EXCLUSIVE: How Elite MSU Football Legacy Target Will Compare Spartans to Rival Wolverines
Michigan State is targeting elite in-state four-star offensive lineman Gregory Patrick of Portage Northern. A class of 2026 target, there is plenty of time to win or lose his recruitment.
The Spartans might have an advantage -- his father, Joseph, wore the green and white in the 1990s for Nick Saban. Patrick was in attendance for Michigan State's season opener against Florida Atlantic, a 16-10 victory. When I spoke with him about the visit, he praised the Spartans.
"It was really fun overall; I was able to talk with [offensive line coach Jim Michalczik] for a long time," Patrick said. "We talked a lot, just about my season and about their season and what their gameplan looked like, just stuff like that. After the game, we talked about how the offensive line needed some work to do, and I could really help out in that aspect. And there's some things to work on there, but they played a few younger guys, and they gotta get back to work. It was overall really fun. The atmosphere was really cool there; it was pretty much sold out, and it was really good to see it packed in the stadium. It was really loud."
As a blue-chip in-state recruit, however, the competition for Patrick will be tight. The Spartans will have to compete with their bitter rival, the Michigan Wolverines.
The Wolverines landed 2024 four-star lineman Avery Gach of Birmingham Groves, an example of how heated the recruiting war can get. Patrick is attending Michigan's home stand against a very good Texas Longhorns team.
The burnt orange has national title hopes this season. It will be a tough game for the Wolverines to win, especially with their relatively anemic showing against Fresno State in Week 1. Patrick told me what he will be looking for and how he will compare his two visits.
"When I go to Michigan, I look forward to talking to [offensive line coach Grant] Newsome a lot," he said. "Just being able to talk to him about their season and just how he's been doing. Michigan is playing Texas, Texas is a really good team so I would say that winning the game is obviously really important for them. Big game, big statement game. They have a slightly newer offense coming off the national championship, so being able to have offensive production is pretty important.
"Like I said before, it's never as it seems, so there are other factors that go into how the offense does. ... You got to look at it from that perspective, too. So just them being able to do things on offense that they are supposed to be doing, and what they are given by the defense, that's pretty important."
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