Early Enrollees Off to Fast Start for Spartans

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Although Michigan State didn't sign any players to National Letters of Intent on the second National Signing Day on Wednesday, the Class of 2022 is already well represented on the team with several midyear enrollees on campus.

The enrollees include eight freshmen who signed their National Letters of Intent in December: DE Chase Carter, CB Caleb Coley, QB Katin Houser, S Jaden Mangham, TE Jack Nickel, S Dillon Tatum, DT Alex VanSumeren and CB Ade Willie.

In addition, wide receiver Germie Bernard signed a Big Ten tender in January and is enrolled for the spring semester, as well as walk-ons Ryan Eckley (punter) and Jarrett Reeser (kicker).

The Spartans have also welcomed transfers Jalen Berger (RB, Wisconsin), Khris Bogle (DE, Florida), Aaron Brule (LB, Mississippi State), Ameer Speed (CB, Georgia) and Jacoby Windmon (LB, UNLV) for the spring semester.

Four of those early enrollees from the Class of 2022 – Bernard, Houser, Tatum and VanSumeren – met with the media on Wednesday to talk about why they chose MSU and how their first month has gone in East Lansing.

DB Dillon Tatum

On his first month…
"First month has been completely great...Coming here being with the guys, learning new things, and just getting your time management down. That's the biggest deal right there."

On the sense of being in the building after a successful season…
"Really, that's all about last year and we are moving on to this year. Basically a whole new team. I came in just knowing I'm not going to get a spot right away, work hard every single day, compete with other guys and learn as much as I can and just take it all in."

On what position he will play…
"So I'll be playing nickel here, which is opposite of our strong safety. Basically, we're interchangeable, we can do all the same things, just on other sides of the ball."

On the workouts so far, and what he wants to improve on…
"I know the biggest area for me is the upper body lifts. We never really did any of that in high school. The lower body, I'm pretty strong, the coaches love me there. The upper body, like the bench press, that's what I'm working on, it's getting better and learning from other guys, learning the technique. And especially with the cleans, I have never done those in my life. So that's the hardest of hard for me.

"I've just been adjusting really well. The coaches keep telling me I'm pretty coachable, so I take that in very well.

"I'm only 17, I'm at 192 pounds. So right now they're not trying to have you lose any weight, maybe could gain up to 195 but 200 is my max right now."

On getting to know everyone in the class…
"It's been fun. It's been really fun just getting to know the guys that just came out of high school just like me. I think it's a really big adjustment. You have guys from the West Coast, guys down South, and one from Minnesota. And just bringing everyone into that one room, like we had one game where we watched the national championship game and one of the playoff games out of my apartment on a big screen TV, I think that was a really good bonding moment we had. With the transfers, we have chopping it up day, just keeping it real, just being with each other and learning from each other. Because those transfers are older, so we're taking their experiences and learning their stories, and trying to make each other better."

On the challenges of time management…
"For me, it's the walking distance (on campus). Yesterday, actually two days ago now, I had a class at the life science building, which is a 30-minute walk from the Duffy Daugherty Building. That was a big change for me. I never really walked anywhere. So I know I'm going to have to change my lift time to get to my class on time."

On adjusting to the playbook in the secondary…
"Really, just getting in the playbook and learning those plays, learning the calls and signals. And it never hurts to ask questions to the older guys, because they've been here for a while, and they know the playbook, like down to the roots of it. And so I do that a lot. And coming from high school, we never played any type of zone at my high school. It was always man, maybe in a two high (safety), cover two. That was really it. So learning the zone jobs, landmarks, boundaries and dividends of the field, that's really new to me, so I'm asking questions all the time, and trying to take it all in from the guys."

On leaning on the veterans in the room to help him out...
"Well, you named all three of them (Xavier Henderson, Darius Snow, Angelo Grose). Really, Angelo is our nickel, so I'm behind him a lot, asking him questions, was this that, make sure you do this, you do that. Darius and I, we talk a lot too. You know he played nickel the majority of the year, and then moved to strong safety at the end of the year. He's really, really good with the playbook. I mean, he's a smart guy. And obviously X is like the grandad of all three of those guys, and he knows everything in the playbook."

