During the Mark Dantonio era, the Hall of Fame head coach fielded several future NFL starters and Michigan State became a hotbed for pro talent while he was in charge.
Unfortunately, near the end of his coaching career, Dantonio kind of let his offense go by the wayside while the defense continued to flourish. He had some of the best defenses in college football despite barely sneaking into bowl games in 2018 and 2019 and missing one completely in 2016 — we won’t talk about that nightmare of a season right now.
Some defenders from those forgettable seasons ended up making the NFL leap and it wasn’t surprising to see them have success in the league.
One of those defenders was Khari Willis, a three-star safety originally from Jackson, Mich., who wasn’t the most highly-touted recruit, but he found his home in East Lansing and became an NFL prospect. He ended up getting drafted in the fourth round by the Colts where he started for several years before retiring at the age of 26 to pursue ministry.
Now he’s busy being an instrumental figure in the recruitment of a recent Michigan commit.
No, that’s not a typo, Michigan’s recent three-star commitment who was also a top Michigan State target looked to Willis — his cousin — for advice throughout his recruitment before ultimately choosing the Wolverines. Obviously Willis would have rather Lundon Hampton commit to Michigan State, but he just supported his cousin no matter the choice.
Hampton did take time to thank his cousin, former Spartan captain Khari Willis, for pushing him in every step of the process.
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) May 21, 2026
It can’t be an easy choice to spurn the school that developed your cousin into an NFL prospect and become a fan favorite after coming in as a three-star, but Hampton did just that.
Not only did he spurn Pat Fitzgerald and the Spartans, but he pulled the infamous hat pump fake to troll Michigan State. I’m sure Willis didn’t love that, but he supported his cousin regardless. I guess we can all forgive Khari for not getting Hampton to Michigan State.
All jokes aside, that just creates yet another fun storyline in the rivalry.
Khari Willis was one of Mark Dantonio’s most underrated players
People seem to forget just how good Khari Willis was. After playing sparingly in his first two seasons which were a rollercoaster with a College Football Playoff berth (2015) and then a 3-9 season (2016).
Willis really got his break in 2017 as the team’s starting safety and he helped turn the program right back around after that dreadful 3-9 campaign the year before. He broke out for 71 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, two interceptions, and three pass breakups while Michigan State won 10 games, including the Holiday Bowl over Washington State.
The following season was even better for Willis as he finished with a career-best 84 tackles, a tackle for loss, 10 pass breakups, and two interceptions. He was a key figure on that elite defense that really carried Michigan State to a bowl berth in 2018.
This is probably a name that most Spartan fans forgot until this very moment and that’s not fair to him because he was one heck of a player.
We can all forgive him for the Hampton-to-Michigan commitment.
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