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Trieu: Michigan State tries to play catch-up with fast-rising edge rusher Davon Townley

By Allen Trieu
Special to The Detroit News

In the span of four months, Minneapolis North’s Davon Townley went from never playing football to suiting up in a state title game.

Then in a similar span, he went from having colleges not even knowing who he was to 14 offers, many from Power Five programs.

Michigan State recently offered Minneapolis North edge rusher Davon Townley.

One of those is Michigan State, which offered in mid-June and now is looking to make up for lost time, having offered after in-state Minnesota, Iowa State, Penn State, Arizona State and several other programs Townley is looking at.

He has been receptive to the Spartans, though, and the good news for MSU is that, with recruiting really only beginning in earnest for him in April, Townley is a long way from making a decision.

“I talked to (director of on-campus recruiting Lisa Ben-Chaim) and basically she was showing me their campus, she showed me how they march with all the fans around all the players before the game,” Townley said. “And then she was sending me videos as we were going of stuff that I needed to know, like informational stuff as far as the defense and how they do stuff. She had me on a call with all the coaches. She had me on a call with somebody (who detailed an academic plan) and I was asking her about the educational side of it as far as the class sizes and what classes I would take and basically how much of the day would I be in class and how much of the day would I be doing football-related things.”

With the dead period being extended until Aug. 31, Zoom and virtual visits are how Townley and other recruits are learning about colleges and getting to know coaches.

The Spartans have not talked to Townley about walking-on to the basketball team and he has not asked about it, but a year ago, he would have been expecting to Zoom with Tom Izzo, not Mel Tucker.

Townley was a basketball player growing up (he still is), and football was an afterthought. When he got too big to make the weight limit in his youth league, he stopped playing football altogether. That was until last summer when his friends struck a deal with him, he would come play football and they would try basketball.

It proved to be a fateful move. Townley’s 6-foot-6, 220-pound frame is not that of a prototypical post player in hoops, but it is exactly what college coaches want in an edge defender. He quickly took to the physical side of football as well. His ability to take on blocks and play with violence has caught the attention of schools just as much as his length and athleticism.

He did not fall off in basketball either, as the clips of him running the floor and throwing down thunderous dunks gave football coaches a further indication of his upside.

On several of these Zoom calls, major college coaches have told Townley that if he chose their school, they could develop him into an early draft pick, and given his tools, those words are more of a real projection than a recruiting pitch.

The next step for Townley is to narrow his list down some and decide where he will visit in-person if and when the dead period ends.

He plans to commit after the football season. North has several recruited players and Townley will announce his college choice alongside those teammates announcing theirs. These are the same teammates who convinced him to try football in the first place. Football, which now has him in position to attend college in almost any corner of the country.

“For me, where I can feel most comfortable and my mental health is the best (is where I will go),” Townley said. “And where I have the best relationships with the coaches. Obviously I want to play. I don’t want to just go there and watch the other people that play my position play more than me. And I want to get developed, I want to be a better man. At the end of the day, I want to be successful and I want to be a millionaire.”

If that happens, he may owe his teammates a gift or two.

Two freshman phenoms offered

Michigan State has offered Highland Home (Alabama) defensive end Keldric Faulk, who will only be a sophomore in the fall, but already is 6-foot-6, 240 pounds and has major colleges recruiting him.

The Spartans join Alabama, Nebraska, Michigan, Florida State, West Virginia, Penn State and more.

Faulk was a MaxPreps Freshman All-American last fall and also carries a 3.8 grade-point average in the classroom.

Michigan State also offered Treyaun Webb, another standout in the 2023 class.

Webb, a 6 feet, 190-pound prospect from Jacksonville (Florida) Trinity Christian Academy, is a dynamic playmaker as a return man and running back.

He is an early verbal commit for Georgia, but Texas A&M, Alabama, Arkansas, West Virginia, Oregon, Texas, Notre Dame and many more have offered.

More information

Davon Townley profile

Keldric Faulk profile

Treyaun Webb profile

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.