Michigan State Recruiting: Top 5 remaining 2016 football targets

Nov 22, 2014; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans defensive end Shilique Calhoun (89) stands on the field between plays during the 2nd half of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Watch four-star defensive end Xavier Kelly play and you will be blown away by his intensity, speed and strength at his position. It’s almost unreal to see a defensive end move like he does with the kind of quickness that he possesses.

Former Michigan State commit for the 2016 class, Khalid Kareem, has since decommitted and is now considered a Michigan-lean. This means that the Spartans have had to look elsewhere for top defensive line talent and Kelly is exactly what they need. If you want to see a guy who fits the Michigan State defensive mold, Kelly is a prime example.

Although Michigan State already has two defensive ends for the class already in Robertson and Kind — both highly-rated four-stars — Dantonio would like to add another defensive lineman for the class. If it’s not an end in Kelly, expect Coach D to go after a guy like three-star Jovan Swann to add to an already-impressive DT class as well — four-stars Panasiuk and Jones committed to MSU this month.

Back to Kelly, however. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound weak-side defensive end from Kansas took a visit to Michigan State last week and really liked what he saw.

Kelly is ranked a top-100 player compositely, but 247Sports has him slotted as the No. 51 overall player and the No. 5 weak-side defensive end in the nation. He is highly-rated, but still seemed to fly under the MSU radar for some time before coming to the forefront recently.

Michigan State needs to make a push for Xavier. Defense wins championships as MSU already knows.

Next: 2. Lavert Hill, CB