The Goals of Top MSU LB Target Savage

Michigan State is high on 2026 linebacker Jacob Savage of Ryle High School in Kentucky. The 6-foot-1, 219-pounder is a two-way star and a talented running back as well.

Heading into his senior season, he hopes to be committed to a program and it will likely come out of an official visit. That being said, he will have an entire senior season to play for Ryle.

And much to do.

"I mean, I just wanna win," he said. "A couple of my goals, my biggest goal is just to win a state championship. We got to the state championship this year, we didn't win it, so that's obviously, you know, my No. 1 goal. And then, you know, in terms of personal goals I want to break the school record in tackles, and I wanna win Mr. Football and Gatorade Player of the Year. Those are my two or three personal goals."

The record, Savage said, is just over 500 tackles. He said that he is about 20 off. That's attainable in just a typical performance from Savage, if not two games.

Michigan State is among the top-7 finalist teams for Savage's services; he is very much interested in the green and white and said that Rossi has been pressing hard. Savage's best trait might be his coverage ability, which he says is still being unlocked.

"It's definitely coverage I've gotten a lot better at," he told me. "My coverage wasn't tested a whole lot this year because, you know, a lot of teams didn't really throw in the middle, or I had to kind of QB spy. But these past couple years, seven-on-seven and practice, I've definitely been honing in and focusing on the coverage side--which I think I've gotten a lot better and you know, with the speed helping me in man coverage as well guarding running backs out of the backfield."

The Rossi prototype is fluid, but the base measurables are perfect in regard to what Rossi wants from the second level.

"Long, athletic, and smart," Rossi said. "That's what we look for and that's a sliding scale, OK. And what I mean by that -- if a guy's 6-foot and runs 4.4, that's cool. But if you're going to be a low 4.8, you better be 6-foot-3 and a half. So my point is -- it slides, but the ideal thing, if I'm just giving you three, it's length, it's athleticism, and it's intelligence. Not necessarily in that order."

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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