MSU head football coach Mark Dantonio and his staff had a busy weekend, picking up four verbal commitments since Thursday.

First was outside linebacker Greg Jones from Cincinnati's Archbishop Moeller High School. The 6-foot, 210-pound Jones switched his commitment from Minnesota, which fired head coach Glen Mason. Jones is a Rivals.com three-star prospect and chose the Spartans over offers from Air Force, Cincinnati, Western Michigan and others.

Dantonio also received an important verbal commitment from Aaron Bates, a punter from Ohio. With the graduation of Brandon Fields, sophomore Ed Wagner — who didn't see any action last season — is the only punter on the MSU roster. Bates, a John Glenn High School product, has a chance to step in right away and have an impact, much like true freshman kicker Brett Swenson had last season. He verbally committed to MSU, despite offers from Purdue and West Virginia.

Kirk Cousins became the first quarterback commitment of the 2007 class when he chose MSU over Colorado, Northern Illinois, Toledo and Western Michigan.

Cousins, of Holland Christian High School in western Michigan, is 6-foot-2 and 171 pounds. The two-star recruit and Michigan's No. 31-ranked player by Rivals.com fills a void in the class left by Keith Nichol, a quarterback recruit who decommitted from MSU and committed to Oklahoma in early December.

The weekend's fourth verbal commitment was two-star linebacker Kevin Pickelman of Marshall High School, about 50 miles southwest of MSU. Pickelman is 6-foot-3, 212 pounds and will come to MSU instead of accepting offers from Cincinnati, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan and others.

Recruits can't sign official letters of intent until National Signing Day on Feb. 7.