MT. PLEASANT - Mt. Pleasant junior AJ Dennis has announced his commitment to play football at Michigan State University.
Dennis, a three-star recruit and one of the top high school offensive lineman in the state, chose the Spartans over more than two dozen Division I offers.
While he still has his senior year left to play, he said he’s announcing his commitment now because Michigan State is his dream school.
“After the junior season I received some more scholarship offers and ultimately Michigan State offered. Growing up, whether it was hockey or football it was kind of my dream school and it just felt right,” Dennis said. “So I decided why wait? Let’s just make it official.”
Dennis said that he also wanted to finalize his decision so he could enjoy being a kid for his remaining time in Mt. Pleasant.
“As great as it is [being recruited], it is a tad bit stressful,” he said. “You’re on the phone a lot so it kind of takes away from being a kid. I am going to graduate early so I’ll be an early enrollee. So I want to really enjoy these next six, seven, eight months I have and not really have to worry about that. Plus I want to help with the recruitment process with other kids.”
He said the other offers he was most strongly considering were Cincinnati, Illinois, Minnesota and Baylor.
Dennis helped lead the Oilers to a 9-2 finish in 2022 and a share of the Saginaw Valley League North championship with Midland. The team lost a triple-OT heartbreaker to Dewitt, 56-49, in a Div. 3 District Championship game.
Led by Dennis and returning quarterback Logan Borodychuk, the Oilers look to be among the top teams in the Saginaw Valley League again this fall.
