EXCLUSIVE: Spartans 2025 DL Target Brad Fitzgibbon on What He Likes From Schools, Where He Has MSU

The Michigan State Spartans are pursuing three-star defensive lineman Brad Fitzgibbon. He spoke with Spartan Nation about where Michigan State is among his top teams.

Michigan State's offense and defense play each other during the Spring Showcase on Saturday, April / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

Class of 2025 recruit Brad Fitzgibbon is one of Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith's top targets.

The three-star defensive lineman is the No. 28 player in the state of Illinois and the No. 88 defensive lineman in the country.

The 6-foot-4, 280-pound defensive lineman has offers from Arizona State, Kansas and Wisconsin, among others.

Fitzgibbon is a key recruit for Michigan State to rebuild the Midwest pipeline. He told Spartan Nation where he has Michigan State in his personal rankings.

"I feel like as far as recruiting goes -- [Michigan State is] top five," Fitzgibbon said. "Definitely, like, no matter what -- they're going to be top five. I've had two great experiences with them and so many more different experiences outside of that campus, and being able to talk to them -- they're almost treating me like family. They are top five [definitely] and I have an official visit scheduled with them.

"[I would say if] they were in a specific spot in my top five, but this recruiting process, [I'm taking it] slow, I take [careful] consideration of what school I'm going to choose for the next four years. They are definitely high up there."

Fitzgibbon talked about what he likes in a potential school.

"Schools might tell me stuff that may not be appealing to a recruit, [but it's stuff] I love to hear, I love the honesty," Fitzgibbon said. "If they tell me something I don't want to hear -- I know they are being honest with me. Nobody that's going to lie is going to tell me something I don't want to hear.

"The first thing I pride myself on is being honest and I expect coaches to be honest back with me -- so it's been a great relationship as far Michigan State goes. Secondly, I love discipline. I've been part of teams where they weren't so disciplined, I've been part of teams that were super disciplined, and the teams that had more talent but weren't disciplined didn't go as far as the disciplined and hard-working teams. So having a coach that will be honest with you and get on you if you're slacking is something I definitely look forward to -- with Michigan State especially."

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