Kyle Brown, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior wide receiver from West Bloomfield High, said Monday that MSU would be his college of choice.
Brown said he called MSU head football coach Bobby Williams Sunday to officially announce his decision.
“(MSU) was the school that really fit me,” he said. “I know most of the players, and I like the coaching staff. Every time I went up there I felt like it was the school I wanted to go to.”
Despite suffering a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) early in his senior season, Brown remained atop many schools’ wish lists. In addition to MSU, Miami, Oklahoma, Purdue and Georgia Tech offered Brown a scholarship last year.
Brown said no school looked away when he was injured, but MSU seemed to have a little something extra to offer.
“They told me top-notch players have had this injury and came back as better players,” he said. “MSU called me at the hospital and reached out to me with the little things.”
The top-ranked prospect joins Agim Shabaj of Farmington Hills and Matt Trannon of Flint as wide receivers who have verbally committed to MSU.
Brown said he looks forward to coming in and getting a chance to play with the offensively talented Spartans.
Midwest Recruiting News expert Bill Kurelic said Brown’s speed was probably a reason why most schools didn’t stop looking at him.
“No team really backed off recruiting him, and his progress seems pretty good,” Kurelic said. “He’s got great speed, and he’s an outstanding all-around athlete.”
Brown’s 4.4 second 40-meter dash time was the fastest at both the Florida State summer camp and the Nike Camp. Brown also was the 2001 state champion in the 100-meter dash.
Kurelic said the injury might have lowered him in terms of one of the best athletes in the nation, but MSU still got a blue chip recruit.
“In the preseason I had him as the top prospect in Michigan, and the postseason I had him in the top three,” Kurelic said.
“When he’s healthy he’s one of the best prospects in the Midwest.”
Brown said he pretty much made the decision by himself, but he also asked for a little help.
“My brother (Pierre, a senior wide receiver for Wayne State University) told me it’s a hard decision, so I prayed and prayed for the school that would be right for me and that’s what I felt in my heart,” he said.
