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November 15, 2007 It is getting near the time when recruiting will take center stage. Coach Mark Dantonio and his staff will look to host numerous top prospects on official visits in the coming weeks, including Detroit Martin Luther King standout Nick Perry. Find out the latest in this edition of The Hot List.Recruiting for the class of 2008 is in full swing. Coach Mark Dantonio is in the process of putting together his first full recruiting class at Michigan State and SpartanMag.com updates our regular feature, The Hot List. Who are the top recruits on the board at this particular point in time? The latest: Since our last Hot List the Spartans picked up two commitments. The first was linebacker Jamiihr Williams of Ohio. SpartanMag.com scouted Williams at the Michigan State summer camp and let Spartan fans know he was a player to keep an eye on. He was finally offered and committed virtually on the spot. He is a good get for Coach Dantonio and his staff. The other commitment is sleeper wide receiver Myles White of Livonia Stevenson High School. White is another player who camped at Michigan State this summer. His strong performance at camp got the staff's attention and when he followed that up with a good senior year the staff decided to offer. White will need to fill-out and add size, but he has the speed, quickness and hands the staff likes to see. SpartanMag.com has informed Michigan State fans on several occasions that Coach Dantonio prefers to have official visits after the season. Now some see this as wasting a game day atmosphere, but Coach Dantonio wants to have as much time as possible to build rapport with a recruit and his family. The staff surely loves having kids on campus unofficially for game day atmosphere, but as far as official visits, they want to be able to give the recruit and his family undivided attention and that is just not possible on a game day. Considering Dantonio had a very impressive close rate on recruits that officially visited last December and January, it is hard to argue with success. NOTE: This information is compiled from our own research, interviews and observations. It does not necessarily reflect the actual opinions of the Michigan State coaching staff. We will update this list frequently to show the increased level of interest of Michigan State toward key prospects and key prospects toward Michigan State. This Hot List contains players that not only have a Michigan State offer, but are obviously plan 'A' recruits for Coach Dantonio and his staff based on the information we have acquired from recruits themselves, high school coaches, and various recruiting updates. We are not going to list recruits that have a Spartan offer, but are not listing Michigan State as one of the schools they are seriously considering. The Hot List will be updated every few weeks. Players who commit to Michigan State will move to the Rivals.com commitment list. Here is the latest edition of Class of 2008THE HOT LIST! Athlete Morgan Carter of C.D. Hylton High School, Virginia The Info: Main Competition: Purdue, Rutgers, Boston College, UConn The Scoop: SpartanMag.com was able to observe Carter at the Penn State NIKE Camp and then again at the Michigan State Camp. Carter is a big athlete that could project at a variety of positions in college. At wide receiver he has the size to be a serious match-up problem on smaller defensive backs. On defense he could play safety or grow into an outside linebacker prospect depending on how much weight he puts on. Carter is also an outstanding student and a high character recruit. UPDATE Carter was on campus unofficlaly for the MSU/UM game and came away very impressed with the atmosphere.
Defensive back Darius Darks Plugerville High School, Texas The Info: Main Competition: Oklahoma, Iowa State, Baylor The Scoop: The Spartans are making a concerted effort to recruit Texas and Darks is one of the prospects they are focused on. Darks came up to East Lansing this summer and secured an offer with a solid performance. In recent weeks the Oklahoma Sooners have picked-up their level of interest in Darks since the contact period began. Darks has shifted from wide receiver to quarterback this fall due to an injury to the regular starter. He will get a chance to showcase his all-around athletic skills. UpdateDarks is scheduled to take an official visit to Michigan State the weekend of Nov 30th to Dec 2nd.
Athlete Derrick Grant of Lyndon B. Johnson High School, Austin, Texas The Info: Main Competition : Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa State The Scoop: Grant is a player the Spartan staff has been keeping an eye on for several months and they recently received his senior tape and decided to offer. Not long after the Spartans offered, the Oklahoma Sooners threw their hat into the ring. Credit Michigan State for getting in on Grant early and accurately evaluating him. The Sooners usually get players they want from Texas, but Grant wants early playing time and Michigan State may offer more of that. UpdateGrant is scheduled to take an official visit to Michigan State the weekend of Nov 30th to Dec 2nd.
