Class of 2025 four-star offensive lineman and Rivals250 prospect Darius Afalava has locked in an official visit to Michigan State for the weekend of May 31 through June 2.

Afalava took to social media to announce the news on Monday night.

Shortly afterward, Afalava spoke to Spartans Illustrated about what he is looking forward to most during his first trip to East Lansing.

"Really, what I’m looking for is what the whole area looks like, because this will be my first time on the campus and I hope to spend some good time with a bunch of the coaches and grow my relationship with them," Afalava said.

Afalava currently ranks as the No. 1 player in the state of Utah, the No. 23 offensive tackle and the No. 199 player regardless of position in the 2025 class.

The Spartans offered Afalava a scholarship to Michigan State back in January, but the relationship goes back much farther than that. Afalava has been building up a bond with Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith and offensive line/run game coordinator Jim Michalczik ("Coach M") for a couple of years now.

Smith and Michalczik originally offered Afalava back in August of 2022 when they were coaching at Oregon State. The connection has only been strengthened from there, as there is still a lot of mutual interest between the two parties now that the coaches are at MSU.

Afalava is well aware of the staff's track record of developing players on and off the field and building a winning program. Those are the things he is looking for in a college program.

"My relationships with the coaches are great," Afalava explained. "The main thing that stands out for me about Coach M and Coach Smith is that they are all about development and winning, which is also what I’m about as well."

Afalava currently plays for Skyridge High School in Lehi, Utah, but he is originally from Hawaii.

He has 20 scholarship offers to his name thus far. In addition to Michigan State and Oregon State, Afalava has offers from Michigan, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, Arkansas, Oregon, UCLA, Texas A&M and several others.

The 6-foot-5, 320-pound Afalava is listed as a tackle by Rivals, and feels comfortable playing there, but noted that he likely projects as a guard at the college level.

He is a do-it-all offensive lineman.

"I would describe my game as great in getting in space and making the hard blocks and having great footwork and having good football IQ," he said.

As for the upcoming official visit, he is looking forward to seeing the coaching staff in person, exploring Michigan State's campus and facilities and learning more about the program city of East Lansing.

"I’m just really excited to be up there," Afalava said.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Join the discussion on this article in our premium forums by clicking here.

You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, and Instagram.

For video content, including our Red Cedar Radar podcast, find us on YouTube and consider subscribing.