Three-star linebacker Jamal Lyles chose Michigan State today over offers from Iowa, Illinois, Pittsburgh, and others.
"They are the right choice because I the like school a lot," he explained. "I visited them. I like the family atmosphere. I like that they have a lot of players from the Detroit area where I'm from, so I'm familiar with a lot of people from the school and the coaches are down to earth. I like them a lot."
Lyles, at 6'3, 215-lbs, brings size and athleticism to East Lansing, and because of those attributes and many more, the coaches were happy to hear his news today.
"They were very excited. They said they were very excited to add me to their defense. They said I'm athletic, long, big, fast, and Coach was really excited when I told him."
Any of the three linebacker spots are possibilities for Lyles, he says, and playing early is as well.
"Playing early is a strong possibility because Eric Gordon and Greg Jones played since they were freshmen. They have four freshmen coming in and two linebackers, so we're all going to have to compete for the linebacker positions and I can play all three because of my athleticism."
Throughout the process, Lyles took many visits, fielded many calls, and he decided last night, upon talking to the people closest to him, that becoming a Spartan was the right decision.
"It felt really good. I was happy. I sat down with all my coaches and family yesterday and talked about it. Coach was very excited. I had a lot of great schools after me. My coach let me make my decision. I told him like I like State, and he told me to pull the trigger. He was excited. My family was too and it felt good letting everybody know because I didn't want to drag any schools along and I always knew I wanted to play for MSU."