Michigan
Michigan State LB Room Could Be Big Ten’s Best in 2025
Michigan State’s linebacker room was potentially one of the thinnest spots on the team just months ago, but after a big haul of transfer talent, it is one of the Spartans’ strongest groups.
Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Joe Rossi has plenty to work with — especially in the long game. Michigan State’s 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes will bring in more talented linebackers — ones that could be an impact early on. With that being said, the three linebacking spots in Rossi’s defense could be filled with plenty of talent in the fall of 2025.
Rossi uses a wide variety of fronts and coverages — he will typically use three linebackers and a hybrid stand-up edge rusher.
If the transfer portal doesn’t poach any talent, this the potential linebacker room for 2025:
2025 Class Standing: Junior
The recruiting gem of the Mel Tucker era, Hall came in as a four-star recruit and started as a true freshman. Hall was acclimated to the college game fast — playing in all 12 games and starting in six — registering 67 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Hall will be looking to take a big step in his sophomore season in 2024 — and if he does, he could be a serious NFL prospect by the time his junior year arrives.
2025 Class Standing: RS-Senior
Matthews was one of the 2024 transfer portal gems for Jonathan Smith and Rossi. He will likely be a Day 1 starter for the Spartans. In two seasons with Old Dominion, Matthews racked up 148 tackles in 26 games. His 82.9 Pro Football Focus grade last season was tied for 21st among linebackers in the country. Matthews could be another potential NFL prospect.
2025 Class Standing: Junior
Bridgeman was another big portal get — but perhaps for the long run. The competition for 2024 is stiff — but in 2025, he could shine. Bridgeman was one of the top linebackers in the country when he was a recruit, he was No. 37 at his position nationally, per 247Sports. Bridgeman could blossom in Rossi’s scheme.
2025 Class Standing: Junior
Pulliam played one season at Miami before coming to East Lansing in May. Pulliam, 6-foot-3, 240-pounds, has size and was a sprinter in high school. Pulliam is intriguing, and how Rossi uses him in 2024 could flesh out his role for 2025. Regardless, Pulliam could see action in a variety of packages, and perhaps be a pass-rushing linebacker or a rush end for Chad Wilt.
2025 Class Standing: Sophomore
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound four-star Northern Michigan product can do it all and could be a big time player for Michigan State. Pretzlaff likely won’t contribute much in 2024 — the group is stacked — but his long-term potential is immense. National recruiting analyst Allen Trieu wrote, “Good size already and will get stronger in college … Should be a solid coverage linebacker and is a good all around athlete. Approach to the game and intangibles make him a very high floor prospect … potential captain type and a player who should be near the top of his team’s tackles stats.”
2025 Class Standing: Freshman
White was Smith’s second 2025 commit. White’s potential is high. He is the No. 65 linebacker in his class, per 247Sports, and there is a lot to like about his measurables and his tape. White is 6-foot-3, 190-pounds — he will need to add weight to his frame, but his athleticism is incredible, he is a two-time state qualifier for the 110-meter hurdles. Last year, he finished second in the event. White is a former safety and it shows through his ability in coverage and his ball-skills. Two words to describe his game — fluid and aware. White told Spartan Nation Rossi plans to have him at the strong-side or weak-side spot.
2025 Class Standing: Freshman
Malone was the third 2025 commit for Michigan State. Malone is athletic and can do it all — pass rush, run-stop, and drop into coverage. His tape exhibits incredible ball-skills — he registered multiple interceptions in off-coverage 20-plus yards deep. He told Spartan Nation he had the hips of a defensive back, and the tape doesn’t lie. Malone has a burst that can overwhelm blockers when he pass-rushes. Malone also seems to always be near the ball, and he’s a playmaker.
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.
Michigan
Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing
One of the best college football coaches of all time, Urban Meyer, lent some sympathy to Sherrone Moore — or at least his family — in the wake of the former Michigan head coach’s shocking firing last week.
“Last night, I said a prayer for that family,’’ Meyer said on “The Triple Option Podcast,” speaking of Moore’s wife and daughters.
“I mean, you’ve got three little girls,’’ said Meyer, who won a national title at Ohio State a little over a decade ago. “You’ve got a guy that was on top of the road a week ago.”
That changed in stunning fashion, as Moore, a married father of three, went from leading the Wolverines to out of a job, fired in Ann Arbor for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
The situation only worsened when Moore was later arrested after he allegedly broke into the home of the staff member, and during an argument, grabbed butter knives and threatened to kill himself.
On Friday, he was charged with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors — stalking and breaking and entering.
Here’s the latest on former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore
Even Meyer, who created some controversy of his own during a brief, ill-fated tenure as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars — when he was seen on video in 2021 that showed him dancing suggestively with a woman who was not his wife and was later fired before finishing his lone season in Jacksonville — was stunned by Moore’s downfall.
