BREAKING: Spartans Land Star OLSM ATH on Signing Day
Michigan State sweated it out to the end for running back/wide receiver Bryson Williams of Orchard Lake St. Mary's, who officially signed with the program on Wednesday's National Signing Day.
Williams committed in July but did not sign during the early signing period when teammates DJ White and Jayden Savoury inked with the Spartans.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound multi-positional weapon exploded during his senior year and became one of the state's very best players.
Williams is the No. 14 player in Michigan and the No. 77 running back nationwide, per the 247Sports Composite rankings.
The Spartans also signed two more -- running back Darrin Jones Jr. as a preferred walk-on and offensive tackle Antonio Johnson, who has a high ceiling. From what I was told in the summer, Johnson was always locked onto the Spartans.
Michigan State's pipeline through the elite prep school is the prime example of in-state recruiting; Coach Jonathan Smith made it his Day 1 goal to get connections in place with Michigan high schools. Assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator for the Eaglets, Greg Dixon, told me it was a remarkable departure from the previous regime.
"I just think this current staff is just really focused on taking care of home," Dixon told me. "That's one of the big things Coach Smith said to us is he wants to recruit Michigan and Ohio, take care of the backyard. He said just looking through he realized how much talent is here, he wanted to make sure he had a good footprint here. And I feel like that's been missing in our state with some of the universities, so it's been refreshing to see that type of effort and then the follow-through with this coaching staff."
Dixon discussed Williams' ceiling with Kansas Jayhawks On SI last year.
"Bryson is very adaptive and uses this trait to be successful in all three phases of the game," the coach said. "He is a complete player and has an extremely high Football IQ to match his athleticism and toughness. He can play a multitude of positions at the Power 5 level (RB/WR/Safety/Linebacker/Returner) and be successful. He is an elite soccer player as well and uses those instincts extremely well. He has great spatial recognition and is able to find the ball in the air with ease. He understands the game of football and makes sure he is in a great position to win matchups.”
Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.
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