Michigan

Priority Elite Jonathan Smith, MSU Football Target Evaluated

Published

1 year ago

September 6, 2024

Priority Elite Jonathan Smith, MSU Football Target Evaluated

Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith made a living at Oregon State by recruiting the West Coast heavily, which is no surprise. The state of California alone might just be the deepest of them all when it comes to talent.

While the Sun Belt and the football mecca of Texas boast some of the best of the best, California has the most. Playing football all 12 months does wonders for a player’s development.

It is no surprise that for the 2026 recruiting cycle, California leads the amount of Spartans’ offers with 39 players offered.

One player that the Spartans’ will consider a priority is J Serra Catholic edge rusher Simote Katoanga, one of the best in the entire class. Katoanga is a four-star prospect per 247Sports and the No. 11 edge rusher in the class.

Nationally, Katoanga is the 104th overall player. In the football-rich state of California, he is just the 18th-best player. There is a lot to like about Katoanga. For one, he boasts a grown man’s frame — 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds.

The rest is best described by 247Sports’ Greg Biggins, national recruiting analyst. He recently evaluated Katoanga.

“Katoanga is an intriguing defensive line prospect with a very high ceiling,” Biggins wrote. “He played primarily as an edge rusher as a sophomore but has the frame to bulk up and move inside at the college level. He’s all of 6-5, 250 pounds with an 80-inch wingspan and we can see him packing on another 40 pounds or so with ease and not losing any of his natural athleticism. He’s a high motor player who’s relentless pursuing the football. He shows some pass rush ability coming off the edge or as a tackle and is physical in run support.

“He can take on blocks, hold his ground and still get a push up the field. Right now, he has shown more potential than on-field production but the traits are there and he looks set to have a breakout junior season in the fall.”

I spoke with Katoanga during the summer. He told me he liked the West Coast pipeline that Smith and Co. are working to maintain.

“What stood out to me the most is like, you know, he used to go to Oregon State and he’s from the West Coast,” Katoanga said. “He’s trying to bring the [Polynesian] pipeline to Michigan State.”

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.

Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.

Source link

Michigan

No. 1 Michigan rallies for OT victory vs. No. 2 MSU in instant classic

Published

8 hours ago

February 6, 2026

Press Room

No. 1 Michigan rallies for OT victory vs. No. 2 MSU in instant classic

ANN ARBOR – The first meeting between Michigan and Michigan State’s hockey teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 turned out to be an all-time classic.

The top-ranked Wolverines scored twice in the third period to tie the game at three and won on a power-play goal from Jayden Perron in overtime. Their comeback victory gives them a three-point lead in the Big Ten over MSU entering Saturday’s annual “Duel in the D” matchup at Little Caesars Arena.

Special teams ended up winning the game for Michigan (23-4, 14-4). Its first power play came during three-on-three overtime, and it capitalized. Sophomore Michael Hage set up Perron for the one-timer, and it snuck past MSU goalie Trey Augustine short-side.

Meanwhile, the Wolverines, who have won seven straight, tied the game shorthanded. Adam Valenti was called for boarding at the 12:11 mark of the third, and Wolverines head coach Brandon Naurato was vehemently disagreeing with the referee about the call. His team responded. Senior forward Kienan Draper scored on a two-on-one rush, sending the sold-out crowd into a frenzy.

The drama didn’t end there. Prior to Draper’s goal, MSU (21-6, 12-5) drilled the post at the other end, and the Spartans challenged for a potential goal, which would have negated Draper’s. But the puck never crossed the goal line.

Earlier in the period, Michigan defenseman Asher Barnett joined the rush and beat Augustine to pull the Wolverines to within one with 9:33 remaining.

Friday was the 350^th meeting between the two rivals, and the Spartans appeared to be on their way to a seventh straight victory of their own.

They scored twice in the final five minutes of the second period to take a 3-1 lead. Sophomore forward Shane Vansaghi broke the tie with a power move to the net and a quick shot into the top corner. The team followed with extended offensive zone time and scored again 2:37 later. Defenseman Owen West walked in from the point and wired wrist shot past goalie Stephen Peck with traffic in front.

The Wolverines weathered a slow start and tied the game at one with 2:56 remaining in the first period. T.J. Hughes won an offensive zone draw back to defenseman Drew Shock, whose shot was redirected by Nick Moldenhauer for his ninth goal of the season.

The first 15 minutes was controlled by MSU outside of one shift. All four of the Wolverines’ shots to that point came during a 52-second span when they hemmed in the Spartans in their own zone.

Otherwise, MSU generated the majority of chances and capitalized at the 15:14 mark. Senior Charlie Stramel, a first-round pick of the Wild, redirected a Porter Martone feed in front for his fourth goal in the past two games.

Michigan is 6-3 in the Duel in the D, but MSU has won the past two. It is the final regular season matchup between the two programs.

Source link

Michigan

Saginaw County ranks in the top 10 across Michigan for per-resident lottery spending

Published

20 hours ago

February 6, 2026

Press Room

Saginaw County ranks in the top 10 across Michigan for per-resident lottery spending

SAGINAW COUNTY, MI – Saginaw County saw nearly $112 million in Michigan Lottery game sales in 2025 and ranks among the top 10 counties in the state for per-resident sales.

Across all Michigan counties, $4.4 billion was spent on lottery games last year, which is equal to $4.3 million per 10,000 residents. The state had an estimated population of 10.1 million in 2024.

Saginaw County ranks ninth in the state for lottery game sales with $5,960,488 spent per 10,000 residents in 2025, topping neighboring Genesee and Bay counties. The county had a population of 187,714 in 2024.

