Michigan State Football: What does 3-star DE Chris Mayfield bring to table?

The second player to commit to Michigan State football on Sunday afternoon was three-star defensive end Chris Mayfield.

Ohio has been good to Michigan State football over the years, and that continued to ring true on Sunday afternoon as it landed three-star cornerback Angelo Grose and then three-star defensive end Chris Mayfield.

Grose reigns from Mansfield, Ohio, while Mayfield is actually from Hilliard, Ohio.

Neither had elite offer sheets, but the coaching staff liked what they saw in both kids — Grose is an elite-level cornerback (just watch his film) and Mayfield has plenty of potential. Both can be great defenders at Michigan State, learning from one of the best staffs on that side of the ball in the nation — Mike Tressel and Ron Burton, to be exact.

Mayfield wasn’t exactly on the radar for Spartan fans going into the weekend, but he took a visit to East Lansing and apparently fell in love with what he saw and what the coaching staff told him.

Although he’s not the most impressive defensive commit in the class, he has plenty of room to grow and the potential to do so. When watching his film, he’s not the most explosive defensive end out there, but the Ohio-native has great instincts.

If you watched the highlights above, you would have realized that he didn’t make many “wow” plays, but he was always in the right position and made the smart decisions. He never over-pursued even with an open lane to the ball-carrier and always knew where the play was headed.

That kind of high football IQ is what can set him apart when he gets to East Lansing with the rest of the 2020 class.

Mayfield is the No. 1,190 player in the 2020 class as well as the 53rd-best weak-side defensive end, according to 247Sports. The coaching staff will have no problem developing the 6-2, 250-pounder into a stud.