Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Bryson Williams (5) tries to stiff-arm Detroit Catholic Central’s Kyle Ewing (10) during a CHSL Central defensive play Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. The Shamrocks recovered the onside kick with 37 seconds left to clinch a 16-14 victory. (Matthew B. Mowry — Media News Group, File)
The Michigan State University football team, under the direction of new head coach Jonathan Smith, is entertaining Orchard Lake St. Mary’s University.
On Thursday, St. Mary’s University freshman wide receiver Bryson Williams committed to Smith College and Michigan State University, becoming the third Eaglets freshman to commit to play collegiate football for the East Lansing Spartans.
The 6-foot-2 Williams takes over from senior linebacker Charles “DJ” White and tight end Jayden Savory, three top prospects who are ranked as three-star recruits by 24/7 Sports and ESPN.
“The coaching staff at Michigan State made this decision an easy and comfortable one for me and my family,” Williams said. “They came to Saint Mary’s as soon as they were hired (in December) and immediately sold me on their vision for the program and how they would develop players like myself, DJ and Jayden to take it to the next level. The university and coaching staff gave me everything I was looking for.”
Williams visited Michigan State, Kansas and Pittsburgh in the last month. In addition to offers from Michigan State, Kansas and Pittsburgh, he also has offers from Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, Princeton and Dartmouth, which has led to Ivy League offers from Penn State, Illinois, Minnesota and Purdue. In addition to his size and versatility, he boasts a 3.99 GPA in the classroom, which has drawn widespread interest.
Several MAC programs initially offered Smith late last season, but the Spartans helped him make early local connections that are still paying off.
Joining Dakota offensive lineman Justin Bell and Frankenmuth defensive tackle Derrick Simmons, Williams becomes the seventh in-state player to commit to the Spartans in the 2025 class, which currently has a total of 15. Rivals currently rates the class as No. 50 on its team rankings list, and 247Sports rates it nearly as well at No. 52.
St. Mary’s, a prestigious school, is looking to bounce back in the fall and return to the playoffs after finishing with an uncharacteristic 3-6 record in 2023. With a strengthened defense, St. Mary’s opens the 2024 season against Portage Northern on Aug. 30 and begins Catholic League play the following week against Toledo St. John’s.
Make it official
North Farmington High School senior defensive tackle Brendon Rice has been on the recruiting market since the summer following his freshman season, and he finished the process last week by committing to Rice University in Houston.
Rice (6-foot-4, 270 pounds) recorded 85 tackles and 10 sacks during his junior season and received 24 scholarship offers. His brother, Aaron, also a Raider, plays wide receiver at Eastern Illinois University. Both brothers were equally disruptive in the classroom, with Brendon earning Ivy League offers from Harvard, Princeton, Pennsylvania, Cornell, Columbia and Dartmouth.
“Rice is considered the Ivy League of college football in the state of Texas. Their football team is doing well. It’s a winning combination for Brendon. He’s the best all-around player,” North Farmington’s John Hirstein said of enrolling at Rice.
Tweet of the week
“Rivals 5-Star Camp OL MVP, did a great job” — Avery Gach, an All-American offensive lineman from Birmingham Groves who plans to attend the University of Michigan.