On starting over after a successful high school career…
"Of course, of course, it's just like coming into high school my freshman year. You know, we had basically five guys on the team that were Big Ten athletes, and we had that five star down the road that was in the backfield, the position I was playing, and we had Makari (Page) and Lance (Dixon), so you know, you got to learn from the older guys and from all this talent, because everyone on this level and Division I football is good. If you're not good, something's up right there. So coming here competing, buying in as much as possible, starting from square one, that's obvious right there. But you know, just work hard every day."

WR Germie Bernard

On his first month…
"It's been kind of hard just getting used to the weather, because I'm from the West Coast, I'm from Vegas, and you know, it's really the desert out there. So it's not this cold, it's really hot. And then another thing is like, my sleeping, my sleeping is pretty bad because we're also three hours ahead, so it's hard to sleep, but I'm getting used to it now, so it's not bad at all."

On the process of getting to Michigan State after signing an NLI with Washington in December…
"Yeah, it was really emotional. I really didn't get the call (from Junior Adams) until like the day I landed there (in Seattle). So I left like the (Jan. 1) first, and I got the call the first when I landed in Seattle. So it was kind of emotional, but we got there. And then I was able to talk with (Washington) Coach (Kalen) DeBoer, the head coach, I was able to talk to him for a little bit. And then I was just speaking with some players and seeing where their mind was, and they gave me their opinion, and then from there, I took into consideration to talk to my parents and see what was best for me, so we stayed there for a couple of days. And then, I was still enrolled in school, but I didn't go to any classes because if I went to classes, then I wouldn't be able to get out of my NLI, so I didn't go to any classes. As a couple of days went by, me and my parents came up with a final decision to go back home. I went back home and then I was able to talk to coach Jay (Johnson) and asked him if I still was still able to be a Spartan, and I got the opportunity and I just never looked back."

On how much Michigan State talked to him during the recruiting process…
"So when Coach (Jimmy) Lake got fired (at Washington), I didn't really open it up, but I kind of opened it up, and Coach Jay was really one of the first persons I talked to, just talking to him and then he came down and he met with me, and I was able to meet him in person. And then just started connecting with Coach Hawk (Hawkins), and then I connected with Coach Tuck…My decision, leaving or staying at Washington, was kind of based off of my position coach, Coach Adams, so when he said he was gonna stay, I was like I'm sorry Coach Jay, I just think I'm gonna stay and like, everything was cool, like everything was cordial. So once I signed and everything, that was the only time I really talked to them, and then after the situation went down, like I said, I called him and asked him and I was like, do I still have an opportunity to be a Spartan and he was like, yeah of course. I mean that that whole week, we just was trying to get everything in line so I could get started."

On if he had ever been to Michigan State before deciding to enroll…
"No, I've never been here. When I got here for school, it was my first time ever being here. So I was like, wow, this is crazy, like, I never had a visit or anything. So it was my first time.

"Katin Houser, he was already committed, all that stuff. So I was just asking him like, how you like it out there, because he's from Vegas too. So, if he says he likes it, I'm like, Yeah, I'm okay, I'm gonna like it too. Of course, that's my guy. So I was like, Yeah, I'm going to run with it."

On how long he and Katin Houser have known each other…
"We knew each other since like sixth grade, I want to say like sixth grade. We've been playing with each other for like FB football. And ever since then, we had a bond."

On how he would describe his game and his strengths…
"One of my main strengths is the deep ball, I can go up and win 50/50 balls."

On why he wanted to enroll early…
"Ever since my junior year, I always wanted to leave early. So I knew that I wanted to be out of high school early and enroll in college, but through that process, my mom was just thinking like 'oh, maybe you should like step back and just take time off and listen,' I was telling her, no, I still want to be in school whether or not I have this here or somewhere else, so I knew after I made my decision to go back home, and I started talking to Coach Jay, because I knew school didn't start until another week so I had time to be able to get here in time."

