Michigan State football lands California OL over new Big Ten foe

Michigan State football has officially landed a California-based offensive lineman over new Big Ten foe, UCLA.

The month of June as been very nice to the Michigan State football program and the positive momentum for the 2025 recruiting class continues with the another commitment this afternoon.

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Head coach Jonathan Smith shared his signature ‘flaming spear’ GIF on Twitter and Spartan fans knew a commitment was imminent.

This afternoon, three-star offensive lineman Drew Nichols committed to the green and white following his official visit to East Lansing this past weekend. After his visit, Nichols cancelled his scheduled official visit to UCLA and made his pledge to offensive line coach Jim Michalczik.

BREAKING: #MichiganState lands three-star IOL Drew Nichols fresh off his OV in East Lansing over offers from Arkansas, Miami (Fla.) and UCLA among others.

The first commitment in the 2025 class for OL coach Jim Michalczik is a familiar one with his extensive west coast ties. The… pic.twitter.com/MbNNfSblRE

— Kenny Jordan (@Kenny_Jordan5) June 10, 2024

Nichols is a 6-foot-5 offensive lineman from Murrieta Valley High School in California and was a high priority target for Michalczik in his first recruiting class at Michigan State.

Projecting as an interior offensive lineman at the college level, the staff has been prioritizing highly athletic lineman to fit the new offensive scheme they’ve brought to town. At 270 pounds, Nichols will need to add 30-40 pounds before seeing the field, something that should be attainable in his first couple years in a college strength and conditioning program.

The seventh commitment of the Spartans’ 2025 recruiting class, Nichols rounds out a really solid foundation for Smith’s first full cycle at Michigan State. As it stands today, MSU has commitments from a quarterback, running back, receiver, tight end, two linebackers, and now an interior offensive lineman. Having a quarterback and a top offensive line target committed to the program should make things easier on the new recruiting staff. They have some really good positions to build around and should be in a great spot to knock the it out of the park for the rest of official visit season.

Although the star power of this recruiting class is not on the same level as the 2023 and 2024 classes, Smith appears to be targeting guys who fit the culture he’s building. Rather than hitting on a couple four-stars and settling for players at the bottom of their boards, Smith has found a good spot targeting high quality players that are currently attainable with the current state of Michigan State football.

I’m excited to see how this class rounds out and I fully expect some of these players to see a bump up in rankings as we approach the fall.