Michigan State has landed its first blue-chip prospect of the 2025 class.

Four-star cornerback LaRue Zamorano III announced his commitment to head coach Jonathan Smith, cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin, secondary coach Blue Adams and the Spartans on Saturday on social media.

Prior to the announcement, Zamorano told Rivals' Adam Gorney about the strong bond he has with Martin ("Coach Meat"), director of player engagement Kurt Richardson and the rest of the MSU coaches.

“It’s been great,” Zamorano said about his relationship with Michigan State. “I’ve pretty much always had a relationship with Coach (Martin), he’s like an uncle to me. He’s a really good mentor. Me and my family are really comfortable with Coach Meat, along with (Kurt Richardson).

“What stood out to me was how involved the coaches are with the players, how connected they are with the players."

Zamorano had more than 20 scholarship offers in total. In May, Zamorano revealed his top seven schools, which included Arizona, Kansas, Michigan State, Oregon, Penn State, USC and Washington. He took official visits to Michigan State, Kansas and Washington.

The Corona, California native was offered by the Spartans in January, but prior relationships with Martin and Adams helped Michigan State land the four-star cornerback. Martin started recruiting Zamorano when he served as Oregon’s cornerbacks coach at his previous stop. Adams also recruited Zamorano when he coached at Oregon State.

“To be honest, my relationship with Coach Meat is very, very good,” Zamorano told Spartans Illustrated after his official visit. “He’s been recruiting me since ninth grade. He offered me when he was at Oregon. We’re both from the same area, so me and him get along very well.

“Along with Coach Blue, he’s been recruiting me since he was at Oregon State, too, so for a very long time. So, I have a really tight relationship with (Adams), too. I like how Coach Meat and Coach Blue, they both bond together, they both coach together, they do everything together football-wise.”

Zamorano’s relationship with Smith is relatively new, but he’s built it up in his visits to East Lansing.

"Coach Smith, I'm just now getting to know him, really, but I feel like he's a good dude," Zamorano previously said. "I've built a relationship with him over these past times I've been at Michigan State, so I really have nothing bad to say about the staff in general. Everybody there is just a good individual.”

The 6-foot-2, 186-pound Zamorano likes to be physical at the line of scrimmage and he feels comfortable playing in both man coverage and zone coverage. He is confident in his tackling ability as well. All of those are traits that Michigan State defensive coordinator Joe Rossi likes in Zamorano.

"The defensive coordinator, Coach Rossi, I connected with him for a little bit," Zamarano said. "We had a couple conversations about how he likes my game. He likes how I'm a physical corner. He likes how I can tackle because a lot of cornerbacks can't really tackle. He loves the way I play."

One of the most important factors for Zamorano is that he wanted to commit to a school that made him feel like a priority, and Michigan State did just that.

Zamorano ranks in the Rivals250 in the 2025 class, and he is the 23rd-ranked player in California and 22nd-ranked cornerback in the cycle.

Zamorano joins two other California natives in Michigan State’s 2025 recruiting class – three-star offensive lineman Drew Nichols and three-star quarterback Leo Hannan.

Other commits in the class include three-star athlete Bryson Williams, three-star defensive backs Aydan West and George Mullins, three-star defensive end Cal Thrush, three-star defensive tackle Derrick Simmons, three-star linebackers DiMari Malone and Charles White, three-star offensive lineman Justin Bell, three-star running back Jace Clarizio, three-star tight ends Jayden Savoury and Emmett Bork, and three-star wide receivers Braylon Collier and Charles Taplin.

Zamorano is Michigan State’s 16th verbal commit of the 2025 high school recruiting class, and the first four-star prospect to pledge to the group.

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