BREAKING: MSU Football Gets Huge News From Top Recruit

Michigan State considers 2026 four-star offensive lineman Ben Nichols a top priority. He just announced some news the Spartans are sure to like.
2026 offensive lineman Ben Nichols
2026 offensive lineman Ben Nichols / Michael France

The Michigan State Spartans, in their mission to make East Lansing the top destination for their home state's talent, are looking to land some of the best in the Mitten.

Among those top players is Davison's 2026 offensive lineman, Ben Nichols. Nichols has been recruited heavily by the Spartans, and he just released his Top 9 schools on Monday. The Spartans should be very happy.

The Spartans made the list of schools along with Kentucky, Alabama, Iowa, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State, and Tennessee. Some very, very elite company. Nichols is the No. 3 player in the state, the No. 15 interior offensive lineman, and the 234th overall prospect in the country, per 247Sports Composite rankings.

I visited with Nichols earlier this fall, and he exhibited a high football IQ and a pragmatic approach to his recruitment. His head coach, Jake Weingartz, compared Nichols with his childhood best friend and No. 1 overall draft pick, Jake Long. Nichols measured up.

"[Nichol's] freshman year, when he started, he was probably 6-foot-4 at that point," Weingartz said. "You don't see kids that are that big that are that athletic. My best friend growing up was Jake Long, so Jake's pretty much the same size as Ben, maybe a little bigger. But at Jake's age as a freshman, Ben was as athletic if not more. And I was able to see that as a kid -- being able to see that as an adult, I was like, 'Wow, this kid's going to be the real deal.' Just the way he moves, runs, jumps, goes side-to-side, most kids that are 6-foot-5, 315 pounds can't do that. It's very rare."

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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