Kyle Brown
West Bloomfield High: West Bloomfield
6-1, 195 pounds
Wide receiver
Brown verbally committed in late January and said he’s looking forward to teaming up with other fast wide receivers.
“It’s gonna be pretty fun,” Brown said.
His senior season was cut short by a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but that didn’t stop schools from recruiting him.
His junior season he rushed for 1,300 yards and passed for 300. He also was a top-ranked safety.
Brown runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds. He was also the 2001 state champion in the 100-meter dash.
Brown is ranked as one of the top 101 recruits in 2002 by Insiders101.
“I visited three other schools and (MSU) was the only school I got to meet the president and his wife,” he said. “The school also offers me a good education.”
Head football coach Bobby Williams said Brown’s recovery has been positive.
Brian Bury
Harding High: Marion, Ohio
6-0, 260 pounds
Long snapper
Williams said Bury will help the Spartans fill a much-needed role.
“We had to definitely address our long-snapping needs, and Brian is going to come in and he’s already enrolled in school right now and he’s going to compete for the long-snapping job,” Williams said.
Bury is rated as the 12th best center in the country by Rivals.com. He was also named Ohio’s best long snapper as a junior and senior.
He also played defense in high school, collecting 113 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions.
Brandon Fields
St. John’s Jesuit High: Toledo, Ohio
6-5, 215 pounds
Punter
Fields brings his large frame to MSU looking to replace senior Craig Jarrett.
He was named Associated Press All-Ohio (Division I) first-team punter.
“Brandon has a very, very strong leg,” Williams said. “We had Brandon in our kicking camp last summer and we felt like that was our first chance to look at Brandon.”
As a senior he averaged 41.7 yards per punt and 30 percent of his kickoffs were touchbacks.
Besides taking over the kicking duties, he also played both offensive and defensive lines.
Jaren Hayes
Cedar Crest High: Lebanon, Penn.
5-9, 180 pounds
Running back
Hayes comes to MSU hoping to fill the open running back slot vacated by junior running back T.J. Duckett, who left for the NFL.
“Jaren Hayes is another young man who’s a track guy who has a chance to compete for a championship in the state of Pennsylvania,” Bobby Williams said. “Jaren is an outstanding running back, one who we are very excited about, one who we had in our camp last summer and we got a chance to work with him up close.”
Hayes comes to MSU with 4,882 yards and 75 touchdowns.
“I hope to come out of the backfield and cause some problems for the defense - speed skills,” Hayes said.
Joe Karaska
Southfield-Lathrup High: Southfield
6-4, 330 pounds
Offensive lineman
“Big Joe” as Williams said, is rated the 38th best offensive tackle in the nation by Rivals.com.
“Joe is a very, very large guy,” Wiliams said. “We have him listed as 330 pounds, but Joe’s a little bit bigger than that. But for his size, to see this guy pull up and down the field and run down and do some things and get beyond the line of scrimmage - very athletic for his size.”
In his senior season, Karaska recorded 89 pancakes while tallying 20 knockdowns. He also saw time on defense where he registered 29 tackles.
David Richard
Hazelwood East High: St. Louis, Mo.
6-2, 230 pounds
Running Back
MSU junior running back T.J. Duckett rumbled for 1,420 yards this season and concluded that with a bolt to the NFL, leaving a lonely MSU backfield.
But it seems like the world of science is on MSU’s side because Bobby Williams was able to draw a clone-like runner from his home town of St. Louis.
Enter Richard, who seems a perfect replacement for Duckett with a similar punishing style. Like Duckett, Richard is capable of playing linebacker.
“He has the size, he has the speed that we look for in a running back,” Williams said. “David is also a two-way player, but we’re going to play David at running back. He has the size, something that we will be missing from next year’s team with the departure of T.J. Duckett. So we’re very excited about having David join our team.”
Last season Richard rushed for 1,009 yards on 117 carries, scoring 12 touchdowns. At linebacker Richard recorded 87 tackles, three sacks, three fumble recoveries and six pass breakups.
