Early board themes

The first board is not one tidy category. There are high-upside athletes, trench targets, defensive fits, and a few players the staff believes it can explain better than competing schools. The throughline is specificity: here is what we see, here is the role, here is the development path.

Priority	Type	Why it matters
Must establish	Michigan relationships	MSU cannot rebuild nationally while feeling optional at home.
Immediate	Trenches	The roster evaluation already says OL/DL depth has to improve.
Identity	Multi-sport athletes	Mansour's staff will chase transferable traits and flexible bodies.
Portal bridge	Skill talent later	High school trench recruiting may push portal focus toward skill upgrades after Year 1.

Names from the current board

Placeholder until the next uploaded tracker locks the board completely, but v3/v4 continuity already includes Dalton Rambo, Alani Donnerson, Matt McCadam, Carlos Brents and Gage Everett as early board names to watch.