Trieu: Michigan State to welcome in-state targets for Western Michigan clash
Michigan State will have their first Saturday home game this week against Western Michigan. That will give the Spartans their first big opportunity to host recruiting visitors, as many recruits were playing their own games during the team’s Friday night opener against Tulsa.
The majority of the visitors this week will come from inside the state.
Southfield A&T will send several of their top underclassmen. Junior offensive tackle Caleb Banks and junior wide receiver/safety Robert Army both already hold a handful of scholarship offers from Power 5 schools. Neither has been offered by Michigan State yet, but both are on the radar. They will be joined by junior running back Rae’quan Lee, who rushed for 196 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s opening day win over Clarkston.
Auburn Hills Avondale running back David Holloman is an intriguing recruit because of his speed. Holloman (5-11, 190 pounds) was timed at 4.33 in the 40-yard dash at an Opening combine last spring. Maryland and Rutgers are his two offers in the Big Ten.
Warren Mott defensive end Tyson Watson has offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Kentucky and more. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Watson will be in East Lansing on Saturday.
Michigan State already has a commitment from one East Kentwood player in senior offensive lineman Dallas Fincher. Several of Fincher’s teammates will attend this weekend’s game. They include bruising 220-pound junior running back Drapher Cribbs, athletic junior defensive back Willie Berris, junior tight end/quarterback Branden Miller and senior receiver Jamoni Jones, a Division I basketball recruit who is just going out for football this year.
Belleville is another program the Spartans have had good success recruiting. The Tigers will send senior defensive back Ronald Jackson, speedy junior receiver Deion Burks and sophomore safety Myles Rowser up to East Lansing on Saturday. Rowser, who started as a freshman on varsity a year ago, already holds 15 scholarship offers.
Goodrich’s Tyson Davis, an all-state selection his freshman and sophomore season, will visit. He is being recruited by schools as both a receiver and defensive back. Central Michigan, Western Michigan and Youngstown State have offered him.
Ann Arbor Pioneer junior quarterback Conor Easthope, fresh off a game-winning touchdown run against Anchor Bay in his team’s first game, will be on campus. He attended the Spartan Elite Camp in June and has several Mid-American Conference offers.
From outside the state, Canadian senior Justin Stevens, a 6-foot-6, 285-pound offensive tackle, will return to East Lansing. He camped during June’s Spartan Elite event. Stevens does not have a Michigan State, offer but has maintained contact with the staff. The Spartans do not currently have an offensive tackle commit in their 2020 class.
Triton (Ind.) Central long snapper Jaxon Miller, considered one of the top prospects at his position in the Midwest, will also take a visit.
More information
Allen Trieu covers Midwest football recruiting for 247Sports. 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.