Athlete Mark Ingram of Flint Southwestern Academy, Michigan The Info: Main Competition: Washington, Tennessee, Iowa The Scoop: Spartan fans are hoping they get the chance to cheer for another Mark Ingram. His father had a lot to do with the resurgence of Spartan football to a championship level back in the 1980's. What makes Ingram such an interesting prospect is his versatility, he has the ability to play running back or wide receiver. Ingram could also return punts and kicks at the next level. UpdateIngram took a visit to Wisconsin last weekend and came away impressed. He is also looking to officially visit Iowa and Illinois in the coming weeks as well. He has stated he may not take an official visit to East Lansing due to it being close to home. You can be sure the Spartans will want the opportunity to roll out the red carpet for him.
Linebacker DeAndre Jones Memphis University High School, Tennessee The Info: Main Competition: Stanford and Kentucky The Scoop: Jones is a player the Spartan staff has been actively recruitng for quite a while now. Last year the staff was able to sign Tennessee OL prospect Jared McGagha and this year they are hoping Jones also decides that the Big Ten is the place for him. The Spartans are looking to set up a visit in the near future. An official visit to East Lansing could go a long way toward determining Jones' final destination.
Cornerback Nieko Lipscomb of Tucker High School, Georgia The Info: Main Competition: Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina The Scoop: Lipscomb is a big lockdown cornerback in the mold of current Spartan Ross Weaver. The state of Georgia is always loaded with talent and this year is no exception. Last year the Spartans were able to get tight end David Duran to come to Big Ten Country. Lipscomb has family ties to the state of Michigan and the Spartan staff is hoping to get him on campus for an official visit. Lipscomb has a top 4 of Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Michigan State. He was recently moved up to a 4-star recruit. UpdateSpartanMag.com has learned that the in-state Bulldogs may be cooling off on Lipscomb a bit due to limited scholarship numbers and still needing to address other positions. The Buldogs have already signed numerous DB prospects for the class of 2008. The Spartans will still have to beat out several SEC teams, but the in-state Bulldogs certainly were viewed as an odds on favorite.
Defensive End Nick Perry of Detroit Martin Luther King High School, Michigan The Info: Main Competition: Michigan, Southern Cal The Scoop: Every team is looking for that player that can come off the edge and get to the quarterback. Nick Perry is the recruit in Michigan that people view as a player that can speed rush the quarterback or drop into coverage if he has to. Coach Dantonio is looking for someone to be a Julian Peterson type of impact player. Perry has the physical tools to do the job. He has had an outstanding senior year and could be the #1 prospect in Michigan for the class of 2008. UpdatePerry has not really focused much on recruiting much as of late due to his team hoping to make history. Detroit MLK is in the semi-finals and will meet Rochester Adams this Saturday. Perry has been unable to make any unofficial visits the past few weekends due to schedule conflicts, and that will again be the case this weekend.
Offensive Line Hamani Stevens Hemet High School, California The Info: Main Competition: Arizona State, Colorado, Brigham Young, Oregon The Scoop: Stevens is a big time prospect and the Spartans are hoping to set up a visit for early December. Stevens has the option of gradutaion early and enrolling in January. That fact makes him even more of a valuable recruit from Michigan State's point of view. Stevens did not take a visit to East Lansing for the Michigan game. Coach Dantonio and his staff prefer to have recruits take official visits after the season so that they can give the recruits and their families their full attention.
Defensive Back Brynden Trawick of Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia The Info: Main Competition: Purdue, Ole Miss, Boston College, Maryland The Scoop: The Spartans are actively recruiting Georgia this year and it has already paid off in getting Trawick to officially visit East Lansing. Trawick informed SpartanMag.com that he was impressed with Michigan State and could see himself playing for the Green and White. He still plans on taking a few more visits, but the strong impression the Spartans made is a positive. Trawick wants to play early and he knows that both Warrick and Key are graduating after this year.
Defensive Back Lorenzo White Jr. of Fort Lauderdale Dillard High School, Florida The Info: Main Competition: Auburn, LSU, South Carolina, Miami The Scoop: Michigan State was the first major school to offer this outstanding legacy prospect. Several other schools are now trying to get involved with White, but the Spartans look to have the inside track. White has the size to project as either a big cornerback or as a ball-hawking free safety at the next level. White officially visited Michigan State on homecoming when the Spartans defeated the Indiana Hoosiers.
Defensive End John Youboty of Klein High School, Texas The Info: Main Competition: Missouri and Cal The Scoop: The Spartans recently offered Youboty and they could have a good shot at landing the pass rush specialist. Youboty's older brother, Ashton, played for Coach Dantonio at Ohio State and that positive relationship could pay dividends. Youboty has the Spartans in his top three along with Missouri and Cal. The Spartans have 3 coaches recruiting the Lone Star State this year and are hoping it pays dividends come signing day.
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