Michigan State football can easily say it has gotten better this offseason thanks to both high school recruiting and most importantly the transfer portal.
One big need was pass rushers. The Spartans were able to address that with a big snag from Big Ten foe Wisconsin.
Anelu Lafaele was a four-star recruit coming out of Hawaii in the class of 2024. He chose the Badgers but didn't see the field this past season and will have four years of eligibility remaining. The Spartans certainly made him a priority in the portal, and they were able to land him.
Welcome home! Excited to have these guys on campus and looking forward to getting to work with them! Go Green! pic.twitter.com/79ao8YnofE
— Jonathan Smith (@Coach_Smith) January 12, 2025
Now as he has arrived in East Lansing, Lafaele has plenty to say on why he chose the green and white. A huge part of it was his familiarity with defensive line coach Legi Suiaunoa, who recruited him heavily when this staff was still at Oregon State. According to Jason Killop from SpartanMag, Lafaele said that relationship was a big reason he felt comfortable picking State.
"Coming out of high school, I was being recruited by them at Oregon State," Lafaele said. "Just being able to hear from them out of the portal was awesome. Coach Legi, our relationship is really strong. I just felt like I could trust these coaches and trust what they can do with me."
It has been key from the beginning with this staff that the state of Hawaii is very important. That pipeline had famous moments back in the day for Michigan State. It's great to see it open again, in this day and age.
It doesn't hurt that Anelu was already very familiar with the pair of Hawaii natives Kekai Burnett and Rustin Young who both signed with the Spartans in 2024.
"That was really important," Lafaele said. "Coach Legi is awesome. He has Kekai and Rustin here. I effectively grew up with those guys. Rustin and I went to middle school together and I have trained with Kekai forever. Just having that family foundation is awesome."
The duo of Lafaele and Burnett could be very effective for the green and white for years to come.
It's great to have guys that want to be here.