Michigan State Football Offers Scholarship to Son of Former Spartan

Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith continues to hit the recruiting trail hard.

Michigan State football has extended an offer to the son of an all-time great Spartans defensive lineman. MSU coach Jonathan Smith has prioritized prospects from the Midwest, but he has also stayed true to MSU's history with an offer to Joseph Peko from Westlake Village, California, the son of MSU great Domata Peko.

Domata Peko played in 11 of the Spartans' games in the 2005 season, recording 53 tackles (33 solo), 2.5 for loss, a pass defensed, a sack and a fumble returned for a touchdown against Michigan.

The younger Peko recently announced his scholarship from the Spartans. He is a defensive lineman in the 2026 class. Joseph Peko is unranked by 247Sports but would be more valuable to MSU than the other unranked recruits the Spartans have offered a scholarship to because of his family ties to the Green and White.

MSU is one of the multiple scholarships Joseph Peko has received from other notable football programs nationwide. He has received scholarships from nearly 10 schools, including USC, Michigan, BYU, UNLV, Washington, Arizona and SMU.

Coach Smith's decision to offer legacy players scholarships is not new or unique to MSU. However, the pipeline of legacy athletes could be a valuable area of recruiting for an MSU program trying to make it back to national relevancy on the national scale of college football. Recruiting players who already have a deep connection to MSU is a wise move by Coach Smith and his coaching staff.

Arguably, the most notable part of Coach Smith's recruiting plan has been his emphasis on talented but overlooked players. It is worth noting that most of the best players on the Spartans' recruiting wish list are on defense, specifically the defensive line. Coach Smith has a well-thought-out plan that he is following, and it involves attempting to build a formidable defense with hard-nosed three-star athletes who are hungry to prove themselves.

As the Spartans continue to pick up the pieces left by former MSU coach Mel Tucker, it will be imperative that they secure the best talent that is realistically possible, such as Joseph Peko. MSU's journey back to prominence will heavily depend on its ability to recruit and secure serviceable talent. The easiest way to do that would be to focus on legacy signings such as Joseph Peko.

The Michigan State Spartan Football Spring Green and White Game (Spring Showcase) will be held at the High Cathedral of the Spartan Nation, Spartan Stadium, on April 20, 2024, at 2 p.m.

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