Michigan
MSU Football Offers Unique Two-Sport Star
Michigan State offensive line coach Jim Michalczik is one of the best recruiters on a staff of very good recruiters. He is beloved by recruits who commit. He is beloved by ones that don’t.
Three-star offensive lineman Darius Afalava, a 2025er who chose Oklahoma over the Spartans, was a big fan of Michalczik. 2025 commit Justin Bell, of Macomb Dakota, said this of Michalczik:
“[Michalczik] never lies about anything, he’s always truthful to you on what happened. And basically, he really wants to be as truthful as he can, and not sugarcoat anything. And he’s always been a great guy overall. He’s always checking in on people, making sure they’re okay. He’s a really great recruiter, too.”
For Bell in particular, Michalczik’s ability to develop NFL talent was eye-opening. Michaczik is a renowned developer and the architect behind 2024 NFL Draft first-rounder Taliese Fuaga, who many considered a can’t-miss prospect.
“He’s had a lot of people come in and put in the work, and with his drills, his teaching, and his play-calling, he’s had a lot of guys develop to be great football players to go to the NFL,” Bell had said. “And I really can see myself being able to get developed under him.”
Where does all this come in? Michalczik recently offered 2026 offensive lineman Claude Mpouma. Mpouma has a unique story — the 6-foot-8, 308-pound offensive tackle who is also a prolific basketball player.
Allen Trieu wrote that when Mpouma first arrived at Phillips Academy, the prospect thought it was just going to be a basketball experience. His head coach, Ivan Simmons, said that changed.
“He was always interested and it was on his mind to try it, but no one really pushed him to do it,” Simmons said. “He came in and we had a conversation to talk about some technical stuff, lifting, training, and starting to go to camps and getting noticed. He did one padded camp. His first time in pads was at Lindenwood and now we’re in pads and scrimmaged several times and he’s driving guys off the ball.”
Now Mpouma has eight offers, including those from Florida State, Miami, Minnesota, and Illinois. Simmons lauded Mpouma’s traits and tools. And there are a bunch of them.
“I think he’s naturally strong and gifted in pass protection because he moves so well,” Simmons said. “He’s played soccer and basketball, so his upside with his pass blocking is very high. We’ve tried him at defensive tackle and he gets off the ball and shows signs of aggression. UCLA and Notre Dame came in and Notre Dame liked him more on defense but everyone else coming in says offense and his pass protection is excellent.”
Michalczik certainly thinks so. Mpouma is a raw prospect, but he has two more years of prep football to develop. Even then, if he were to arrive in East Lansing, Michalczik would have a lot to work with.
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
Michigan Football S Jordan Young enters transfer portal
Announced on Tuesday evening, Michigan true freshman safety Jordan Young has entered the transfer portal.
A former four-star prospect from Monroe, North Carolina, Young flipped his commitment at the last moment from Clemson to Michigan in the 2025 class. He played in nine games this season for the Wolverines and had 15 tackles and three pass breakups, with all three pass breakups coming in the final four games of the season.
We wish Young the very best at his next college football program.
Michigan
Tom Izzo angry at former Michigan State star for courtside ejection
EAST LANSING – Michigan State was rolling to a win against USC when there was a stoppage in play with six minutes remaining in the second half on Monday night.
It had nothing to do with what was happening on the court at the Breslin Center.
Referee Jeffrey Anderson blew his whistle to eject a fan sitting a few rows off the floor. The individual booted happened to be Paul Davis, who starred at center for the Spartans from 2002-06.
“He kind of got after the official and he was 150 percent wrong,” Izzo said of Davis after the No. 12 Spartans (13-2, 3-1 Big Ten) won 80-51 against the Trojans on Monday, “and for a guy like me to 150 percent agree with the official, it’s almost illegal.”
Michigan State fans were upset about a foul call on the other end of the floor when Davis stood up and said something Anderson immediately objected to. That led to a hook.
Despite being tossed, Davis attempted to stay in his seat while taking a drink from an alcoholic beverage container. Anderson didn’t let it slide and provided an explanation to Izzo, who was less than thrilled and yelled across the court questioning what his former player was doing.
Davis finally stood up after being told to leave by associate athletic director Seth Kesler but took his time and brushed two hands against his chest. That prompted Izzo to scream, appearing to tell his former center to “get outta here.” Davis was walked up the stairs and watched the rest of the game from a concourse box.
“I love Paul Davis, I really do, he’s one of my favorite guys … but what he said he should never say anywhere in the world and that ticked me off,” Izzo said. “Just because it’s 25, 20 years later, I’m going to have to call him tomorrow and tell him what I thought of it. You know what he’ll say, ‘I screwed up, coach, I’m sorry.’”
Izzo claimed he was told what Davis said was nothing racial or sexual in nature but it was obviously enough to get the boot.
“It was just the wrong thing to say,” Izzo said, “and I’ll leave it at that.”
Davis ranks 10th on Michigan State’s career scoring list with 1,718 points, was a second-round NBA pick by the Clippers and spent four years in the league. Izzo praised the work Davis does with current players but the Hall of Fame coach in his 31st season leading the Spartans has never been ejected from a game.
“He made a mistake but he’s been really good with our players too,” Izzo said of Davis. “In the summer he comes up and helps work a guy out or he’s just around. Jud Heathcote used to always tell me sooner or later the game makes fools of us all. Once in a while, the game makes fools of our fans and definitely it’s made a fool of me more than a couple times.”
Michigan
Former Michigan star RB promoted to Eastern Michigan assistant head coach
Former Michigan running back and assistant coach Mike Hart is getting a promotion on Chris Creighton’s staff at Eastern Michigan.
The school announced Monday that Hart is being elevated to assistant head coach and will oversee the receivers in 2026. Michigan’s all-time leading rusher spent last season as an offensive analyst for the Eagles.
“Coach Hart is a winner,” Creighton said in a news release. “He has the ‘It’ factor. He selflessly helped us this year as an offensive analyst and made a positive impact. We know that he will be a major addition as assistant head coach and wide receivers coach.”
Hart has 14 years of college coaching experience, including a three-year stint as Michigan’s running backs coach from 2021-23. He served as interim head coach for one game during the Wolverines’ 2023 national championship season when Jim Harbaugh was suspended.
Under Hart, Michigan’s running backs thrived. Blake Corum rushed for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons and was a third-round pick by the Rams in 2024. The Wolverines won the Big Ten all three years Hart was on staff, but they did not renew his contract after the 2023 campaign.
The 39-year-old began his coaching career at EMU in 2011 and also has had stints at Western Michigan (2014-15), Syracuse (2016) and Indiana (2017-2020).
As a player at Michigan, Hart was a two-time Doak Walker Award finalist and finished fifth in the 2006 Heisman Trophy voting. Last season, EMU finished 4-8 but was No. 2 in the Mid-American Conference in passing yards per game.
“I am excited to be a part of Eastern Michigan football,” Hart said in a release. “Coach Creighton is one of the best leaders of men I have ever been around, and I look forward to learning and being a part of his program. EMU football and the Ypsilanti community have always held a special place in my heart, and I am excited to help the team reach our goals for the 2026 season.”
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