Michigan State Trending For Another 2025 In-State Linebacker

The Spartans are trying to lock down the home front during the 2025 recruiting cycle...

As Michigan State continues to dive into the 2025 recruiting class, there's clearly been an emphasis put on keeping local, in-state talent home during this cycle.

The Spartans are now trending for three-star Macomb (Mich.) Dakota linebacker Di'Mari Malone, with three 247Sports crystal ball predictions entered in favor of MSU on Saturday. Malone recently took an unofficial visit to Michigan State for spring practice, and has scheduled an official visit back to East Lansing for the weekend of June 7.

According to 247Sports' composite rankings, Malone is considered the No. 746 overall player, No. 79 linebacker and No. 11 player from the state of Michigan in the class of 2025. The 6-foot, 200-pounder has garnered 18 scholarship offers thus far, including from Illinois, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Kansas, Indiana, Rutgers, West Virginia and others.

As of now, it appears that the Fighting Illini and Golden Gophers are the top competition for the Spartans in the battle for Malone. The Michigan-native took an official visit to Illinois on April 20 and is looking to set up an official visit to Minnesota during this summer. During his junior season of high school, Malone finished with 73 tackles, including eight tackles for loss and a sack. He added three interceptions, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and six pass breakups.

Michigan State is now the current favorite to land each of the top two linebackers in the state for the 2025 recruiting cycle. In addition to Malone, the second-highest ranked linebacker in Michigan, the Spartans are also trending for Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary's Charles White. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder visited East Lansing on April 4 for spring practice, and MSU has five crystal ball predictions to land White — the highest-ranked linebacker from Michigan in the 2025 cycle. White is considered the No. 594 overall player, No. 66 linebacker and No. 10 player from Michigan in his class.

Finally, Michigan State is also the crystal ball favorite for three-star Roseville (Mich.) athlete Desmond Straughton, with four predictions in favor of the Spartans. At 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, Straughton is considered the No. 564 overall player, No. 40 athlete and No. 9 player from the state of Michigan in the class of 2025. It's clear that MSU head coach Jonathan Smith and his staff are putting an emphasis at keeping some of the top in-state talent home.

The Michigan State Spartan Football Spring Green and White Game (Spartan 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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