REPORT: MSU Football Building Connection With 2026 Florida DL
Michigan State recently offered 2026 defensive lineman Alex Willis, a 6-4, 250-pound athlete out of the First Academy in Orlando, Florida. It goes with their current trend of targeting the position.
As an athlete, Willis plays multiple positions/or can be recruited to play a variety of spots at the college level. Good athletes are valuable these days, and Running Backs Coach Keith Bhonapha hit on it when he discussed the prototypical Jonathan Smith Spartan.
"I talked about you know, guys playing both sides of the ball. I think that gives us a big opportunity to really evaluate their [football intelligence]," Bhonapha said back in August. "Because if a guy can play both sides of the ball in high school. ... Doing those sort of background checks can see what kind of football mind he has, we're already ahead of the curve. I think at the end of the day, I want those guys that are hungry, that are competitive, and have that urge to continue to take the next step. That's really what I'm looking for."
Secondary Coach Blue Adams made his way down to the panhandle on a recruiting tour, and Willis discussed the visit with SpartanMag.
“Coach Blue was a cool dude,” Willis said. “We chopped it up, cracking jokes and all of that. Also, my friends Devin (Jackson) and Danny Odem were there and we all had a great conversation. He said all three of us can play ball. (Adams) also said that Michigan State is a great program and we should come check it out sometime.”
Willis holds 13 offers as of now, from the likes of NC State, Minnesota, Ole Miss, UCF, Pitt, USF and more.
He told the SpartanMag he plans to visit Michigan State sometime this spring, which is commonplace for those interested in looking ahead of the official visit cycle.
“I mean Michigan State is a great program,” Willis said. “Also, knowing it’s part of the Big Ten is amazing. The Big Ten is debatably, if not the best conference in college football at the moment. I want to see the facilities and what it would be and feel like to be an athlete at Michigan State.”
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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