Welcome Aboard: Khalid Kareem

The Story

The Michigan State-Michigan basketball game was a success for the football program as well, as 2016 Farmington HIlls Harrison Defensive End prospect Khalid Kareem committed to the Spartans' during the game. Kareem was a UM target as well and is currently ranked the 13th defensive end in the country in his class by Rivals.Rivals had Kareem as a 4 star, while 24/7 pegs him as a 3 star. This is a good sign for the Spartans to get a commitment while Jim Harbaugh is probably starting to set his sights on the 2016 class at Michigan. While it is great to have the commitment of Kareem early in the class, as always is the case in recruiting, the job isn't done until National Signing Day in February 2016.

The Measurables

Kareem is listed at 6'4" and 240 pounds. He shows good quickness for a big man with a 40 time of 4.80 listed on his Hudl profile. Kareem seems to fit the mold of the Mark Dantonio ends, tall and quick to get a good rush while the stout DT's inside eat up blocks. One has to think the success of defensive lineman under Dantonio was a big reason for Kareem to commit this early.

The Offers

Khalid was not struggling for offers from division one programs. His Rivals profile listed 23 offers including Michigan State. In the Big Ten Kareem had offers from Purdue, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Maryland, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa and Northwestern. National offers Kareem had included Tennessee, Louisville, Miami (FL), Notre Dame and Oregon.

Film

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nQ2PuIbZM8E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The above video is from Kareem's sophomore season playing for West Bllomfield. You can find his junior video here at Hudl, I just couldn't embed it into the post. Kareem transferred from West Blomfield to Harrison for his junior season. One difference between the two tapes right away is that West Bloomfield tended to use Kareem more as an outside linebacker, while in his junior season at Harrison he played as a down lineman. In both tapes he shows great quickness and agility, being able to shed through blocks and get after the quarterback. He shows an ability to fight through double teams which is impressive as he still has some strength to add on to be an effective college defensive end. One thing I love is seeing how Kareem finishes plays, he has a motor and gets after the ball carrier no matter how long that may take.

The Class

Kareem is the 2nd member of the 2016 class to commit to the Spartans. He joins WR Cameron Chambers out of New Jersey who is also rated a 4 star prospect. The 2016 class appears to be off to a great start and should be another top 15-25 class for Dantonio and company.

Welcome to the Green and White Khalid!