MSU stays aggressive in-state with Willis offer
Michigan State stayed close to home, and made evaluations on both sides of the ball, when making Jackson Lumen Christi athlete Khari Willis the latest in-state player to receive a Spartan scholarship offer for 2015.
Willis is the ninth in-state player to receive a Michigan State scholarship offer for the 2015 recruiting cycle, marking the busiest the Spartans have been with in-state offers since at least 2009, maybe ever. This trend is consistent with Michigan State's recent efforts to get young recruits on campus earlier and earlier for visits, contacts and evaluations.
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"We worked to get over a thousand visits from the start of the school year until the end of 2013 from young prospects, primarily from the state of Michigan and the Midwest," said Michigan State director of college advancement Curtis Blackwell. "Unofficial visits are the most important part of the recruiting process right now."
Willis marked several of those 1,000 visits during the fall season.
"I have been up there plenty of times, it is a great school and a great program," Willis said. "I like Michigan State a lot."
Michigan State's staff is proven in its ability to make strong evaluation decisions - as shown by the 2013 march to the Big Ten Championship and Rose Bowl. Now, MSU appears to be putting those evaluation skills to work earlier in the process. The latest result was the scholarship offer to Willis, a 6-foot, 200-pound athlete who rushed for 1,565 yards with 27 TDs in eight games this year.
First-year defensive line coach Ron Burton has taken over as the primary recruiter of the Jackson area and parts of southern Michigan. He has established a relationship with Willis, but he isn't the only one.
"My recruiting coach from Michigan State is Ron Burton, but I have been in contact with all of the coaches from there," said Willis, whose Jackson home is just 40 minutes south of East Lansing. "Coach D is who offered me a scholarship."
Willis has already been in contact with multiple position coaches at Michigan State partly because the Spartans are evaluating him at several positions, and like him as a prospect on either side of the ball.
"They are thinking I could play running back, wide receiver or safety," he said.
Willis is in the initial stages of narrowing his choices. The Michigan State offer will likely lead to more schools coming in and checking out his film, but the Spartans are off to a strong start.
"I will be looking at the tradition of the school, the chances of playing and the overall atmosphere," Willis said, when asked what factors he will consider.
Willis is one of the top all around athletes in the Midwest for the class of 2015. Like many football prospects, he is also an outstanding basketball player and many thought that would be his future. However, Willis has elevated his game on the gridiron to the level where he is now a high-level Division 1 recruit.
His outstanding junior football season garnered him numerous post-season accolades, including 1st Team All-State by The Detroit News.
SpartanMag.com ranks Willis the No. 11 prospect in the state of Michigan for the class of 2015. We would not be surprised if he makes a move up the rankings after he attends some camps and combines this spring and summer.
Willis joins eight other in-state players with Spartan scholarship offers for 2015:
-ATH Brian Cole
-RB Mike Weber
-QB Jayru Campbell
-DL Joshua Alabi
-CB Tyson Smith
-ATH John Kelly
-LB Tyriq Thompson
Michigan State has been keeping a close eye on Willis for more than a year. The staff has invited him up to campus several times and they have stopped by Lumen Christi High School as well. We asked him about his current offers and schools that are in frequent contact.
"Central Michigan and Michigan State have offered me a scholarship," he said. "Ohio State, Michigan, Northwestern, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Buffalo are all showing lots of interest."
Several other aspects make Willis an attractive recruit. Not only is he a very good student in the classroom at Lumen Christi, but he is also actively involved in his community.
SpartanMag.com will continue to follow the recruitment of Willis as it unfolds over the coming weeks. We fully expect him to be one of the recruits that the Spartan staff looks to have on campus as much as possible in the coming months.
Matt Dorsey's Take: There is a lot to like about Willis. Watching his film, I think his highest potential is on the defensive side of the ball. He has a frame which will allow him to fill-out and it would not surprise me if he is 215-220 pounds by the time he steps onto a college campus. If that is the case it is very possible that he could develop into a player in the mold of a Denicos Allen.