Spartans set for key weekend

2010-01-18

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio and his staff will be hosting more than a dozen players this weekend on official visits. The visitors will be a mix of committed prospects and players the Spartans are hoping to add to the class of 2010.

Detroit products William Gholston (Southeastern), Mylan Hicks (Renaissance) and Tony Lippett (Crockett) are all MSU commits who plan to be in town for the weekend.

Gholston is a Rivals.com five-star prospect, the consensus No. 1 player in Michigan and the No. 21 player in the nation overall. Hicks and Lippett are three-star recruits and ranked the No. 8 and No. 19 players in Michigan, respectively. Hicks recently participated in the Offense-Defense All-American Game while Lippett was a Free Press Dream Team Selection.

Another committed player that will be on campus is Big Walnut (Ohio) offensive tackle Skyler Schofner. The 6-foot-7, 295-pound Schofner was recently elevated to a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and is now rated one of the top 250 prospects in the nation. Schofner has had impressive performances in several postseason All-American games.

The elevation of Schofner and Gholston in the national position rankings has also moved the Spartans up in the team rankings. The Spartans now have the third best class in the Big Ten based on rating per recruit. The Spartans trail only Penn State and Ohio State in the conference. Last year’s highly rated class was also rated third in the Big Ten using the same criteria.

One player that could help the Spartans climb even higher in the rankings is Chicago St. Rita defensive tackle Bruce Gaston Jr. The 6-foot-2, 290-pound prospect is ranked the No. 38 defensive tackle in the nation and has offers from all over the nation. Gaston camped at Michigan State last summer and has been a plan-A recruit ever since then.