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Michigan State football recruiting roundup: Week 2

By Connor Muldowney

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After week one’s slim victory over Western Michigan, Michigan State fans are looking for more reasons to be excited about the future in East Lansing.

Related: Michigan State football recruiting roundup: Week 1

Besides having a top-five team and a Heisman-contending quarterback, Michigan State football recruiting still takes the cake when it comes to fan interest — or so it seems, at times.

The Spartans have their eyes on many top targets for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 classes — even a couple in 2019 (Xavier Goldsmith, Sam Johnson III). Each week, I will take a look at which commits/targets recorded solid stats or recorded stats at all in their high school football seasons.

It was a little bit harder to find as much info this week as it was to find it last week as there were a few players who had a week off.

Top 2017 defensive tackle target Donovan Jeter, a four-star from Pennsylvania, had a great week, recording eight tackles and three sacks. He had named the Spartans in his top four over the summer and stated how much he liked MSU.

Must Read: MSU Recruiting: Top 5 remaining 2016 football targets

Four-star 2017 receiver commit Hunter Rison also played extremely well in week two as the son of former star wide out Andre Rison lit up defenders left and right. He showed he can do it all, catching five passes for 76 yards and a score, throwing a 23-yard TD pass and recording 19 rush yards on offense while recording an interception on defense.

Oh, and he added two highlight reel plays:

This kid is going to be a heck of a talent at MSU. His teammate at Ann Arbor Skyline, Daelin Hayes, is a five-star USC linebacker commit who is also considering the Spartans. He finished with eight tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a touchdown.

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Another kid who is committed to another school, four-star cornerback Lavert Hill to Penn State, is also considered MSU. The Detroit King prospect was relatively quiet in his team’s week two win while his teammates, and top MSU targets, Ambry Thomas and Donnie Corley shined.

Corley, a four-star receiver target for 2016, was a star on defense rather than offense, however, recording 10 solo tackles for King. Thomas, a four-star corner target for 2017, had a 38-yard touchdown reception and scooped up a fumble and ran it back 13 yards for a TD.

As for the young gun, Sam Johnson III, mentioned earlier, the Southfield (Mich.) freshman quarterback threw his first career touchdown pass in a victory. He was solid in his week one start against a vaunted Cass Tech defense, despite a loss.

After putting up over 500 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in a week one blowout of Divine Child (Mich.), Robichaud (Mich.) junior quarterback, and 2017 MSU target, Jairus Grissom came back to have yet another solid game, passing for 134 yards on 7-of-13 passes and scoring two touchdowns.

Here are the highlights from the win:

Two guys that will need bounce-back games in week three after injuries or tough performances were Josh King and Naquan Jones — both four-star 2016 defensive line commits. Jones played tough despite his team’s devastating loss and King was hampered by head and ankle injuries in his first game of the year. Expect both to be back strong in week three.

Must Read: MSU Football: ‘Next man up’ at every position

Four-star receiver commit for 2016 Cam Chambers doesn’t have his first game until Sept. 11, the day before he comes to East Lansing for the Oregon game, but the other two leaders for that recruiting class, Abdul Adams and Messiah deWeaver, shined in week two.

deWeaver was a star as his team, Huber Heights Wayne (Ohio), played Cincinnati Moeller (Ohio), and won on national TV. The four-star QB commit was earning praise from everyone on social media, especially after this play which made SportsCenter’s Top 10.

Messiah helped lead his team to a 2-0 start to the year with an incredible 16-for-26 tally with 308 yards and two touchdowns. His teammate who caught that SC Top 10 pass, four-star receiver L’Christian Smith, will also be visiting MSU for the Oregon game. He’s a top-100 recruit for 2017.

Oh yeah, and deWeaver got a shout out from NFL wide out Mohamed Sanu on Twitter:

No official stats were released following Abdul Adams’ second game, but he played well enough to score two rushing touchdowns — one for 52 yards and one on an eight-yard run.

After the game, Scout.com caught up with him and he stated how he remains 100 percent solid to MSU despite interest elsewhere.

Justin Layne, deWeaver’s future target, bounced back from a week one performance in which he went down with leg cramps. He caught two passes for 45 yards and returned two punts for touchdowns — 78 yards and 61 yards, respectively — but both were called back due to penalties. He also added four tackles and a pass deflection on defense.

K.J. Hamler, a four-star 2017 receiver target, played great for Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (Mich.) yet again as he had probably the play of the week with an unreal punt return touchdown:

Hamler also added another punt return for a touchdown and 75 yards receiving in a win.

Kenney Lyke proved to be much more than a defensive player as the four-star safety commit for 2016 finished with 200-plus rushing yards with three touchdowns as well as 28 receiving yards and eight tackles. What a day for the underrated recruit from Illinois.

Last, but certainly not least, kicker commit Matthew Coghlin had an amazing onside kick trick shot that his team recovered. You need to see it to believe it:

Other stars of the week:

  • Chase Young (4-star 2017 DE target): 7 tackles
  • Trishton Jackson (4-star 2016 WR commit): 43-yard TD catch, 42-yard TD pass, 3-yard TD run
  • Jonah Morris (3-star 2016 LB commit): 39-yard TD catch, one interception
  • Allen Stritzinger (3-star 2017 RB target): 2 rushing touchdowns

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