The second weekend of official visits is now upon us, Michigan State football fans.
After a fairly successful first weekend which saw two commitments from visitors. They also made great impressions with several other visitors and hope to maybe land a few more recruits from the past weekend as well.
So with a fresh batch of recruits coming in, could the staff be close to landing a couple more commitments? That is certainly possible.
Let’s take a look at the list of visitors coming in this weekend.
**All rankings used on this list are based off of 247Sports lists
Charles Belser, 3-star LB (Philadelphia, Penn.)
Charles Belser is an athletic linebacker hailing from the Imhotep Institute in Philly. He stands 6-foot-2 and weighs about 215 pounds. He is ranked as an 87 overall in both the 247Sports composite and regular rankings. He currently holds 14 offers and appears to have a top three fairly narrowed down. It seems that MSU, Virginia Tech, and UCF are the frontrunners for Belser’s services. To me, MSU has a lead here and I'm hoping we can have a strong enough visit this weekend to get him to commit.
Joe Rossi and his staff have built up some strong relationships with Belser so far. Hopefully this weekend furthers that.
TJ Umenyiora, 3-star CB (Roswell, Ga.)
If you feel that TJ Umenyiora’s last name sounds familiar, it might. He is the son of former NFL Pro Bowl defensive lineman Osi Umenyiora. TJ is well on his way to making a name for himself as he is becoming a highly sought-after prospect. He currently holds 29 offers and has had four visits scheduled so far. He has already visited Northwestern and Mississippi State. He will be at MSU this weekend and then close his current schedule with Auburn next week.
Umenyiora stands 6-foot-1 and weighs about 185 pounds. He is rated as an 87 overall. Auburn seems to be the biggest threat to the Spartans so far and it doesn’t feel like a decision is currently imminent. TJ has also left the last weekend open for another visit if another school comes in. The next steps remain to be seen but a good visit this weekend could go a long way in this recruitment.
Zachary Washington, 3-star WR (Wheaton, Ill.)
Zachary Washington is an 87-rated prospect who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs about 185 pounds. He holds 21 offers and has three visits on the books. He was at Wisconsin last weekend and will be in East Lansing this weekend for sure, and plans to visit West Virginia next weekend. There is talk about him visiting Indiana on the weekend of June 20 but that is not confirmed yet. Most experts have this race down to two horses, MSU and Wisconsin with the Badgers having a lead.
With Washington being in Madison last weekend, but not shutting his recruitment down means the Spartans do have a chance still to make an impression. I think there might be some ground to make up, however. Courtney Hawkins and the staff have been working hard with Washington so I would never count them out. Here’s hoping for a great visit this weekend to help the cause.
Nehemiah Kolone, 3-star DT (Stillwater, Okla.)
Nehemiah Kolone is coming to East Lansing after coming off of a visit with his hometown team, Oklahoma State. The defensive tackle prospect stands 6-foot-4 and weighs about 255 pounds. He holds nine total offers so far and is rated an 86 overall on 247Sports.
So far, he has four visits in place. He was at Oklahoma State last weekend. After MSU this weekend, he will travel to Kansas the weekend of June 13 and then finish out with BYU on the weekend of June 20. There had been rumors circling that Nehemiah may want to stay close to home. Those thinking that would have expected Oklahoma State to have the edge however that may not be the case.
Kolone is a multi-sport athlete. He is on the track team at his high school and has qualified for state playoffs in the shot put and discus throws. He is a very strong athlete and has shown some real potential at the defensive tackle position.
Eliyjah Caldwell-Hardy, 3-star S (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Another defensive back prospect coming in this month, safety Eliyjah Caldwell-Hardy is a 6-foot-0, 185-pound prospect from Jacksonville and he is listed as an 86 overall on 247Sports. He currently holds 10 offers. Most people have this narrowed down to a two-horse race as he only scheduled two visits so far and MSU is his first visit this weekend. This will mark the first time he is coming to East Lansing. Cardwell-Hardy's other visit is taking place next weekend close to home at Florida Atlantic.
Caldwell-Hardy also runs track and is very athletic.
This being his first visit to East Lansing, the staff will look to certainly show off MSU and all it has to offer. Expect the campus tours to be highlighted and us to really show off how awesome the campus and city can be. With several defensive backs coming in this weekend and overall this month, it is unclear of who they are hoping to land or exactly how MSU wants its defensive back room to play out.
I expect some commitments to be coming for this room after visits but I am unsure of who the staff is prioritizing. This weekend could tell us a lot about this plan so stay tuned.
Christopher Knauls, 3-star DT (Frisco, Texas)
Christopher Knauls is one of the prospects I am most intrigued about coming to town this weekend. Not just for his cool first name either. He stands 6-foot-4 and weighs almost 265 pounds and 247 rates him as an 85 overall.
Knauls has 22 total offers so far and he scheduled five official visits. He visited Oklahoma State on April 18 and was at Boise State last weekend. After visiting MSU this weekend, he will travel to Houston on June 13 and then to Kansas on June 20. Chris is super athletic. He plays basketball and threw discus on the track and field team as a freshman. The multi-sport athlete shows a lot of raw potential. He has a great get-off at the line and has showcased a lot of relentless pass rush and his power also could be a real asset as well.
Coming from Lonestar High School in Frisco, he is no stranger to a great level of competition. MSU being the only school from the top conferences in college football should be really appealing to him. So far his recruitment has been a real priority for the staff. Hopefully they can continue to build on that and really make some strong closing arguments for him this weekend.
Tyson Sanford, NR CB (Suwanee, Ga.)
Tyson Sanford is a late riser so far in the 2026 cycle but is starting to gain some major attention. He stands 5-foot-11 and weighs about 180 pounds. Sanford is currently unranked in the 247Sports rankings but I would expect that to change when future updates come out. He currently holds 18 total offers. Currently it appears to be a two-horse race with MSU and Wake Forest being the only two schools with visits scheduled.
Wake Forest is prioritizing his services pretty adamantly. Safeties coach James Adams has been helping with his recruitment along with defensive back coach Blue Adams. James spent the last three seasons at Wake Forest. He would be a key cog in trying to counter Wake’s push as he knows the ins and outs of that program.
Look for him to make a big difference in this recruitment should we land Tyson.
Recruits who visited during the week this week:
While there have been no commitments yet, it is worth noting that Michigan State also hosted four recruits for mid-week visits this week.
- Carter Gooden, 4-star EDGE (Marion, Mass.) -- No. 69 overall recruit on 247Sports
- Tyson Harley, 3-star LB (Washington D.C.)
- Jaxson Gates, 3-star CB (La Verne, Calif.) -- Current Syracuse commit
- Adrian Hamilton, 3-star IOL (Washington D.C.)
Overall, we’ve heard great things regarding these visits. Hopefully we will get some updates soon from the players and possibly some decisions in the future. The staff has brought another talented group of prospects to campus this weekend. I am excited to see how the visits go and if we can land a couple more commitments from the bunch. Keep it here for all the latest recruiting updates.
Congratulations to all the prospects visiting and good luck to the staff this weekend. Go Green.