Michigan State picked up an important commitment over the weekend as four-star Chicago-based defensive lineman Ohimai Ozolua picked the Spartans over Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State.
Pat Fitzgerald landed his first four-star in the 2027 class and it was a great cap to a solid spring and it doesn’t sound like the Spartans’ first-year head coach will have to worry about losing Ozolua to a decommitment.
About 48 hours after committing to Michigan State, Ozolua announced that he was officially “shutting down” his recruitment, affirming that he’s 100 percent locked in with the Spartans.
A lot can happen in recruiting these days so a top prospect announcing that he’s shutting down his recruitment usually doesn’t mean a whole lot. This feels a little different. After hearing Ozolua talk about the coaching staff and how he felt like a priority to Fitzgerald and Co. and the fact that he committed before taking his official visit to Michigan State tells me all I need to know.
Ozolua is locked in and has fully bought in to Fitzgerald’s plan.
I’m just going to assume that learning under Winston DeLattiboudere II is a big factor, too. The former NFL defensive line coach is in East Lansing to coach the same group and top recruits are noticing. Having a position coach with NFL experience is huge. He knows how to get them to the league.
Ozolua is ranked the No. 408 overall recruit and 49th-best defensive lineman in the 2027 class, according to 247Sports. The No. 15 prospect from Illinois held offers from the likes of Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Miami, Vanderbilt, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Tennessee, among others.
He’s locked in as a future ‘Spartan Dawg’, it appears.
Michigan State’s 2027 class is off to a decent start
The Spartans’ 2027 class may be ranked just 34th in the country as of April 26, but it has a good foundation with a couple of really good offensive linemen, a quarterback, a talented running back, a rising defensive back, and now a four-star defensive lineman.
A veteran coach like Fitzgerald knows how to build a roster through recruiting and he’s done a fantastic job with his first six commits in the 2027 cycle.
Fortunately for him, he’s surrounded himself by really solid recruiters like DeLattiboudere, Courtney Hawkins, Joe Rossi, Max Bullough, and Brian Wozniak, among others. He’s really set up to succeed and his young, energetic staff is already producing results.
The future is bright in East Lansing — for real this time.
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