EXCLUSIVE: Former Spartan and Legendary Coach Discusses Michigan State 2025 Commit Jace Clarizio
Numerous college coaches have told Spartan Nation that former Michigan State quarterback and current East Lansing High School head coach Bill Feraco was "clearly talented enough" to coach at the "highest levels of college football."
Instead, Feraco chose to stay put at the high school level. He has helmed the Trojans through three different decades. At 76 years old, Feraco has produced another in a long line of talented recruits to stay in East Lansing. Three-star 2025 running back Jace Clarizio committed to Michigan State on Tuesday.
Clarizio is the top running back in the state and one of Michigan's 10 best players in the 2025 class, per 247Sports.
The 6-foot, 190-pound ball carrier will bring a lot of talent to Coach Jonathan Smith's Spartans.
"He's got extremely good vision, he's strong, and in the repetitions that we've put him through, the advancements that he's made as far as landmarks," Feraco told Spartan Nation. "A lot of those things, even on a daily basis, we just did work in the gym yesterday, and he's just so much more fluid. And more than last year -- which is hard to believe."
Clarizio has the gifts that can't be coached. Feraco said it took coaching to help Clarizio maximize his abilities as a player. It is what turns an athlete who is just superior to everyone else -- into a football player.
"There was a time, because he was young, and he always wanted to play at the next level, he was always 'get the ball and bounce,' because he was so much faster [than everyone else]," Feraco said. "Now that he gets the reads and things like that -- he's outstanding on the outside but he's just as outstanding between the tackles."
In the modern era, great Spartan running backs have been versatile -- Edwin Baker, Le'Veon Bell, Jeremy Langford -- Clarizio has the tools to be versatile in the receiving aspect of the position, too.
"We've used his hands a little bit, we're probably going to use them a little bit more because he's athletic, also, and he has good hands. We're just gonna put some things in, especially for him, in that aspect," Feraco said.
Feraco started at quarterback for Michigan State in 1968, under Hall-of-Fame head coach Duffy Daugherty. Feraco is a member of the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 2019.
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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MICHAEL FRANCE