“They’re up 6-0 on the Buckeyes at home,” Meyer said of Michigan’s early lead against rival Ohio State on Nov. 29. “And then, also, you wake up, and they’re in this situation. Rivalries aside, this is all human element. Now, this is something that, from what you read, that’s some serious stuff that went on. And just, all of a sudden, you start seeing the impact. Forget football. Who cares about football?’’
Michigan
Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg had 29 points, a career-best nine assists and eight rebounds, and No. 2 Michigan rallied from a nine-point deficit Saturday night to defeat Maryland 101-83.
Aday Mara scored 18 points for the Wolverines (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten), who overcame a halftime deficit for the second time this season and the first since they beat TCU on Nov. 14.
Michigan scored 100 points for the fourth time in five games.
Diggy Coit made eight 3-pointers and scored 31 points for the Terrapins (6-5, 0-2), who lost center Pharrel Payne to a right leg injury late in the first half and forward Solomon Washington to ejection after he picked up his second technical foul early in the second half.
Coit scored nine of Maryland’s first 10 points and 22 before the break, helping to prevent Michigan from opening a lead larger than six in the first half.
The Terps lost Payne, their leading scorer at 18.7 points a game, with 4:36 remaining before halftime. Yet Maryland stretched its lead from one to 50-45 at the midpoint, then expanded it to 56-47 on Elijah Saunders’ 3.
Washington, who had a first-half technical for celebrating a 3 in front of the Michigan bench, was called for a delay-of-game technical just after Saunders’ basket. His departure left the Terps without their two most experienced and imposing interior players.
Lendeborg took advantage, scoring the next eight points. Mara’s dunk with 14 minutes left made it 64-63 and gave the Wolverines the lead for good.
Elliot Cadeau’s layup with 21.2 seconds remaining got the Wolverines to 100 points for the fifth time this season.
Up next
Michigan hosts La Salle on Dec. 21.
Maryland visits No. 24 Virginia on Dec. 20.
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Michigan
Aquinas College expands automatic acceptance to 2 more West Michigan high schools
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – After beginning a direct admittance program at one West Michigan high school in November, Aquinas College has now expanded the program to cover more classrooms.
The guaranteed admission program, first implemented for graduates of West Catholic High School with a 2.0 GPA or above, has now been expanded to Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids and Muskegon Catholic Central High School.
The partnership will apply to students from all three schools entering college in the fall of 2026.
The direct admission program was described by Aquinas College leaders as offering high school students a “clear path to college success” while also continuing to develop partnerships.
Aquinas College, a private Catholic liberal arts institution located at 1700 Fulton St. E, was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids in 1886.
The college has enrolled 1,262 students during the 2025-26 academic year, and its new student numbers are up, with 419 new students on campus this fall, up from 311 in 2024-25.
The college’s overall enrollment total is just slightly under the approximately 1,300 students Aquinas recorded across its campus in 2023-24, according to a press release sent out in January 2025.
This year’s partnership announcements do not mark Aquinas’ first direct admittance deal.
The college also has a direct admit bachelor’s in nursing partnership with the University of Detroit Mercy, which allows students to take core curriculum courses at Aquinas and nursing classes from Detroit Mercy faculty.
On Nov. 14, Aquinas announced its direct admittance deal with West Catholic High School.
The school, located at 1801 Bristol Ave. NW, enrolled just over 500 students as of the 2024-25 school year, according to an online school profile.
West Catholic President and CEO Jill Wierzbicki said the initiative simplifies the college application process and offers students a straightforward path to higher education.
On Nov. 20, Aquinas then announced it had also partnered with Grand Rapids’ Catholic Central High School, 319 Sheldon Blvd SE, which enrolls 567 students and is the oldest co-educational diocesan Catholic high school in the nation.
Brian Matzke, vice president for enrollment management, said there’s “no doubt that Aquinas here has had more graduates from Catholic Central than any other school in our history.”
On Dec. 10, the college announced another partnership deal with Muskegon Catholic Central High School, 1145 W Laketon Ave., which enrolled just under 300 students in 2023-24, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Jerry McDowell, Muskegon Catholic Central president, said both the high school and Aquinas share a “deep commitment to developing the whole student — academically, spiritually, and individually.
“This direct-admit program provides our graduates with an exceptional opportunity to transition confidently into higher education while maintaining the Catholic values that guide their formation,” McDowell said.
Aquinas’ listed price for traditional undergraduate tuition is $41,192, according to senior director of strategic communications Dave DeJonge.
Students are eligible for annual merit scholarships between $15,000-$25,000, depending on their GPA and housing status. Additional scholarships may be available. This applies to all students who are admitted to Aquinas.
Matzke highlighted the direct admittance program’s easy transition from one West Michigan school to another, with those accepted to Aquinas able to live on campus or commute from home depending on what best fits their needs.
He also said a growing Grand Rapids job market, combined with support from the college’s career center, contributes to a 97% placement rate for graduates.
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