Michigan State Offers West Coast DB
The West Coast holds some of the best football talent in the country.
Hence the reason why Michigan State and Coach Jonathan Smith want to mine it so heavily. Smith and his staff already have footholds in California, Oregon, Washington, and other Western states from their time in Corvallis, Oregon, with Oregon State.
They have landed several West Coast talents in the 2025 class, like quarterback Leo Hannan, cornerback LaRue Zamorano III, and offensive lineman Drew Nichols. All three have very high ceilings and bring a pedigree you can only find in a state that plays the game year 'round.
One of the latest in a long line of California offers is 2027 safety Khalil Terry, of Tustin. Terry is a 5-foot-10, 170-pound defensive back with 12 offers -- including those from Tennessee, Washington, Arizona, Oregon State, and Nebraska.
Terry is young, just a high school sophomore, but his ceiling is clearly high and cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin -- who is listed as the primary recruiter for Terry, is not afraid to pull the trigger on young talent.
Martin was the biggest factor in the commitment of Zamorano, who had been recruited by Martin as young as a freshman in high school and scouted even younger than that.
The cornerbacks coach is a former Spartan who was in the same boat as a lot of his recruits when he was a player. A California native, Martin had to travel far east to suit up for the Green and White.
He played under head coach George Perles and the debut season of bona fide college football great, Nick Saban. The experience helped inform him on how to find success in getting his targets to take the same path he did, which he thinks is far easier to do now than it was then.
"I think it's been very important because the kids will come, like I said, if you get them on campus here, that's half the battle," Martin told reporters in August. "They will travel. The times are different now from back in the day when I was a West Coast kid coming here like, 'No way you get a West Coast, California kid.' That's not true [anymore]."
Terry will be a long-term priority target to keep an eye on.
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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