3-Star DL Abu Tarawallie to Visit Michigan State

For Michigan State football, recruiting under the Jonathan Smith regime has been underway since December.

The recruiting trail for the first-year Spartans head coach has been clear from the start -- it runs through the Midwest. This was apparent in Smith's first recruiting class last December -- eight of the 21 recruits were either from Michigan, Illinois, Ohio or Pennsylvania. The Spartans continue to look into the Midwest to find talent for 2025.

One player the Michigan State has shown interest in is Minnesota defensive tackle Abu Tarawallie.

Tarawallie, an Osseo Heritage Christian product, scheduled an official visit to East Lansing for June 7th, per 247Sports' Allen Trieu.

"Tarawallie visited the Spartans this week on an unofficial [visit], and on the strength of that visit, as well as the relationship he is beginning to build with the staff, has booked that return trip to East Lansing," Trieu wrote in an article from Thursday.

The 6-foot-4, 275-pound Tarawallie is listed as a three-star recruit with an 87 rating by 247Sports. This is characterized as a "high three-star" -- a player with NFL potential long-term who will be impactful at the college level. Tarawallie is the No. 2 player in his home state of Minnesota and the 71st-ranked defensive lineman in his class.

He has eight offers: Michigan State, Minnesota, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Penn State and Wisconsin.

Per Rivals, Tarawallie visited Iowa State last November and made several visits to Minnesota over the course of last year. He will officially visit Minnesota on June 15, just a week after his trip to East Lansing.

Other key recruits Michigan State is targeting -- such as linebackers Di'Mari Malone and Charles White, quarterback Leo Hannan, and interior offensive lineman Houston Kaahaaina-Torres -- will visit along with Tarawallie on June 7.

Tarawallie's official visit and the recent offers made to three-star cornerback Jayden Shipps and three-star defensive lineman Mays Pese prove that Smith is looking to build defensively by targeting mid-level talent with the potential to be real impact players for the Green and White. And Tarawallie, Malone and White are Midwesterners -- proof that Smith is certainly not afraid to find his talent locally.

The Michigan State Spartan Football Spring Green and White Game (Spring Showcase) will be held at the High Cathedral of the Spartan Nation, Spartan Stadium, on April 20, 2024, at 2 p.m.

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