Michigan State Football: Meet the 2025 early signees

Happy day after Early Signing Day, everyone. We have officially hit that time of year where the recruits from the class of 2025 can officially sign their National Letters of Intent. Those who signed on Wednesday will officially become Spartans for next season and beyond (hopefully). While this isn’t the end of the recruiting cycle for Michigan State football, a lot of recruits like to sign early so they can enroll in college in the spring semester if they are able to graduate high school early. This allows them to attend winter conditioning.

The Spartans will still be very active recruiting for players intending to sign in February, regardless of what happened on Wednesday. Also, expect a lot of transfer portal attrition and signings as this roster continues to transform post Mel Tucker.

For now, let’s take a look at the players who officially became Spartans on Wednesday.

Derrick Simmons, 4-star DL — Frankenmuth, Mich.

For MSU’s highest-rated recruit of the class, we have to go a few minutes north of my hometown to Frankenmuth. Besides great tourist attractions, you’ll find a high school football program that has been up for the past few years. A big reason for that is defensive lineman Derrick Simmons. The 247Sports four-star prospect has been a starter on varsity all four years of his career. He is the 247th-ranked prospect on 247Sports and the third from the state of Michigan according to their rankings. Simmons stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 270 pounds. Derrick is insanely talented. He will have to work on a few things and may be a late-bloomer, but the upside is high and he could be a great piece in Joe Rossi’s defense in the future.

Charles White, 4-star LB — Orchard Lake, Mich.

The first of the Orchard Lake St. Mary’s contingent signing today is linebacker Charles White. He recently received his four-star status from 247Sports and is a high upside player. Fresh off a state championship for OLSM, he looks to set his sights on East Lansing and help continue to turn around the improving Michigan State football defense under Rossi.
White is 6-foot-3 and weighs about 200 pounds. He currently ranks as a top 10 player from Michigan in both the consensus and non-consensus 247Sports rankings. As with most of the other players in this recruiting class, he has freak athletic traits. He ran track at St. Mary’s as well and qualified for states in both the 110 hurdles and 300m hurdles in high school. He also had one kickoff return for a touchdown in high school this past season. White will be a welcome fit here for the Spartans.

Jace Clarizio, 3-star RB — East Lansing, Mich.

In probably the shocker of signing day, Jace Clarizio signed his letter of intent with Michigan State football. The East Lansing High School product was committed to the Spartans earlier in the summer. Recently, Alabama came calling and was able to flip his commitment right before Thanksgiving. Many Spartan fans gave up on his recruitment thinking he was long gone for Tuscaloosa. Jonathan Smith did not follow that train of thought. As reported by Spartan Tailgate, Smith and staff continued their pursuit of Clarizio. As recently as Tuesday night, they were in contact and wanting to try to bring Clarizio back into the fold in East Lansing. Whatever conversations were had seemed to work as Clarizio woke up on Wednesday morning and decided he was staying home. The three-star running back has great size and vision. He can be a dual-threat option. He will be a very solid running back for the Spartans in the future. He is 6-foot-0 tall and weighs about 190 pounds and he held 17 different offers.

Di’Mari Malone, 3-star LB — Macomb, Mich.

Another high-upside linebacker for Joe Rossi’s defense, next we have Macomb Dakota prospect Di’Mari Malone. He has been committed to the Spartans since May and he is eager to get started. The athletic linebacker prospect stands 6-foot-2 and weighs about 220 pounds. He is the 12th-best player from Michigan according to 247Sports. Rossi has made it his mission to rebuild the defense. Getting a deep group of linebackers in for him is going to help. Rossi has coached linebackers quite a bit throughout his career and likes to use them in many ways. Malone will be one of those players that should reach a high ceiling under Rossi eventually.

Aydan West, 3-star CB — Gaithersburg, Md.

I’ll be the first to admit, I was skeptical this prospect would end up staying in East Lansing. With one of Michigan State’s defensive back coaches leaving for UCLA this week and both Ohio State and Virginia Tech pushing hard to flip him, I just thought we had a lot working against the Spartans here. That was not the case. Smith, Rossi, and Blue Adams worked at keeping West in the green and white and it paid off.

West is the highest-ranked secondary prospect in the Spartans’ class. The 6-foot-0 corner out of Maryland is a high three-star prospect. He shows a good ability to tackle in open space and is pretty good in coverage as well. West will look to help bolster a secondary that was hit hard with injuries this past season. Adding to the depth at that position was a must for the coaching staff and they certainly went after some prospects. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an addition or two in the portal as well.

Terrance Edwards, 3-star CB — Richmond, Va.

Another athletic corner, Terrance Edwards is another high ceiling prospect Michigan State football landed in this cycle. Originally committed to West Virginia, he flipped his commitment down the stretch and thought East Lansing was a better place for him. The 6-foot-1 prospect did have some ties to the Spartans already. His cousin is none other than former Spartan standout wideout Felton Davis.

