3-star Toledo defensive tackle names Michigan State football in top five schools list
3-star Toledo defensive tackle names Michigan State football in top five schools list
Michigan State football is in the mix for a local product, who just cut his top schools list down to five schools. Jermaine Polk has included the Spartans in his cut down list.
Polk, a native of Toledo (OH), attends St. Francis De Pales High School and is a 6-foot-4, 265 pound defensive tackle. He currently ranks as an 88 rated 3-star by 247Sports.
Alongside Michigan State, the schools that made the cut for the defensive line prospect are Boston College, Iowa, Iowa State and Wisconsin. He currently has official visits scheduled to the other four schools in the top five, but does not have one scheduled to East Lansing yet.
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on X @Cory_Linsner
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
13 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Len Scaduto, a basketball lifer, will always be remembered for Oak Lawn's 1970-71 team. ‘Made his mark.'
The Southland basketball community lost a legend when Len Scaduto died on May 13 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was 93. Scaduto coached Oak Lawn's boys basketball team from 1962 to 1991, going 411-340 and leading his 1970-71 team to a state runner-up finish. But that wasn't all. After retiring at Oak Lawn, Scaduto moved to Hawaii and kept coaching. Colleges. High schools. A semipro team. He remained on the sidelines until he was nearly 90. Scaduto's son, Bruce — who followed in his dad's footsteps, coaching boys and girls basketball at Evergreen Park for 27 seasons — said Len never lost his passion for basketball. 'He's been my coach since I was a little kid,' Bruce said. 'He's been my basketball mentor my whole life. He pretty much taught me all I knew. Pretty much what I saw him do, I did. 'It was a good run. I'm proud of what he accomplished. He was a great father and he definitely made his mark on basketball in Illinois.' Of course, that 1970-71 Oak Lawn team will always hold a special place in Scaduto's legacy. The Spartans went 30-3 but were unranked and far from being considered a top contender for the state title when they went into the playoffs in the final season of one-class basketball in Illinois. It was a magical postseason run. Along the way, Oak Lawn knocked off the past two state champions in Lyons and Proviso East. The Spartans nearly took their Cinderella journey all the way to the top, losing a classic state championship game 52-50 to Thornridge, which was led by future NBA standout Quinn Buckner. Jim Bocinsky, who went on to play at DePaul and professionally in Europe, was the second-leading scorer on that Spartans team behind their own future NBA player in C.J. Kupec. 'We didn't really know what we had until we almost had it,' Bocinsky said. 'Our goal was to win the conference. We didn't even realize we had the potential to do anything beyond that. 'We just went out to try to win the regional and then it was one game at a time.' Bocinsky said the members of that team have kept a tight bond over the years. 'We get together to golf but we're old men now, so you get to the 19th tee and you say, 'I heard that story last week,'' Bocinsky said, with a laugh. 'We tell the same stories over and over again about that year, but we can't get away from it. 'That team, and coach Scaduto, have been a huge part of my life.' Several members of that team play in an alumni basketball game every year at Oak Lawn. Bocinsky and Don Wesselhoff, who graduated in 1970 just before the state run, would often get together for breakfast with Scaduto each summer when he returned to the area. Len also came back for a 50-year reunion held for the team in 2021. Wesselhoff remembers a hard-nosed coach who was tough but earned everyone's trust. 'You loved the guy, but he'd push you so hard that it was like a love-hate relationship,' Wesselhoff said. 'He respected us and we respected him. After he graduated, we continued to keep in touch. 'It's just a relationship that's hard to come by these days. I was really honored and blessed to have him as a coach.' After retiring at Oak Lawn, Scaduto spent three seasons as an assistant at Chaminade and 12 years on the staff at Hawaii. He also returned briefly to the high school level before wrapping up his career with the semipro Hawaii Swish, whom he was coaching at age 89. Scaduto's stepson, Jack Danilewicz, said he was also a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, a college football fanatic and an avid gardener. Scaduto's legacy will undoubtedly continue to live on at Oak Lawn the way it has over the last three decades since his departure — with endless stories and lessons passed down. The Spartans and Evergreen Park have dubbed their rivalry 'The Scaduto Series' in honor of both Len and Bruce. The winner of the game each season receives a trophy. Current Oak Lawn coach Jason Rhodes also informed me the school is starting a new tournament this fall — the Len Scaduto Thanksgiving Classic. That name had been chosen before Scaduto's death, but the inaugural event will have some added meaning behind it now. 'He's made a huge mark in our community, and his former players always speak fondly of him and tell me great stories about him,' Rhodes said. 'He obviously had an incredible run. 'Almost 30 years coaching basketball at Oak Lawn. That's almost unfathomable to me.' There's at least one artifact from Scaduto's days that still lingers around the gym at Oak Lawn. In his office, Rhodes has a coaching manual Scaduto left behind. 'It's a thick book with all kinds of diagrams and notes on his system, offensively and defensively,' Rhodes said. 'You could tell just from that thing alone how much time he invested.' That was Len Scaduto — the Southland's ultimate basketball lifer.
