Trieu: Devontae Dobbs among many in-state stars at MSU camp opener
Michigan State opens fall camp Monday and the Spartans will host a good group of recruits that day, as well. The group will be comprised largely of in-state juniors, several of whom already have Michigan State offers.
Belleville offensive tackle Devontae Dobbs and teammate, athlete Julian Barnett, are two of the best the state of Michigan has to offer in the 2019 class. Dobbs is a unanimous choice as the state’s top prospect by various recruiting sites and was one of only seven juniors to attend The Opening Finals in Oregon in June.
Dobbs (6-5, 270 pounds) has offers from Alabama, Ohio State, Auburn, Georgia, Michigan and others, in addition to the Spartans.
Barnett was offered by Michigan State in February and said he had been waiting for that offer. He visited again for a spring practice in March. Alabama, Notre Dame, Auburn, Georgia and Kentucky are just some of the other schools that have offered him.
A more recent recipient of a Michigan State offer, Oak Park quarterback Dwan Mathis, will be at practice along with his 2020 teammate, highly-regarded offensive lineman Justin Rogers. Mathis called his offer from the Spartans a “dream offer.”
Rogers started as a freshman for the Knights and had an offer from Kentucky before had even finished the eighth grade. He has validated that offer since then. His recent Friday Night Lights performance at Ohio State brought an offer from the Buckeyes last week.
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Detroit Cass Tech’s duo of running back Jaren Mangham and cornerback Xavier Goldsmith will also be at practice on Monday. Mangham (6-2, 215 pounds) holds an offer from the Spartans while Goldsmith currently does not.
Goldsmith does have offers from Mississippi State, Colorado State and more. Mangham has additional offers from LSU, Pittsburgh, Purdue and others. He received a Spartan offer in February and has ties with the staff.
"My dad and (offensive line coach Mark Staten) have known each other for years," Mangham said when he received the offer. "They met back in 1988 at an all-star game and it took off from there. What stood out was the coaching staff and the atmosphere; it felt like family."
Walled Lake Western offensive tackle Spencer Brown was offered by Michigan State in May. A 6-foot-6, 280-pound recruit who played at Walled Lake Northern a year ago, Brown saw his recruitment take of in the spring. In addition to the Spartans, Brown has offers from Louisville, Virginia Tech, Minnesota, Pitt, Indiana and more, but made it clear Michigan State was an important offer to him, as he grew up watching the Green and White.
“It was crazy; it was like a relief and an excitement,” Brown said. “I’ve been waiting for that offer for so long and it felt good, because I worked for it and that was the main thing. I was just very happy for myself and I’ll always remember May 3rd.”
The Spartans will also host several out-of-state prospects, including Washington (D.C.) St. John’s College wide receiver Quentin Johnson, who has four scholarship offers (Penn State, North Carolina, Boston College and Virginia).
An additional in-state visitor will be Clinton Township Chippewa Valley junior linebacker Marcel Lewis.
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Allen Trieu began covering the state of Michigan for Scout.com in 2005 and began managing the entire Midwest in 2009. He has been featured on the Big Ten Network on its annual Signing Day Show. His Michigan and Michigan State recruiting columns appear weekly at detroitnews.com.