Tennessee DB commits Jaylen Thompson, Keshawn Williams ready to be Spartans

Michigan State's longest-tenured commit is 2024 cornerback Jaylen Thompson. He has been committed to the Spartans since late December in 2022.

This past October, Thompson's high school teammate at Riverdale in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, fellow defensive back Keshawn Williams, joined him as a Michigan State commit.

Now, the two Volunteer State defensive backs are ready to sign with MSU and officially become Spartans this week.

Both Thompson and Williams took an official visit to Michigan State this past weekend, and it only reiterated their commitments to the Spartans. They were able to get to know MSU's new coaching staff better, including head coach Jonathan Smith, and continued to build a strong relationship with secondary coach Blue Adams.

"Definitely getting back up and meeting the new coaches as well as connecting with some of the recruits (was my favorite part of the visit)," Thompson said. "It was me, my parents, and baby sister (on the trip)."

Thompson built a strong bond with the previous staff, especially with secondary coach and most recently interim head coach Harlon Barnett, who is still in consideration for a spot on Smith's staff, but is not officially hired in any role as of now. It was the family atmosphere that compelled Thompson to commit to Michigan State in the first place.

Now with a new staff in place, Thompson has that same feelings about the current coaches. He believes in their vision, likes their plan to develop him on and off the field and admires the way they care about him as a person.

Simply put, he's locked in.

"It showed me that it is still very family-oriented, that they want me to succeed beyond football and the importance of getting my degree," Thompson said about the new staff. "It was like even though the staff changed, the feeling and message was still the same and that just confirmed it even more for me and my family."

As for Williams, he felt a connection to the staff right away. He was picked up from the airport by defensive graduate assistant Bo Els, and they hit it off from the get-go.

"I mean, as soon as I arrived off the plane I was greeted by Coach (Bo) Els and it was like we already knew each other," Williams said.