Ohio LB to Visit MSU For Junior Day

2026 linebacker CJ Sanna is a top priority for Michigan State and one of its most intriguing targets. He is set to visit on Junior Day.

Sept. 21, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Olentangy linebacker C.J. Sanna watches warm-ups before Ohio State's game against the Marshall University Thundering Herd at Ohio Stadium. | Lori Schmidt / Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Junior Day is a massive recruiting event for the Michigan State Spartans, in both scale and meaning. It is where the Green and White made huge gains in the 2025 class and for some recruits; it is a big first step in their Spartans recruitment.

Several top priority targets will be in attendance; perhaps none surpass the potential and intrigue that Olentangy (Ohio) linebacker CJ Sanna will bring. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound backer will be in attendance, per Jason Killop of SpartanMag.

Four-star Ohio LB CJ Sanna (@Cjsanna07) tells me he will visit Michigan State this weekend:
⁰(Profile): https://t.co/by4M3PZbFh

(Full list): https://t.co/pXor3jLLPN

— Jason Killop (@KillopOn3) January 16, 2025

Sanna's recruitment blew up this past high school season, and he now holds offers from Wisconsin, Pitt, Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, Duke and more. With his frame and speed (he runs a 4.6 40-yard dash and is a capable track star), it's small wonder why.

I spoke with him and found him to be an incredibly smart player as well; he broke down the performance of Joe Rossi's defense against Iowa, a performance he attended.

"Against Iowa, they were bringing a lot of pressure," Sanna said. "All night long. That stand-up rush end definitely adding a lot. I don't know, those linebackers ... Coach [Joe] Rossi told me going into that game they wanted to beat out that team physically. And right off the bat, you could tell those linebackers were hungry and they came in to hit. I think they did beat them out physically."

Sanna was also vocal of his affinity for the Spartans and the strength of the relationship he has with Rossi, who would be his linebackers coach should he choose to take his talents to East Lansing.

"Right away when you talk to him about football, you can tell he's a really intelligent coach," Sanna said. "There's a lot of coaches who like the yelling and the real in-your-face coaching style, and that's just a different kind of coaching style. But he seems really calm and collected. Just informative, almost, and that's a coaching style that I can appreciate. ... Just really good conversation, just talking about football. We had some really good back-and-forth talking about schemes or he'll talk to me about our defensive plan for the week -- for my games. So pretty good relationship with him overall."

Sanna is the No. 34 linebacker in the class, per 247Sports. His attendance at junior day is huge for the Spartans, who are making a big push for his commitment.

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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