Top FCS LB Transfer Prospect to Visit MSU
The Michigan State Spartans are in the market for a linebacker. They lost their two biggest snap-getters from 2024, Jordan Turner and Cal Haladay.
Turner's physicality and game-changing positioning will be sorely missed, though the Spartans could definitely find a suitable replacement for Haladay, who struggled mightily in coverage. Linebackers coach Joe Rossi (also the defensive coordinator) wants his prototypical linebacker to be balanced.
If the downhill run-stopping isn't there, they better be good in coverage. And vice versa. If the preferred measurables aren't matched, he considers it to be a "sliding scale."
"If a guy's 6-foot and runs 4.4, that's cool," he said. "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."
The Spartans have shown they are interested in looking for a linebacker, despite long-term options in Marcellus Pulliam, Semaj Bridgeman and young rising sophomore Brady Pretzlaff looking like suitable options alongside Wayne Matthews III.
A name that is on the Spartans' radar is Eli Ennis, star linebacker from FCS Nicholls. Per The Portal Report, Nicholls will be visiting East Lansing soon.
Ennis is one of the best defensive players at the FCS level, and he had a dominant 2024 with 111 total tackles, three forced fumbles and three interceptions. He was named Buck Buchanan National Defensive Player of the Year, second-team All-America by Stats Perform and an honorable mention by the Associated Press.
Despite his small school stature, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound linebacker is a physical playmaker who is strong in coverage and very athletic. The Spartans want a Mike linebacker -- or rather need one -- and Ennis seems to be right for Rossi's ideal prototype for the green dot.
"I think a portion of it's leadership, but from a physical standpoint, you gotta have guys that are comfortable in space," Rossi said this past summer. "You wouldn't even think that I would say that to start with the Mike, but you know, the Mike ends up out of the box all of the time in three-by-one formations, and so the guy has got to be physical, and he's got to be able to stop the run, all those things, I got it.
"You know, if you're getting recruited as a Mike, you gotta have that skillset, but you gotta be comfortable in coverage. Doesn't mean you're playing man-to-man on people all the time, but it just means you got to be able to go out there play in space and function. So I think that that's something that's going to be big for us in terms of that position."
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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