Michigan State's 14th commitment in the 2012 class came as a bit of a surprise, as offensive lineman Kodi Kieler pledged to the Spartans yesterday. The 6'6" 305 lb. player from Rockwood, Michigan committed the same day he was offered. Kieler is the third offensive lineman in the class along with Benny McGowan and Zach Higgins, and here are Kieler's ratings:
SCOUT: 3 stars, #75 offensive lineman
RIVALS: No ranking
247 Sports: No ranking
ESPN: No ranking, grade of 45
The only recruiting service that has seen Kieler enough to give him a ranking is Scout, all the others have no clue. There's a reason why he hasn't been seen much:
He is unranked by rivals.com, mostly because he has not participated much in off-season camps and combines, according to recruiting analyst Matt Dorsey, who writes regular updates for the Free Press.
He has attended a couple camps however, so we're not quite in Keshawn Martin territory in terms of being unknown. He doesn't have any highlight videos on Youtube, but he does have plenty of highlights on the defensive line, which can be viewed here. It appears distance and the Spartans' recent success was a factor in Kieler's recruitment:
"Michigan State is a great program," Kieler told SpartanMag.com. "They have been having a lot of success as of late and I want to be a part of that. It is also close to home and that way all my family and friends will be able to see me play. My family is excited I am going there."
Kieler had offers from many MAC schools, plus Purdue and Minnesota. There's really not much more to say --Kieler didn't attend many camps this Summer. If the Scout rating is indicative of what the other services will do, he'll end up a three-star offensive tackle and be another good part of the 2012 class. There's been some questioning as to why Dantonio offered Kieler, which I think is ridiculous -- there's more than enough of a proven record to prove that the head coach knows what he's doing here. Welcome aboard Kodi.