Edwards has good ball skills and shows an ability to stand out in coverage. It will be interesting to see how quickly he translates to the college game, but he is another exciting piece for our secondary.

Braylon Collier, 3-star WR — Sandusky, Ohio

One of the players I’ve personally been excited to see land in East Lansing, Braylon Collier is the highest-ranked receiver in the Spartans’ class. Personally, he’s someone who I think will fit insanely well with Courtney Hawkins as Collier is a speedy wideout from Ohio.
He stands 6-foot-1 and weighs approximately 170 pounds. He is a hard worker and speedy receiver that possesses a high ceiling. Hawkins and the staff have raved about him for a while now and I’m excited to see him get to work in East Lansing. Collier signed his letter of intent Wednesday morning and hopes to be in East Lansing soon. First, he has a state championship game with Perkins coming up on Saturday. Good luck to the future Spartan wideout.

George Mullins, 3-star CB — Bushnell, Fla.


You asked for more secondary help? OK, well I’ve got you covered. Conveniently so does cornerback prospect George Mullins when it comes to wideouts he’s up against. The Florida high school prospect is rated as a three-star currently, but I personally think that’s low. I think Mullins has some big upside. Unfortunately coming from Florida, there is a ton of talent and sometimes players get a bit overlooked. The tall, lanky corner from Bushnell is an athletic freak. He plays football and basketball as well as runs track in high school. Mullins stands 6-foot-2 and weighs about 170 pounds. Like a lot of the players in this class, he’s not a finished product yet. Adams and the new defensive backs coach yet to be hired will be tasked with helping George reach his potential, but that ceiling is high. He has showed flashes of speed and great coverage skills so I am interested to see how he turns out.

Evan Young, 3-star S — Lufkin, Texas

Next on the list would be Evan Young. The three-star safety from Texas is a newer commit to the class, as he just committed a couple days ago. Michigan State football did not offer Young until October so he was a little late on the radar of the staff. Young is also a multi-sport athlete running multiple events in track and field while in high school. He shows speed — a lot of it. His tape shows a willingness to step up and make tackles in space. He also shows good instincts in coverage. Young will eventually be a good piece for the secondary in East Lansing, in my opinion.

Justin Bell, 3-star OT — Macomb, Mich.

Next we have our first big-time offensive line commit for Jim Michalczik and the offensive line. When I say big-time by the way, I mean big-time. Justin Bell is a three-star offensive tackle prospect from Macomb Dakota. He was high school teammates with Di’Mari Malone, another 2025 signee for MSU. 

The big comments come in literal terms because of his size. Bell stands 6-foot-8 and currently weighs about 290 pounds. Some size will probably be added to that frame as well once he gets into the weight room in East Lansing.

Bell has the talent to eventually be a major factor in the offensive line room for the Spartans. I’d classify him as one of those prospects with high upside. What’s exciting about that if you are a Spartan fan is that the current offensive line coach has a track record of developing players to their highest potential. We’ve seen Michalczik produce linemen playing on Sundays regularly already. We also got a firsthand look at some of his best work with Tanner Miller this season being the anchor of the line. Hopefully he can continue to work his magic with Bell as well.

Leo Hannan, 3-star QB — Anaheim, Calif.

The first prospect to commit to Michigan State football from the 2025 class was quarterback Leo Hannan from Anaheim, Calif. Credit to Hannan as once he committed, he was locked in and focused on making MSU his home. He was often seen trying to help the staff in recruiting and personally I love when recruits do that.
On the field, the Servite High School product is just starting to scratch the surface of his potential. Hannan is 6-foot-4 and weighs about 210 pounds. He has major upside to his game. Working with Smith will be big for him and his development in my opinion.
The three-star quarterback has a huge arm and can really make any throw. His ability to make plays both in and out of the pocket is evident. He’s not the fastest quarterback, but I think he will have the ability to extend the play, if needed. Should he continue his development path, he could be a really great find for this staff.

Drew Nichols, 3-star IOL — Murrieta, Calif.

The next piece of the class offers Michalczik some more help for the offensive line. This time the interior portion of it, assumably. Drew Nichols is a 6-foot-5, 270-pound lineman who can play multiple positions. He will probably end up getting most of his reps at guard in my opinion but I believe he could play center or even slide out to tackle in a pinch if needed. The California kid received 12 offers and was shows a lot of upside as well. The Spartans were able to secure a commitment from him fairly early on and he never wavered. He will be a welcome piece to the offensive line room for the future.

Jayden Savoury, 3-star TE — Orchard Lake, Mich.

Continuing on the theme of raw, high-upside players. Jayden Savoury has entered the chat. Savoury is a 6-foot-6, 210-pound tight end prospect from Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. He is a multi-sport athlete there and was a stand out on the basketball court. What qualifies Savoury as a raw player is the fact that he just started playing football in his junior year of high school. He has flashes of skills in all aspects of his game. Obviously his athletic ability allows him to make ridiculous plays in the receiving game. What has been underrated about him is his flashes to block well and how quickly he has picked up the game. Overall, I think his ceiling is really high and he can develop into a really good all around tight end in the future.

