On the eve of the first official Michigan State football practice of the season, Jonathan Smith and Co. remained hard at work on the recruiting trail. This time, new executive director of player personnel Antwon Murray reached out, offering 2026 defensive lineman Frederic Sainteus from Florida.
Murray spent the last nine years working for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and reached into Florida again, with Sainteus being a Naples native.
Frederic Sainteus is under-recruited with loads of upside
Sainteus becomes the 40th defensive lineman offered by the Spartans, and is currently ranked No. 1,611 nationally. He has been praised for his motor, and his recruiting has trended up in recent months. Sainteus earned an offer from Florida Atlantic following a standout camp in June, and an additional Florida International offer, before committing to the Owls. This occurred one month, to the day, from his Michigan State football offer.
Sainteus also was at Wisconsin football camp in June, but left without an offer. Michigan State football thought otherwise, and elected to offer the 6-foot-3.5, 273-pound prospect.
The defensive lineman is relatively new to the game of football, only picking it up his freshman season of high school. Last season was his first at the varsity level for Golden Gate High School, and it was a standout one. He recorded 71 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks in his nine games last year.
He will be moving to St. John Neumann High School for his senior campaign, a slight bump in levels of competition.
Spartans offer started a storm
Following his Michigan State offer, it appears that Frederic Sainteus’ phone did not stop ringing. The defensive lineman had multiple Power Four schools sending scholarships his way.
Sainteus added offers from Syracuse, Florida, and Miami since Monday night. This continues a trend seen early during the Spartan recruiting trail, where Smith and Co. buy in early on a player. This trend was notably seen with commits Kayd Coffman, Eli Bickel, KJ Deriso, and Samson Gash.
This staff has been great at finding their guys and ignoring the noise from recruiting services.
Class recap
As it stands, Michigan State football currently has four defensive line commitments in its 2026 recruiting class. The Spartans hold pledges from edge rushers Chris Addison, Fameitau Siale, and Corey House, alongside defensive lineman Christopher Knauls.
Knauls (No. 162) ranks slightly above Sainteus in class rankings, with Sainteus ranking at No. 167 for defensive lineman.
The Spartans also hold pledges from two other Florida natives, that being defensive back Eliyjah Caldwell-Hardy (a Jacksonville native) and wide receiver Tyren Wortham (Sarasota).