Many of the counties that saw the most money spent on lottery games per resident are on the east side of the state.

County rankings are based on Michigan Lottery data and do not take into account whether sales were made to out-of-county visitors or residents. The rankings do not reflect sales totals.

Saginaw County’s lottery sales per 10,000 residents were about $45,000 lower than those of Wayne County, which saw the most overall lottery sales in the state in 2025 for a total of more than $1 billion, or $6,005,756 per 10,000 residents.

Ranking at No. 1 in the state was Montmorency County, with $9.1 million spent on lottery games per 10,000 residents in 2025.

Leelanau County ranks last, seeing about $1.5 million in lottery sales per 10,000 residents.

At the bottom of the list for overall lottery sales is Keweenaw County with $423,594 spent on games last year. An estimated 2,161 people resided in the county in 2024.

A quarter of all Michigan Lottery sales from the last fiscal year is given to the Michigan Schools Aid Fund, which supports public education across the state, while the majority of sales go toward prizes. Lottery sales account for more than 4% of the Michigan Schools Aid Fund.

Source link

Michigan

No. 2 Michigan sets new program mark in blowout win over Penn State

Published

1 day ago

February 5, 2026

Press Room

No. 2 Michigan sets new program mark in blowout win over Penn State

Ann Arbor — The first time Michigan and Penn State crossed paths this season, the Wolverines survived a last-second scare.

The rematch between teams at opposite ends of the Big Ten standings ended up being no match.

No. 2 Michigan dominated from start to finish and swept the regular-season series with a 110-69 smackdown of undermanned Penn State on Thursday at Crisler Center.

The victory didn’t just extend the Wolverines’ win streak to seven and keep them in a tie for first place in the conference with Illinois at 11-1. It set a new mark for the best 22-game record in program history at 21-1.

Michigan’s 2012-13 national runner-up team and the 2018-19 Sweet 16 squad both started 20-1 before suffering their second loss. Nimari Burnett scored a career-high 31 points to ensure this year’s group avoided a similar fate.

Last month, Michigan had to hold off a late push by Penn State to escape with a two-point road win. It never got anywhere close to that point in Round 2.

The Nittany Lions, who dressed only eight players, were down four rotation pieces in starters Ivan Juric and Eli Rice and reserves Tibor Mirtic and Sasa Ciani. The Wolverines offered little sympathy.

Michigan raced out to a double-digit lead less than five minutes into the contest, led by 32 at halftime and didn’t let up, as Burnett kept firing away to set several personal career-high marks.

Burnett, who tied his season high with 15 points in the first half alone, capped a 7-0 burst with a corner 3-pointer. He topped his previous career best of 21 points with his fifth 3-pointer to make it a 38-point game with 17:09 to go.

Less than two minutes later, Burnett set another career high with his sixth 3-pointer, topping his previous best of five. His seventh deep ball gave Michigan an overwhelming 76-34 advantage at the 14:40 mark.

The Wolverines took their largest lead, 93-47, when Oscar Goodman threw down a thunderous baseline jam and capped an 8-1 spurt with a driving layup with 7:40 remaining. They topped 100 points for the eighth time this season when Will Tschetter canned back-to-back 3-pointers with 2:45 left. From there, they coasted to their seventh win by at least 40 points.

Morez Johnson Jr. had 12 points and eight rebounds, Trey McKenney and L.J. Cason scored 12 apiece, and Aday Mara added 11 points, six rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots for Michigan. The Wolverines outrebounded Penn State by a 44-21 margin, scored 22 second-chance points off 11 offensive boards, shot 60.6% from the field and made 15 3-pointers.

Freddie Dilione V scored 19, Josh Reed 15, and star freshman Kayden Mingo, who missed the first meeting due to injury, finished with seven points for Penn State (10-13, 1-11). The Nittany Lions shot 37.1% from the field and finished 2-for-20 from 3-point range.

With Juric, Mirtic and Ciani – all forwards – sidelined, Penn State had to go small and started four guards. Michigan took advantage of the size disparity from the jump. An offensive rebound by Mara led to a 3-pointer by Burnett. Another second-chance opportunity ended with Johnson scoring an and-1 layup.

Mara grabbed Michigan’s third offensive rebound in the first five minutes for an easy putback. Penn State did record a single rebound in the opening six minutes. A 15-0 burst that gave the Wolverines a 15-2 lead with 12:41 left in the first half.

Michigan’s length also gave Penn State problems on the defensive end. The Nittany Lions fired up one deep ball after another and missed nine of their first 10 shots, including two airballed 3-pointers. That led to a seven-minute scoring drought and an even longer field goal drought that Dilione ended with a fast-break layup off a turnover at the 11:56 mark.

That offered a brief reprieve as Penn State hit another stretch with just one made shot in six minutes and Michigan extended the margin with a flurry of dunks. Elliot Cadeau had a dribble drive and dish to Yaxel Lendeborg for a dunk. Lendeborg threw a pass to a cutting Tschetter, who made an extra pass to Burnett for an open dunk. On two other possessions, Burnett blew past his defender on a baseline drive and got to the rim for a two-handed jam. Michigan’s lead swelled to 41-16 with 4:21 left in the half.

By the time the dust settled on Michigan’s most dominant half in quite some time with an offense that was humming and a defense that was stifling, the Wolverines entered the break with a commanding 56-24 cushion.

This is a developing story. Come back soon to detroitnews.com for more on this game.

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

@jamesbhawkins

Source link