USA Today
24 minutes ago
- USA Today
2nd rounders in 2nd year: 2025 outlook for Patriots WR Ja'Lynn Polk
2nd rounders in 2nd year: 2025 outlook for Patriots WR Ja'Lynn Polk Not every second-round draft pick finds immediate success in the NFL. That plain fact often obscures a player's initial evaluation in our society of instant gratification and immediate validation. Some are drafted with an eye for the future more than heavy usage in the present. That's the basis for our series focusing on the 2024 second-rounders who didn't get a chance to do a lot as rookies, for a variety of reasons. So far, we've covered: Cowboys EDGE Marshawn Kneeland Cardinals CB Max Melton Chiefs OL Kingsley Suamataia Lions CB Ennis Rakestraw Falcons DT Ruke Orhorhoro Next up is a player with a lot to prove in Year 2: Ja'Lynn Polk. The New England Patriots selected Polk with the No. 37 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after a strong career playing wide receiver at Washington (and Texas Tech prior). The 6-foot-1, 203-pound Polk offered impressive size and exceptional ball tracking skills, performing very well as part of a talented WR ensemble for the Huskies. The Patriots liked what they saw from Polk in training camp and preseason to give him chances to play extensively early on. He started five of the first six games, primarily operating outside but shifting into the slot for about 20 percent of his snaps. Polk struggled to get off press coverage, and his pedestrian speed didn't work as effectively in the NFL as it did in college. After getting 26 targets and hauling in just 10 of them for 84 yards in the first seven games, Polk missed Week 8 with a concussion. The Patriots effectively moved on from Polk thereafter; Polk had just two catches on seven targets in the remainder of his rookie season. Based on how New England approached their offseason, that move away from Polk might persist--at least in 2025. The Patriots added free agent WRs Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins, and both are above Polk on the Patriots depth chart. Hollins is a much bigger and more accomplished "big" receiver, while Diggs is a master route runner and dynamic Pro Bowl talent. The Patriots also drafted Washington State speedster Kyle Williams in the third round, adding to a receiver room that still has useful vet Kendrick Bourne and third-year Kayshon Boutte, who finished second on the team in WR targets a year ago. Polk figures to get chances to impress the new coaching staff headed by Mike Vrabel, but he's got real work to do to stay relevant in the Patriots' plans in 2025. Improving his release off the line and handling physicality would be a good place to start for Polk.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Nebraska offers rising running back following impressive camp performance
Nebraska offers rising running back following impressive camp performance Nebraska football offered class of 2027 running back Xavier Bala following their camp on Sunday. Bala made the announcement on social media. Bala is not ranked in the Rivals rankings. However, he does have eight offers in total. Boston College, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rutgers, Stony Brook, and Syracuse have all extended offers his way. He most recently took an unofficial visit to Rutgers on April 17. Bala had a breakout sophomore campaign in 2024. He recorded 180 carries for 1,009 yards and eight touchdowns per statistics from He had five games of 100-plus rushing yards and averaged 91.7 yards per game. He also proved to be a dual-threat back, as he recorded 14 receptions for 42 yards. Currently, the 2027 Huskers recruiting class features only quarterback Trae Taylor. However, Bala could be a solid addition. He measures in at six feet, 210 pounds, and appears to be on the rise both in terms of talent and growth. It will be interesting to see how much his recruitment expands over the next couple of years. Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.
