EXCLUSIVE: Spartans 2025 OL Target Darius Afalava Talks Connection to Coaching Staff

Michigan State is pursuing four-star offensive lineman Darius Afalava. He spoke with Spartan Nation about his connection with Michigan State offensive line coach Jim Michalczik.

Oct 11, 2014; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats offensive line coach Jim Michalczik during the game / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Four-star 2025 offensive lineman Darius Afalava is one of the key recruits Michigan State wants to secure from the West Coast pipeline.

Afalava is the No. 25 interior offensive lineman, per the 247Sports Composite. He is the No. 3 player in the state of Utah.

Afalava is interested in Michigan State, per 247Sports, and he spoke with Spartan Nation about one his connection to a Spartan coach.

"The person who really got [in touch with me] as a freshman and sophomore was Coach [Jim Michalczik] from Michigan State [Oregon State at the time]," Afalava said. "He really gave me a breakdown ... he told me as a sophomore going into my junior year, 'Enjoy it now, because come summertime of you're junior year it's going to be a lot. And he wasn't wrong about that."

Michalczik was at Oregon State when he first started contacting Afalava. The impact of Michalczik is not lost on Afalava.

"Oregon State was my first offer," Afalava said. "Coach M has really been with me since the beginning ... Coach M was really the first person to believe in me. Oregon State ... at the time they were like, Top 25 [in the country], so I just thought if a school like [that] so early, just ending my freshman year, I really thought Coach M really sees a lot in me and we stayed [in contact] consistently ... my relationship with Coach M is probably one of the best out of all the [offensive line] coaches in the country. So I'd say that Coach M has been really consistent with me for all these years."

Even after Michalczik departed from Corvallis to join Coach Jonathan Smith in East Lansing, the relationship between the coach and Afalava never faltered. It only turned Afalava toward Michigan State.

"It meant a lot of things to me, because Oregon State was a lot closer to home, and I knew the area more because I took multiple [unofficial visits] at the time just to get to know the campus and everything," he said. "I really saw myself playing there for Coach M. But when I saw him go to MSU, at the time, I really didn't know anything out there in East Lansing. But I told him my plans and my relationship with that whole staff was so strong, I just feel like my official visit to get to know the place would be the perfect thing."

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