Mark Dantonio and Michigan State have turned the program in to one of the more attractable destinations for high school recruits these days. Especially for offensive linemen.
The Spartans picked up their 13th commit in the 2013 with 6-foot-7, 280-pound offensive tackle Dennis Finley.
Finley is a player from Detroit Cass Tech, a high school in downtown Detroit that is trying to rebuild its relationship with MSU to send their kids to East Lansing. They hadn’t had a recruit commit to MSU since 2000 when cornerback Roderick Maples signed.
It’s been a long drought that Cass Tech head coach Thomas Wilcher never intended.
“It’s great to have a kid finally go to MSU,” Wilcher said. “We’ve been working hard on this for the last two or three years, Mark Dantonio and I together.”
But there are come fans and message boards out there that have accused Wilcher of steering Cass Tech recruits toward Michigan, his alma mater. Wilcher played running back for Bo Schembechler, and the Wolverines currently have five products from Cass Tech on their roster.
Wilcher hopes Finley’s decision to attend MSU will hopefully change some minds.
Rivals.com ranks Finley the No. 33 offensive tackle in the nation and No. 27 overall player in the state. He’s said to have been timed at 4.9 seconds in the 40-yard-dash.
He has the size and athletic ability that you can’t teach. And with an entire year to get bigger and stronger, Finley is going become a more powerful run blocker.
Dantonio and Wilcher hope they can continue the Cass Tech-MSU relationship.
Especially Dantonio if he continues to get players like Finley.
Will Wilson is a writer for Rant Sports covering College Football and the Big Ten Conference.
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