Michigan State football recruiting: 4-star Detroit Cass Tech DE Jalen Thompson commits
The Michigan State football recruiting train keeps on rolling.
On Monday, the Spartans added Detroit Cass Tech four-star defensive end Jalen Thompson, the No. 3 rated player in the state in the class of 2023, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Thompson, the No. 197 player in the country, is the fourth top-200 player in MSU's class. He had 30 Division I offers including Georgia, Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan.
His final three schools were MSU, Penn State and Cincinnati, but ultimately said he chose the Spartans because of his last visit.
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"Really when I took my whole family up there, my mom, dad and uncle," Thompson told the Free Press. "Me and (defensive line) coach (Marco) Coleman have been creating a great bond and I just felt comfortable.
"Right when I left, I felt like that was the place I wanted to be and my family felt that as well."
Thompson is the 11th four-star recruit who has verbally committed to MSU in the class of 2023 — the program had just 12 total four-star recruits from 2018-22.
MSU coach Mel Tucker went heavy with recruiting theatrics all summer in using flashy cars, gold chains and even live goats to entice players to join his program. So far, it has paid off in his 2023 class.
"We have a good start to the class, but the guys don't sign until December ... so we still got a ways to go," Tucker said Monday morning. "I like the start that we have in the class. We have some good players that are that are super interested. But we're recruiting every day still, and it's a long way to go."
Thompson said he considered MSU for a while, and the 11-2 mark in 2021 showed coach Mel Tucker had the program on the right track.
He also said defensive line specialist Brandon Jordan was another selling point for the program.
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"It's a great thing because he's going to give me one, exposure, and two you're being coached by somebody who's coaching some of the best people in the league," Thompson said. "It's just going to be an advantage all the way around."
The 6-foot-3, 240-pound defensive end joined Cass Tech's varsity team as a sophomore, and his recruiting stock exploded a few months later.
Cass Tech coach Marvin Rushing said he is not only one of the best linemen he's coached in his time with the Technicians — he has a "tremendous" first step and plays with "violent" hands — but one of the best people.
Thompson will play defensive end for Cass Tech this season and right tackle, something Rushing said most top recruits in the country may not be willing to do.
"Jalen Thompson is a gifted young man and is now understanding how special he can be," Rushing said. "Great person, student, player and leader. He works his tail off and is taking his game to the next level.
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"Given the talent he possesses and combined with his work ethic, I have no doubt that he will contribute year one at the next level."
The Detroit native will graduate in December and plans to early enroll at MSU in January.
Free Press sports writer Chris Solari contributed. Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him on twitter at @realtonygarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football: Cass Tech's Jalen Thompson commits
