on the road and that vaulted them back into the playoff conversation, eventually making the Big Ten title game and winning it over No. 4 Iowa to get in. Nobody expected that to happen after the loss to the Cornhuskers, but Mark Dantonio’s teams always handle adversity well.

However, their matchup with Alabama in the first round was ugly as the Spartans fell 38-0. The game was close throughout the first half as Michigan State was down just 10-0 and driving, but an interception thrown by senior quarterback Connor Cook at the goal-line changed everything.

Losing guys like Shilique Calhoun, Cook, Jack Allen, Jack Conklin and Aaron Burbridge, the Spartans will be forced to reload if they want to remain competitive in 2016 — which is likely since Mark Dantonio doesn’t like to be complacent.

The 2016 recruiting class is Dantonio’s best since taking the head coaching job at Michigan State and he still has the potential to add a couple more guys by National Signing Day to vault the Spartans back into the top 10 nationally.

Here are the five must-have targets for Michigan State come signing day.

Next: 1. Lavert Hill