EXCLUSIVE: Elite Spartans LB Target Discusses Meteoric Rise
As a well-respected coach once told me, the eye in the sky never lies.
The film, the tape, says it all in the game of football. You can have all of the right measurables and tools and traits, but at the end of the day, you have to be able to exact those abilities on the field.
For Michigan State and most college staffs (and the practical football mind), the tape is the most important aspect of recruiting. For recruits, it can be the difference between interest and offers. Such is the case with the "risers" we see in recruiting classes.
Perhaps one of the biggest risers in the 2026 class has been Olentangy linebacker CJ Sanna. In the month of September alone, he received six Power 4 offers, Spartans included. He was ranked by 247Sports as the No. 32 linebacker prospect in the class.
In all fairness, Sanna has a lot of things going for him when it comes to measurables and tools. He is an athletic 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, about as good as it gets for a high school linebacker. A junior no less.
I spoke to Sanna, whose intelligence and insights on the game I found fascinating. He told me about that major blow-up in his recruitment. He pointed to the tape.
"My sophomore year, I didn't play that much. I was Group 2 defense, and I played H-back in our offensive scheme, but we never really used an H-back," Sanna told me. "So I didn't have any film my sophomore year. We ended up having a showcase in the spring, and I was able to get out in front of a few coaches -- Wisconsin, Purdue, big ones that I ended up talking to their coaches. I got camp invites to Wisconsin, Purdue, and Indiana. They're having a good season right now. So I went to those camps and got in front of those coaches, and they said, 'We're definitely interested, but we want to see film before we pull the trigger on anything.' So, I went into this season on a few coaches' radars. Wisconsin and Purdue in particular. Toledo too. Once I had gotten those three or four games under my belt, they wanted to see that film. And then once I sent that they were like, 'O.K., we can proceed with the offer.' Toledo was my first one, then after that it was kind of just a domino effect of coaches watching the film and pulling the trigger on the offer."
It would not be a shock to me if Sanna gets a fourth star by the time it's all said and done.
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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