4-Star Safety Demetrious Cox Will Visit Michigan State, Other Recruiting News

In the past, many 4-star prospects like safety Demetrious Cox (Jeannette, PA) would not have given the Michigan State Spartans the time of day, let alone a legitimate look at their program.

This is not the case any longer for the Spartans, who won a share of the 2011 Big Ten Championship and have put together two nine-win seasons in three years under head coach Mark Dantonio.

Cox will be making his second visit to East Lansing on Saturday after he makes a trip to Notre Dame. The Spartan coaching staff has Cox excited about a chance to play different positions and see the field early in his career.

"The thing with Michigan State is that I can play multiple positions there," Cox told Tim Owen of BlueWhiteIllustrated.com Wednesday afternoon. "They're thinking about throwing me at whatever gets me in there the fastest. I can come in there as an athlete. I can play d-back, or they're even talking about a little bit of a Wildcat."

Penn State and Boston College are the only other schools to send Cox a written scholarship offer, but 27 teams have made a verbal offer to the Jeanette High School standout.

The Spartans and Penn State appear to be his top schools at the moment, but Cox is very high on Notre Dame and they will likely emerge as the favorite if they decide to offer him a scholarship.

Two other visitors expected to be in East Lansing this weekend are 3-star offensive tackle Robert Conyers (Miami, FL) and local defensive end Kodi Kieler (Gibraltar, MI).

Conyers is scheduled to fly out from Miami on Friday and take a tour of the Michigan State campus and spend the day with the Spartan coaching staff on Saturday.

"It was the best available date after the summer, and all of the coaches are there," Conyers told SpartanMag.com staff writer Paul Day Thursday. "I want to meet the coaches and see the campus atmosphere and if I fit in with the school."

The Braddock High School prospect has the Spartans high on his list of schools and will likely make his final six schools along with Duke, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and two others. Conyers does not expect to make any kind of commitment until closer to the end of his senior season.

The Spartans have not offered Kieler a scholarship as of now and likely will not do so until they see him in action this fall.

Also, 3-star defensive tackle Trae Clark (Cincinnati, OH) will announce where he will continue his football career on August 28th.

Clark told Keenan Cummings of WVSports.com the Spartans are still in the mix for his services, but West Virginia is his top school at this point.

"West Virginia is very high," Clark said Monday. "I'd say it's West Virginia, South Florida, Arkansas and Michigan State."

It is unlikely Clark will take any visits before his decision date, but is still considering making trips to South Florida and Arkansas.

The Spartans 2012 class currently consists of 13 prospects and will likely be closed out once they receive 18 commitments. Of their remaining five scholarship spots, Michigan State will include a safety, offensive tackle, defensive tackle, defensive end and either another defensive back, or wide receiver with the final spot in the class.

Zach Dirlam is a Big Ten Columnist for the new website Sports at Work. Check out his blog, Dirlam’s Dirty Dugout Sports Blog, which features this story along with other articles and video reports on the major sports. You can also follow his blog on Twitter, which will provide you with the latest updates about what will be posted on the blog!