MSU football lands prized recruit in 4-star Detroit CC WR Samson Gash

The fastest person in Michigan high school sports will remain in the state for college.

Star Novi Detroit Catholic Central wide receiver Samson Gash officially signed with Michigan State football on Wednesday, Feb. 4. He announced his commitment on social media. He will put pen to paper during Catholic Central's signing day event on Wednesday evening.

Gash, the reigning state champion in the 100-meter race for track and captain on the 2025 Free Press Dream Team offense for helping the Shamrocks go 14-0 and win the Division 1 state final, upheld his original commitment to MSU over offers from Alabama and Penn State, among many others.

Gash originally committed to the Spartans in June, but reopened his recruitment after MSU fired coach Jonathan Smith and subsequently hired Pat Fitzgerald. Gash remained verbally committed to MSU, but explored other options between early signing day in December and the traditional signing day in February.

THE CLASS: Meet Michigan State football 2026 recruiting class for Pat Fitzgerald

Michigan State fired Smith and hired Fitzgerald on the same day, Nov. 30, as when Gash and Catholic Central dominated Detroit Cass Tech in the Division 1 state championship game. Gash had five catches for 25 yards while drawing the defense's attention, allowing his younger brother, junior Gideon Gash, to get loose for three catches for 126 yards and three touchdowns.

Gash is a four-star recruit and the fifth-ranked player in the state of Michigan's 2026 recruiting class according to 247 Sports' composite rankings.

Samson Gash stats in high school

He had 60 catches for 1,010 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior, according to the team. He also had 11 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown, and 475 punt return yards and three return touchdowns. He has state champion speed on the field to pair with his 6-foot, 180-pound frame. He also played defensively as part of Catholic Central's deep secondary rotation.

Last spring, Gash won the Division 1 state title and set the state record for the 100-meter finals with a time of 10.41 seconds. It was his first year fully competing in track after missing the first two spring seasons of his high school career with hip injuries from football.

Gash is the son of former NFL player and Detroit Lions assistant coach Sam Gash. His older brothers played college football at Michigan and Michigan State, while Gideon is one of the top juniors in Michigan at cornerback and receiver.

Michigan State football WR depth chart

MSU has had turnover at receiver this offseason, losing No. 1 wideout Nick Marsh to Indiana, along with reserves Evan Boyd (Iowa State) and Shawn Foster (Central Michigan).

MSU added two receivers in the transfer portal: KK Smith (Notre Dame) and Fredrick Moore (Michigan).

Nominate a high school athlete for the Detroit Free Press boys and girls athlete of the week.

Jared Ramsey covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jramsey@freepress.com; Follow Jared on X or Bluesky.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MSU football lands prized recruit in 4-star Detroit CC WR Samson Gash