Cal Thrush, 3-star DL — Columbus, Ohio

Our last defensive line prospect to discuss would be none other than Cal Thrush. The three-star lineman from Columbus, Ohio. Thrush is another under-recruited, high-upside guy for Michigan State football. He has decent size at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds but his best skill in my opinion is his work ethic. He is a dawg and will relentlessly look to improve as much as possible.

Thrush held 16 offers in total. The Spartans were able to land a commitment from him early this summer after hosting him on a visit. He joins Simmons and deferred signee Leonard Ah You as defensive line prospects in this class. I would be imagine a couple of portal signees will be on their way to help add depth to the group as well.

Carles Taplin, 3-star WR — Red Oak, Texas

Another 2025 recruit from the state of Texas, Charles Taplin is a speedy wideout from Red Oak High School. Hawkins and Taplin hit it off from the get-go and he committed in June. He seems to fit the profile of targets Smith and Co. were looking for in this class. Smaller, quick, speedy players who can spread the field and take the top off of a defense. Taplin is 6-foot-1 and weighs 160 pounds. His athleticism is off the charts. He played basketball and ran track in high school. His speed is ever-present as he posted several sub-50-second reps in 400-meter runs during track season. Hopefully that speak will be a difference-maker on the field to pair with bigger targets like Nick Marsh.

Zion Gist, 3-star RB — Frankfort, Ill.

One of the newest commits, Zion Gist, is a three-star running back prospect that Michigan State recently flipped from Western Michigan. The 6-foot-0, 200-pounder from Frankfort, Ill., is a solid all-around back. 247Sports’ Justin Thind mentioned several times in the past few days that he sees shades of Ka’Ron Lynch-Adams in him. Signing Gist seemed to be a backup plan for losing Clarizo to Alabama when that seemed to be how things were going to shake out. Now with both signed in the class, that could give the Spartans a solid future 1-2 punch on offense. Also, some much-needed depth sooner than later with KLA graduating and the possibility of Nate Carter moving on from MSU. Brandon Tullis and Makhi Frazier both saw reps this year as true freshmen. I wouldn’t be surprised if both Clarizio and Gist got some work next year depending on how the roster plays out.

Leonard Ah You, 3-star LB — Kahuku, Hawaii

Admittedly, this one I had no idea was coming. Not many people seemed to either. That was how the coaching staff wanted to keep it as well. Leonard Ah You was a three-star linebacker from Hawaii from the 2023 class and he originally signed with Jonathan Smith and Oregon State. Directly after high school ended, Ah You decided to go on a mission trip for two years and hold off on playing football. Well that mission just recently ended and he is back and still wanting to play college ball. Enter, Smith. He was able to reconnect with Ah You and convince the re-classified prospect to come to East Lansing.

Ah You is a great athlete. He figures to fit into Rossi’s scheme as a stand-up edge rusher with great speed. He also can cover pretty well, so you may see that happen at times. Ah You is 6-foot-4 and weighs about 210 pounds. He was a stand out at the 2022 Polynesian Bowl in Hawaii. The linebacker/edge rusher has a lot of potential and already built up a good relationship with rush ends coach Chad Wilt from his previous recruitment.

Jack Wills, LS/TE — Hudsonville, Mich.

Jack is a TE and Long Snapper from Hudsonville, Mich., who was signed to be the long snapper of the future for Michigan State football. Some rankings have Jack listed as the No. 2 long snapper in the country. He may see some early reps at the position as our main long snapper Kaden Schickel suffered an injury this season.
Regardless of where he plays, Wills will be a hard worker and nice piece to fit in for the Spartans.

More to come?

While the vast majority of the class of 2025 signed on Wednesday, it doesn’t mean every recruit we will next year turned in their paperwork already. December marks the official early signing period where kids can opt to enroll early. The last official signing day will take place on February 5, 2025. That is when all 2025 prospects have to have their letters of intent in by.

The Spartans’ current class sits at 17 players signed. They still do have one player considered committed and that is three-star athlete Bryson Williams from Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. Bryson is a do-everything player on both offense and defense for them. Williams figures to contribute mostly at running back for Michigan State football but I could see some potential defensive snaps coming into play as well. He is planning on signing with MSU still, just on February’s signing day.

MSU also expects to make a play for one of Bryson’s other teammates, offensive line prospect Antonio Johnson. He and the Spartans have been in contact for a while now and it would be a great grab by the staff to land him.

As for the rest of the class, I think a lot of needs will have to be identified in the portal and after that is complete. The Spartans can stand to add pieces at several positions now and probably even more once the portal opens. A lot of those may also be filled through the transfer portal. Once portal season closes, we will get a better feel for if Michigan State football plans on adding anymore from the high school ranks in February.

Until then, welcome home to all of the new Spartans. Go Green.