Under-the-radar James Schott brings pass-rushing skills as Michigan State commit

INDIANAPOLIS – Mark Dantonio built his Michigan State recruiting classes on the backbone of under-the-radar players whom Ohio State and other powers didn’t have room to take.

That was one of the ways the Spartans were able to upset the Buckeyes in the 2015 Big Ten Championship Game and reach the College Football Playoff. That came at the tail end of a run in which the Spartans won 13 games and the Rose Bowl in 2013, and won another 11 games the following season, which concluded with a victory in the Cotton Bowl.

Current Michigan State coach Mel Tucker appears to be taking the same approach on some players. Tucker is recruiting top-of-the-line, highly ranked players, but he and his staff are seeking out some diamonds in the rough as well.

The Spartans appear to have found one in Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove defensive end James Schott, who recently committed to Michigan State. Schott is a 6-foot-4, 215-pounder in the Class of 2022. He is a three-star player ranked No. 1,465 overall, No. 123 at EDGE and No. 22 in Indiana.

Schott is a player Michigan State targeted later in the cycle, and the Spartans have a vision for Schott as a difference-maker in their 4-3 defense going forward.

Vision for James Schott

When asked what the development plan is for Schott at Michigan State, he said simply and confidently, “Pass rusher.”

“They want me to be a heavy pass rusher on the outside,” Schott told On3. “They know what they want out of me, and they want me to get after the quarterback.”

The plan is for him to be a hand-in-the-dirt end, and that vision is led by Spartans defensive line coach Ron Burton. 

“I genuinely felt that Coach Burton … has everything in mind for me and my future,” Schott said.

Schott still in awe

Schott still is in shock that he was recruited by Michigan State. That’s the aura that Tucker has established in just his second season running the Spartans.

“Talking to Coach Tucker is the most surreal thing ever,” Schott said. “Like, it almost seems fake to me that it’s actually happening. But there’s just something about them. The way they think about the game is incredible. The way they think about the game is just so different than everybody else.”

Schott originally committed to Miami (Ohio), where his brother is a freshman linebacker. But the younger Schott is wanting to pave his own way and believes the Spartans offer him a better overall path for what he wants. That’s why he recently decommitted from the RedHawks and ultimately committed to Michigan State two weeks ago.

“I think one of the biggest things I took in and why I made that decision was kind of going to do my own thing,” James Schott said. “College, I feel like it’s a time for you. Academics, athletics is important, but there’s also a life aspect to it. And you got to kind of go out there and just learn how to be by yourself. I felt like I wasn’t gonna get that to the degree I wanted to at Miami.”

The Spartans are the beneficiaries of that decision as Tucker and Co. look to continue their impressive rebuild.