The Book on VanSumeren: MSU's coaches won him over

There are complete football players, and then there are completely dominant football players. As a junior at Essexville Garber High School last fall, Alex VanSumeren - MSU’s latest recruiting commitment - was both.

For a team that went 7-2 and advanced to the District Championship Game (the Division 5 round of 16), VanSumeren commanded double-teams as a defensive tackle, ransacked backfields as a defensive end, and made a dent on offense as a lineman, tight end and running back.

At 6-3, 300, he isn’t just a plow horse when carrying the ball. He has vision, and some cut-back athleticism. Not that he will be a ball-carrying threat at the college level, but seeing this big man cutting to a hole with foot quickness, power and a little elusiveness just added to the list of things that Michigan State defensive line coach Ron Burton liked about VanSumeren as a defensive tackle.

“I remember one of the first times I talked to Coach Burton, he mentioned my explosiveness and athleticism and just the way I play the game,” said VanSumeren, a four-star defensive tackle who committed to Michigan State on Friday. “He mentions a lot about the fact that I play some running back. He says that speaks to athleticism.”

VanSumeren is ranked the No. 176 player in the country by Rivals.com and No. 4 in Michigan. He committed to Michigan State after taking official visits to Texas A&M, Penn State and Northwestern.

VanSumeren committed to Michigan in December of 2019 as a sophomore, but reopened his recruitment after the Wolverines went through some coaching changes, and after his older brother, linebacker Ben VanSumeren, announced his plans to transfer from Michigan. The older VanSumeren opted to transfer to Michigan State in February. The younger VanSumeren took four additional months to make his decision, but opted for the same destination.

“Ben has had a great experience so far,” Alex said. “He’s been putting in a lot of work and everything he’s said has been very positive.”

Alex VanSumeren saw positives in all of the schools he considered.

“There’s a lot of great schools that I took a look at, a lot of great people but Michigan State felt the most like home,” he said.

In what ways?

“The coaches,” he said. “All the coaches. Coach Tucker, Coach Burton, Coach Hazelton, Coach Peagler. They’ve been on me a long time, a very, very long time - even when I was committed to Michigan.

“Man, they are really good guys. Coach Tucker is a really cool dude. I’ve talked to a lot of his former players, even some at different schools where I was visiting who are now graduate assistants at those schools, and they all said the same thing. They all loved him. They all spoke very highly of him.

“And you can say the exact same thing for Coach Burton. Everyone who plays for him says he is a great coach. Just a family guy. He’s just done a great job recruiting me. I’ve been able to build a great relationship with him and we’ve got to know each other very well and I just felt like it was a perfect fit.”

What about the football side of his decision?

“I wanted to go somewhere where my game can be developed,” he said. “And I feel like Michigan State can do that for me.”

VanSumeren visited Michigan State twice since the campus reopened in the spring.

“The environment, it’s a healthy environment,” he said. “It’s a place where I feel I can do very well. Every Power Five is going to have a great facilities. The main thing is the people inside them. I feel like I can go to Michigan State and I can be developed.”

He wants to be part of a resurgent Michigan State.

“The program they’re building there, everyone from Coach Tucker, to Coach Burton, Coach Peagler, everyone on the staff, and it’s not just them, it’s the recruiting people, Lisa Ben-Chaim and everyone, they all just seem like really good people and they are all on the same page,” he said.

“I just felt like it was the right time. I wanted to do it before September, before my season started. Everything just kind of lined up perfectly.

“It feels like a relief. I’m extremely excited about it. I’m just pumped up. I’m hyped and I’m glad to be committed to such a great school. It was kind of hectic and everything, with all the text messages and everything but it’s good to be locked in somewhere.”