Michigan State football lands top-200 DL Jalen Thompson over OSU, PSU

Michigan State football picked up another four-star commitment on Monday evening as top-200 defensive lineman Jalen Thompson picked the Spartans.

Three years ago, if I told you that Michigan State football had beaten out Ohio State, Penn State, and Cincinnati for a recruit, you probably would have called me crazy.

Those three programs had been beating Michigan State consistently for top recruits at the end of the Mark Dantonio era, especially since Luke Fickell’s program was on the rise in Cincinnati.

But on Monday evening, the Spartans broke that old narrative that the Spartans can’t beat out top programs for recruits, landing a top-200 in-state prospect over the Buckeyes, Bearcats, and Nittany Lions, among over two dozen others.

Michigan State was the perceived leader in his recruitment for about a year and hiring his high school coach Thomas Wilcher felt like the knockout punch. But Mel Tucker and the Spartans were losing momentum in this recruitment, especially after his official visit got postponed, but Michigan State turned the heat up again and finished strong here.

The Cass Tech (Mich.) star has a strong 6-foot-3, 245-pound frame and he’s plenty athletic. According to 247Sports, he had 12 tackles for loss and 10 sacks as a junior for Cass Tech.

His ceiling is very high and he’ll have some good coaches mentoring him and molding him.

Thompson is ranked the No. 197 overall recruit and 30th-best defensive lineman in the class, according to 247Sports. He joins Bai Jobe and Andrew Depaepe as the other four-star defensive linemen committed in the Spartans’ class.

Marco Coleman and Brandon Jordan have some nice pieces to work with.