Recent Recruiting Evaluations Confirm Our Reporting of DJ White
Orchard Lake St. Mary's linebacker DJ White was the second commit for Michigan State's 2025 class and the first in a pipeline that could give the Green and White up to five players from the class alone.
White, 6-foot-3 and 202 pounds, was always an intriguing athlete and the recruit I've probably talked to the most. He was a high three-star until recently. I was big on his potential -- a safety and quarterback background that give instilled within him strong football intelligence, something that the Spartans are really targeting under Coach Jonathan Smith.
His athletic ability being a state-finalist hurdler in track and the ability to cover a lot of ground as a tackler as well as sporting great coverage skills -- there was a lot to like. Just needed to bulk up what was a lean frame. He added 10 pounds, getting heavier than he was when I was reporting on him through the spring and summer.
When I caught up with White at the MHSAA Division II track state finals, one of his coaches held a strong belief that the prospect was athletic enough to play safety at Michigan State.
Confirming the reporting on White's potential are the two major recruiting sites -- 247Sports and On3. Both have upgraded him to a four-star talent. The former has him rated as the No. 39 linebacker in the country and the latter puts him at No. 41.
Likely benefiting the upgrade was another season of tape at linebacker. A great athlete doesn't mean good football player -- and it was clear throughout 2024 that White's ability at playing the position was sharpened with more experience.
Considering all of the factors, White fits just about as perfect as one can get for the prototypical Joe Rossi linebacker.
"Long, athletic, and smart," Rossi said. "That's what we look for and that's a sliding scale, OK. And what I mean by that -- if a guy's 6-foot and runs 4.4, that's cool. But if you're going to be a low 4.8, you better be 6-foot-3 and a half. So my point is -- it slides, but the ideal thing, if I'm just giving you three, it's length, it's athleticism, and it's intelligence. Not necessarily in that order."
Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.
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