BREAKING: 3-Star Edge Cal Thrush Commits to Michigan State

The Michigan State Spartans score two in one night as Upper Arlington edge rusher Cal Thrush announces his decision to play for the Green and White.

Michigan State players celebrate by raising the Paul Bunyan trophy, which has a Spartan helmet on, after defeating Michigan, 14-10, at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Oct. 7, 2017. Paul Bunyan trophy / Eric Seals, Detroit Free Press

The Michigan State Spartans are red-hot on the night of June 26. 2025 edge rusher Cal Thrush announced his commitment to play for head coach Jonathan Smith, giving the Spartans their 14th commit and the ninth of the month. Just hours earlier, three-star offensive tackle Justin Bell announced his commitment to the Spartans.

Thrush is the No. 97 defensive lineman in the 2025 class and the 47th-ranked player in Ohio. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound defensive lineman had visited East Lansing the weekend of June 14.

247Sports' Allen Trieu had reported that the Spartans were the likely favorite to win over the Upper Arlington High School product. Thrush told Trieu he liked the culture at the Spartans were establishing in the Smith era.

“Their building is just filled with good people,” Thrush said. “That was also evident in the time I spent with players, with players who arrived six months ago and six years ago all hanging out, and you can tell they really care about each other. It's a really good culture to be around, and it's impressive the new staff have achieved this in their short amount of time on campus.”

Thrush also touted what the Spartans had to offer.

“Some other things that stand out are just the resources that MSU has,” Thrush said. “It is a huge football school, and you can tell. The people on campus are all in, and there are so many opportunities available for me if I were to go there, which was one of their major points of the weekend.”

Thrush held 16 offers, including those from Cincinnati, Army, Air Force, and Toledo.

Thrush's commitment finally gives the Spartans what they've desperately needed in this recruiting class -- a defensive lineman. The Spartans have made admirable acquisitions on the front line through the portal, but they needed depth and youth at the position, along with long-term potential.

Now, defensive line coach Legi Suiaunoa will get his defensive lineman in the 2025 class after losing out on Marist High School's Brad Fitzgibbon, who committed to Iowa earlier this week.

The Spartans had the potential to have a massive June haul of recruits, and so far, June has lived up to that expectation.

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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