MSU Football Offers Handful of Defensive Prospects
The Michigan State Spartans are looking ahead on the recruiting trail and they like what they see. The Spartans were quiet with offers through late July and just about all of August.
Once the season started, however, things ramped up again. It is a testament to the staff head coach Jonathan Smith has assembled. Consider this -- a staff's first year at a new program, trying to install a system, an identity, a culture.
Doing it with a young quarterback and a team of young players, a patchwork of veterans both transfer and homegrown. In an expanded, highly competitive conference with a seemingly injury-riddled roster -- all of this amid trying to build pipelines in the Midwest and home state along with maintaining the Western pipeline
It is admirable, and the Spartans are handling the job.
On Sunday, after the Spartans moved to 3-0 with a dominant win against Prairie View A&M, they offered four recruits. It was one of their most active days in the past month and a half.
Michigan State defensive line coach Legi Suiaunoa was especially busy. He offered two defensive linemen. The most notable was elite 2026 edge rusher Luke Wafle, of Hun School in New Jersey. Wafle is a four-star talent, per 247Sports, and the No. 228 prospect in the class.
Wafle is the No. 28-ranked defensive lineman. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound ege rusher has 18 offers.
Suiaunoa also offered Colorado defensive lineman Tufanua Ionatana Umu-Cais.
Umu-Cais is a three-star and the second-ranked prospect in the state. He is the 52nd-ranked defensive lineman in the 2026 class.
Four-star cornerback Elbert Hill, of Akron, Ohio, was offered. He is favored to commit to Ohio State. He is the No. 8 cornerback in the class and the 54th-overall player in his class. Hill has 29 offers, from just about everyone imaginable. He is 5-foot-10, 170 pounds.
The Spartans offered Maryland linebacker Nick Abrams II. Abrams is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound McDonogh School product. The Spartans are just his second offer, the first being Penn State.
Penn State knows a thing or two about linebackers (for a time the school was known as "Linebacker U"), and under Coach James Franklin, the Nittany Lions have been masterful at recruiting. As the saying goes, "When in Rome..."
The Nittany Lions might be onto something with Abrams. The Spartans are, too.
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