On Katin Houser…
"We only help each other really by just waking each other up when we need to, I mean, that's really the main factor, because everything else is like a personal adjustment, like going to sleep, we can't really help each other going to sleep. The weather, we can't really (change), but like we always help each other out, like we go get each other food, we take turns taking out trash, whatever, I mean that's really the ways we help each other."

On the culture at MSU…
"It's great. I'm really blessed to be in a program like this. Everything here is like family, I really, truly think these guys are my brothers and I'm happy to be here."

On his talks with Coach Hawkins…
"He's very fair, he's very straightforward. Whether or not you're a senior or a freshman, if you're good enough, he's gonna play you. So it's not really like, Oh, he's older, so he's gonna play. He doesn't care about that. And that's one of the main things, if you're good enough, and you're showing that you're doing good and you can compete, you should be able to play, and that's what I really liked when I was talking to him."

On starting over as a freshman after a great high school career…
"I mean, me knowing that I'm coming into a big program, I know I'm not going to be a big-time guy right away, but I know what I can do and what my abilities are. So I know that every day I just have to come and work and just prove myself what I can do."

QB Katin Houser

On his first month…
"Yeah, it's been a whirlwind. I mean, just living in California and Vegas my whole life and just coming out here and experiencing the weather and just the whole different changes being in college and having responsibility, it's a big change. But I'm enjoying it though. I mean, I'm busy every day. I get up early as possible in the morning, go and lift, and then it's off the classes, it's off to meetings, it's off to tutors, it's extra work, it's throwing, it's so much going on right now, but I'm enjoying the process and I'm loving it here."

On his commitment and the team having success last fall…
"It's all very exciting. I mean, there's definitely lot of pressure when the team's doing really well. There's definitely some pressure when you have to come into the program that's doing really well and have to prove yourself, but I feel like I've competed in one of the top leagues in high school and I've been with the best competition at my level in high school, so coming up to a new program that's at that top level, at the top 10, top five, in the country, I feel like it's just gonna be crazy, but I feel like I'm ready for that challenge."

On starting over as a freshman…
"Yeah, it's very humbling. I mean, you come in, and all the hype, you're like the top recruit or whatever on all the charts and stuff, and you come up and you're kind of humbled here. You walk in and you still have to meet everybody. No one really knows who you are yet, but I feel like it's very humbling for me, and it gives me a ground base to kind of just go in and work and not have to worry about all the extracurricular stuff...I could just come in and work. I feel like that's good for me to be able to compete and get better every single day."

On looking at the playbook…
"So I've gotten a couple installs already, just formations, plays, and stuff like that, defensive ID. So it's going through that. I mean, I've gotten a binder all the plays stuff like that. So I've been taking my own time to do that as well as meeting with the coaches, do some extra work, because I feel like I'm a little behind just with the others. Payton (Thorne) had a really good year, and he's already two years in the program, so I feel like I need to catch up to him. So as far as that, I mean, I've been putting in that work today, and also just going in the weight room, and then stuff like that with plays in the playbook. I feel like I've been doing extra time and doing that, and today, I mean we have seven on seven today and some extra routes and stuff like that. So I feel like just learning the plays, that's coming really easy to me, and I'm excited to keep going through that.

On having a "moment" where he knew he was playing college football…
"Definitely. I feel like the first workout on Friday, we call it 'strain train,' and it's stations and you have no breaks and you're thrown into the fire pretty much and you don't really know what you're doing. You're kind of run around and you just got to kind of do your work and you just kind of follow the guy around you but that moment I felt like whoa, this is like college football. So there's my 'whoa' college football moment, but I mean as far as football, like the plays and stuff like that, there's definitely a lot thrown at you, especially like the first day out in the field with cleats on and stuff like that. I feel like that aspect comes so fast and I feel like I've been doing a really good job of just handling all that stuff and applying to the field and the weight room."

