Spartan Avenue
Fansided

Michigan State Football: Why doesn’t Kenny Willekes get respect he deserves?

By Connor Muldowney

PISCATAWAY, NJ - NOVEMBER 25: Johnathan Lewis #11 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights looks to pass in front of Kenny Willekes #48 of the Michigan State Spartans during their game on November 25, 2017 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ - NOVEMBER 25: Johnathan Lewis #11 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights looks to pass in front of Kenny Willekes #48 of the Michigan State Spartans during their game on November 25, 2017 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Michigan State football has one of the best defensive ends in the nation in Kenny Willekes yet he doesn’t get the respect or attention he deserves.

Kenny Willekes wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school, he held zero Division 1 offers and it looked like he would play linebacker for a smaller school at the next level. Exposure didn’t look to be in his immediate future, nor did playing for a Power Five program, but Michigan State gave him an opportunity to walk on and he seized it.

Must Read: MSU Football: Ranking 2018 opponents by difficulty

No, it wasn’t a full-ride like he would have gotten at Wayne State but he saw what former walk-ons had done in East Lansing under Mark Dantonio and he liked his chances.

Fast forward three years and Willekes has molded into one of the Big Ten’s best defensive linemen, an interesting change of events for a former inside linebacker who “wasn’t good enough” to earn scholarships at the FBS level.

Willekes became the starting defensive end for the Spartans in 2017, recording 73 total tackles, 14.5 for loss and 7.0 sacks. He added a forced fumble and two pass deflections, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors.

However, despite all the success he experienced during his sophomore season, Willekes doesn’t get the respect or attention he deserves on the national level.

Why is that? Well, it’s because of name recognition.

Coming out of high school, no one knew who Willekes was outside of his hometown and a few college coaches who scouted him. He was completely off the radar and it’s taken him three years to carve a niche for himself on the Michigan State defensive line.

Going from unknown for All-Big Ten third-team is still impressive, but he will need to put together another season like he had in 2017 in order to gain the respect on a widespread level.

If he was a Bosa or one of the other highly-ranked ends in college football, his numbers in 2017 would have been enough to make him an All-American.

Next: MSU Football: Post-spring 2018 game-by-game predictions

All Willekes has to do is get back to work and the rest will take care of itself.

Home/Spartans Football