Trieu: N.C. DE Boletepeli to check out MSU
Michigan State’s visitor list for Saturday’s home football game against Indiana will be a star-studded one on the basketball side.
While there will not be as much volume as far as football recruits, there will be talent, including one official visitor, Wake Forest (N.C.) Heritage defensive end Joseph Boletepeli, who told Scout’s Michael Clark he “should be coming.”
Boletepeli’s recruitment has been East Coast heavy. He already has taken an official visit to Maryland, and North Carolina State is favored on the 247Sports Crystal Ball. North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are among the other schools he is considering.
The Spartans getting the 6-foot-31/2, 244-pound senior on campus is a major step in their chances to pull him away from those schools. Boletepeli recently told Clark that distance from home will not factor into his choice.
“I’m going to go where I feel like I fit in best,” Boletepeli said. “It doesn’t matter to me if it’s in-state or out-of-state. I’m going to go to a place where I see myself playing and going to school. I also want to feel at home.”
As far as the Spartans are concerned, Boletepeli has not been to campus before, but the staff has been persistent with him.
“They’ve been talking to me for a while now and I want to see what they’re about,” he said.
Boletepeli is listed as an end, but has played inside for his team as well and given his size, could project to different spots along the defensive line.
Michigan State has a commitment from defensive end Parks Gissinger out of California, they also have twins Jacob and Zachary Slade from Lewis Center (Ohio) Olentangy who can both play defensive end, but could project to defensive tackle or offensive line as well.
2017 MICHIGAN STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Nov. 4 shaping up to be big recruiting weekend
The Spartans will host Penn State on Nov. 4 and there should be a strong group of recruits at Spartan Stadium for that contest.
Three official visitors recently confirmed their intentions to visit that weekend: Cincinnati (Ohio) Winton Woods linebacker Christopher Oats, Schertz (Tex.) Samuel Clemens wide receiver Tommy Bush, and Birmingham (Ala.) Huffman defensive tackle Allen Love.
Both Oats and Bush are four-star prospects via the 247Sports Composite.
Love is an Ole Miss commit who previously was scheduled to visit Michigan State, but was unable to make the trip and rescheduled.
In-state DE visiting
Among the junior visitors this Saturday will be River Rouge defensive end Ruke Orhorhoro. A 6-foot-5, 240-pound prospect, Orhorhoro has played well for his team this season and seen his recruitment rise along with that.
Central Michigan, Toledo, Ball State and Bowling Green all have offered since the start of the season, and Big Ten programs like Wisconsin and Michigan have shown interest.
More information
Allen Trieu began covering the state of Michigan for Scout.com in 2005 and began managing the entire Midwest in 2009. He has been featured on the Big Ten Network on its annual Signing Day Show. His Michigan and Michigan State recruiting columns appear weekly at detroitnews.com.