EAST LANSING — Michigan State coach Mel Tucker isn’t entirely done adding talent to the 2021 recruiting class.

Carson Casteel, a three-star linebacker from Florence, Alabama, became the No. 19 overall commit for the 2021 class Friday. Casteel was originally committed to Troy. He is the first linebacker of the 2021 Spartan recruiting class.

My recruiting process has been a long journey that I am very thankful to have experienced. It’s given me the chance to meet some great coaches. I would like to thank my family,friends, and coaches for your support.
I will be signing to
Michigan State University!#GOGREEN pic.twitter.com/dJPlSq2kEx

— Carson Casteel (@carson_casteel) December 4, 2020

Casteel is a 6-foot-3, 210-pound linebacker who currently attends Florence High School. Florence struggled on the gridiron this season, going 4-6 with a first-round playoff exit.

Casteel is rated by 247Sports as the No. 82 overall player in Alabama, as well as the No. 1870 overall player in the nation. His composite rating of 0.8204 places him within the lower tier of three-star recruits. Casteel was offered by MSU on Dec. 2 and was recruited heavily by Spartan linebackers coach and special teams coordinator Ross Els. 

Although Casteel isn’t an extremely highly-rated recruit, he will add depth to a 2021 class that has yet to acquire a linebacker. With Antjuan Simmons graduating after this season, MSU will need all the depth it can get to replace his level of production.

Casteel had initially committed to Troy University (Troy, Ala.), but chose MSU after being offered a scholarship earlier in the week. In addition to MSU and Troy, Casteel was offered by Kansas, Appalachian State, Army, Memphis, Navy, Samford, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Troy, Western Kentucky and Wofford.