EXCLUSIVE: How Elite MSU Target Measures Up with Former NFL All-Pro
DAVISON, Mich. -- Davison head coach Jake Weingartz is no stranger to high-level high school football talent. Weingartz himself played wide receiver at Wayne State University. Of course there is his star pupil, 2026 four-star offensive lineman Ben Nichols, who has an offer from Michigan State.
Nichols has a total of 19 offers from powerhouses the likes of Alabama, Ohio State, Tennessee, and Notre Dame, to the mid-majors like Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. Weingartz is more than adequately equipped to handle the fast-paced nature of coaching a big-time recruit.
Weingartz also knows how to gauge talent. He saw it all first-hand with one of his childhood best friends, All-American offensive lineman and NFL first overall pick and All-Pro, Jake Long. Nichols measures 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 you know, I was like wow, this kids 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."
It has been over 20 years since Weingartz and Long were recruited by Wayne State and Michigan, respectively. Nichols is a vastly different prospect from Long, but some things never change when it comes to values in recruiting.
"It's so much different now than when Jake and I were in school," he said. "I mean, shoot, we've had every school in the country here. When we were in school Jake was kind of just a "Midwest guy", just mostly Big Ten schools coming. But you know, with Jake, he chose Michigan because he got there, loved coach [Lloyd] Carr, he loved the campus, knew he was going to get a great education. He loved the tradition. It's just going where your heart feels you should go and hopefully make a good decision."
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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