Michigan State Recruiting: Top 2017 football targets to watch

Jan 1, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Michigan State Spartans defensive end Shilique Calhoun (89) celebrates his sack of Baylor Bears quarterback Bryce Petty (not pictured) in the 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium. The Spartans defeated the Bears 42-41. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Many people have considered Donovan Jeter a defensive tackle just because that’s what the recruiting services tell us, but when speaking to the big defensive linemen himself, he revealed that he is a defensive end.

Related: 4-star DE Donovan Jeter likes the way MSU does things

After naming Michigan State in his unofficial top-four schools, Jeter told Spartan Avenue that he likes how the Spartans do work.

“[Michigan State’s] defensive coordinator coach came to see me in school,” Jeter claimed. “They must think pretty highly of me to fly all the way to see me just to shake my hand. They’re one of the teams that could contend for national titles every year.”

That’s high-praise for a kid who grew up without a specific team to root for an just liked college football as a whole.

The Spartans have a ton of defensive line talent coming in for the next couple of years, starting with the 2015 class of defensive tackle Raequan Williams and then moving onto the 2016 class of four-star defensive ends Josh King and Auston Robertson as well as four-star defensive tackles Mike Panasiuk and Naquan Jones.

Luckily for the Spartans, Jeter knows that he wouldn’t start right away, but wants to get in the rotation pretty early on. Michigan State doesn’t rebuild, it reloads — and Jeter could help that mantra remain true for 2017.

Next: 5. Josh Kaindoh, 5-star, DE