Feb. 04--It is somehow not an overstatement to say that a Messiah shepherded a group of five elite Chicago-area senior football recruits to Michigan State.
Messiah deWeaver, a quarterback from Dayton, Ohio, led the charge in bringing together a local group that formed the nucleus of the Spartans' best recruiting class in the Mark Dantonio era.
MSU's 2016 haul includes the top two prospects in Illinois and four of the top 10 in 247Sports' composite rankings -- Hinsdale South defensive end Josh King (No. 1), Evanston defensive tackle Naquan Jones (No. 2), Lake Park defensive tackle Mike Panasiuk (No. 6) and Fremd safety Kenney Lyke (No. 9), with Hinsdale Central offensive lineman Matt Allen (No. 32) added for good measure. Four of the players signed with the Spartans on Wednesday's national signing day, while Lyke already is taking classes in East Lansing as an early enrollee.
"Messiah was the main guy that recruited us," Jones said Tuesday. "He messaged us, and then we all ended up talking. He now says, 'I kind of united you guys.'"
Allen, the first of the five to commit to Michigan State, had a natural tie-in to the Spartans. His two older brothers, Jack and Brian, were starters for the Spartans' offensive line that paved the way for MSU to win the Big Ten championship and land a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2015.
Allen credited deWeaver for introducing the other Chicago-area recruits to Michigan State.
"Messiah was good with getting a lot of the recruits together and coming out and checking out Michigan State," Allen said.
Dantonio's 2016 success in Illinois is unprecedented for the Spartans and rare for any school. Dantonio's first nine classes at Michigan State featured one top-10 player from Illinois -- DePaul Prep defensive end Raequan Williams in 2015. The last team to attract four of the state's top 10 prospects in one class was Illinois in 2007.
Two Chicago-area coaches told the Tribune that Dantonio told them he felt so good about his Illinois nucleus that he did not recruit in Florida, Georgia or Texas for the first time in his 10-year tenure.
"Michigan State has always had a strong presence here," said Tim O'Halloran, publisher of the local website Edgytim.com. "I think that they obviously had a need for defensive linemen. To have so many big, quick athletic kids in this class has really been a perfect storm for them."
Michigan State's recruiting class ended up ranked No. 21 in the country, mostly on the strength of the five Chicago players.
King said that once the ball started rolling, it was easy for the five players to join forces. The four defensive recruits already have dubbed themselves the "Fearsome Foursome."
"It's like you never left home really when you got guys that grew up in the same town or area, some play the same position and been through the same things," King said. "It will be like a home away from home."
Lyke said he tried to get some other area recruits to attend Illinois early in the process before bonding with King and Panasiuk to possibly attend Michigan State, Baylor or Tennessee.
"We tried to get all the recruits to go to the same place since we were all relatively close to each other, then we decided to take the Chicago kids to Michigan State," Lyke said. "We should jell together easily."
Since committing, the five players have become close. They attended each other's playoff games, and made their unofficial and official visits to East Lansing together. Lyke and Panasiuk both watched their girlfriends compete at the state cheerleading competition. Allen and King are both top-ranked wrestlers who have split their two meetings this season, with Dantonio attending Allen's 4-3 win on Jan. 26.
Panasiuk, who wore a tuxedo with a green tie during Lake Park's Wednesday signing ceremony, could start an Allen-like family tradition with the Spartans. His brothers, junior Jacub and freshman Patrick, already are highly touted prospects at Lake Park, with Jacub holding an MSU offer.
"Michigan State just does a good job of building relationships, and they want kids that want to go there," Panasiuk said. "It's going to be a fun journey for all of us over the next four or five years."
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
High five for MSU
Local players going to Michigan State, with 247Sports' state rank:
1. Josh King, Hinsdale South DE
2. Naquan Jones, Evanston DT
6. Mike Panasiuk, Lake Park DT
9. Kenney Lyke, Fremd S
32. Matt Allen, Hinsdale Central OL