On transferring from Liberty to Don Bosco, and also splitting reps at QB at Don Bosco…
"Yeah, my high school experience was pretty irregular, I would say. I was at Liberty with Germie (Bernard), we played JV our freshman year, we destroyed it and then I mean, my sophomore year I was going into the year I thought I was doing really well, I was looking to be the starter and then got that injury, stress fracture in my elbow, my throwing arm, so that put me out about six, seven weeks. By the time I got back they already had a starter, they were doing really well. And talking with the coaches, it didn't look like I was going to play or compete for a spot the next couple years. So I felt like I had enough talent and I knew how good I was going to be so I needed to go to a different school that was going to give me that opportunity.

"As far as transferring, in Las Vegas, the transfer rule, you can't transfer, well you can transfer, but you have to sit down entire year, so that wasn't an option. With COVID starting up, my mom's work required her to be in California, so it kind of all just worked out for me to go look at a couple schools. I looked at a couple schools in San Diego, Los Angeles, even Northern California too. And it just landed on Bosco. I knew Pierce (Clarkson) was there, and just going in, I felt like I did everything I could to compete, and the way the coaches planned it out, it would be best for the team and program to split quarterback. So that was something I had to deal with. But I feel like overall, I mean going into practice every day, and going into games, I felt like it made me a better competitor knowing that I had to compete with a four-star quarterback every single day. So I mean, I'm thankful for him and thankful for the coaching staff allowing that, because I feel like that made me an overall better football player."

On the process from committing to Boise State to Michigan State…
"Yeah, my recruitment came really late. I mean, I didn't really start getting those big offers until later my junior year. And I was looking around the class and I saw a lot of quarterbacks in my class already start to pick up schools. So my mentality, I felt like I needed to pick up a school and commit to a school because I felt like I don't want to miss the ball. So just looking at the schools I had, my top three was Washington, Boise and probably Oregon State. And just talking with the coaches at Boise, I felt good about it. I didn't go on a visit. I just did zooms and stuff like that, but overall I felt really good. So I committed there. I was committed there for a while. And then I got a couple more offers. I got Michigan State, I got Iowa. And then I was talking to Coach Johnson and Coach Tucker, and they wanted me to come out to a visit; even though I was committed, I still felt like it was important for me to go out and go visit. I only had one official visit, and that was to Michigan State. On my visit, I went up and they took me on the field, and I tried on the uniform and just talking with the coaches and meeting some of the players and walking around East Lansing, it just kind of just sealed the deal for me that this was going to be my new home. So I made that decision. I called the coaches, de-committed (to Boise) and committed here, and I'm so thankful for the decision. I'm excited to be here."

DT Alex VanSumeren

On his first month…
"I'm very thankful to be here. I worked very hard to get here and working even harder to succeed. You know, it's been great so far early enrolling. I've had in my mind that's what I wanted to do for a very long time, and everything's been going really good."

On any adjustments during the first month…
"I wouldn't say there's one big adjustment. You don't really know what to expect going in, everybody doesn't really know what to expect. You just got to get in the groove and you know, I'm just taking it day by day, task by task and just getting used to everything."

On his senior season in high school and suffering a late injury…
"I'm 100 percent. I'm doing great and I feel really good. It's just, you know, kind of frustrating, didn't get to finish out the season with my high school and you know, my training was a little bit delayed right after the season but you know, I'm doing great right now. No restrictions and I've been feeling great for a very long time. So I'm doing good."

On his goals as a freshman…
"I'm not concerned with stuff down the road right now. Like I said, I'm just trying to take it day by day, compete every single day and obviously, I'd be lying if I said that wasn't the goal to get into the rotation. So yeah, that is what I'm working towards. But I'm not concerned with looking too far ahead right now."

On the offseason workouts…
"I've been having a great time, especially in the workouts. I mean, this is as real as it gets. So it's been great getting to learn from Coach Novak and his staff. They've done a great job. It's been great working with them every single day and they definitely are going to take every single one of us, our games to the next level with what they have us doing in the weight room."

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