Previewing several season-opening matchups for Michigan State 2025 commits

Michigan State currently has 16 commits from a variety states in its 2025 class, including seven from Michigan, three from California, two from Ohio and one from each of Florida, Maryland, Texas and Wisconsin. This fall, SpartanMag staffers will travel to plenty of games to provide detailed coverage of Michigan State’s commitments and targets as they play in their final high school seasons.

This week marks the first game week for seven of Michigan State’s commits. Below, we outline several of the games worth monitoring for Spartan fans, utilizing On3’s new high school team rankings, rosters and schedules, powered by Massey Ratings.

Corona (Calif.) Centennial @ Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei

Location: Santa Ana Stadium, Santa Ana, Calif.

Date & time: 7 p.m. PST, Thursday, Aug. 22

Michigan State commit to watch: Three-star DB LaRue Zamorano, Centennial

This is easily the most anticipated high school matchup of the week featuring a Michigan State commit. Both schools are national powerhouses, with Centennial ranked No. 12 and Mater Dei ranked No. 1, per On3/Massey Ratings.

Mater Dei features 15 players ranked three-stars or higher by the On3 Industry Rankings, including wide receiver Chris Henry Jr., the No. 1 player in the 2026 class and current Ohio State commit. Centennial, meanwhile, has eight players ranked three-stars or higher. The Huskies are led by 2025 five-star Texas A&M quarterback commit Husan Longstreet.

Michigan State defensive back commit LaRue Zamorano is the No. 503 prospect in the country, and the third-highest ranked player on Centennial’s roster, behind Longstreet and 2026 cornerback Justin Lewis. Lewis will have his hands full with Mater Dei, as the Monarchs have two other four-star wide receivers in 2025 Oklahoma commit Marcus Harris and 2026 prospect Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. SpartanMag has learned that Zamorano had an undisclosed offseason surgery and will miss the beginning of the season with hopes to return at a later date. Last year, Mater Dei defeated Centennial, 28-14, to open the season.

Anaheim (Calif.) Servite vs. Salt Lake City (Utah) East

Location: LeBard Stadium at Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, Calif.

Date & time: 7 p.m. PST, Friday, Aug. 23

Michigan State commit to watch: Three-star QB Leo Hannan, Servite

Michigan State 2025 quarterback commit Leo Hannan will open his senior season with a matchup against East High School. Servite is the No. 7 team in California, while East is the No. 23 team in Utah. Hannan and 2025 three-star running back Quaid Carr are the only two ranked prospects on Servite, per the On3 Industry Rankings.

Hannan is looking to build upon a 2023 season in which he threw for 2,429 yards, 14 touchdowns and completed 63.8 percent of his passes. He also had 213 rushing yards on 74 carries and six touchdowns last year. Despite finishing with an 8-6 record, Servite made a run to the Division II CIF Southern Section championship game. This will be Servite’s first game of the season, while East opened its season on Friday against Layton (Utah) Christian Academy, winning 42-19.

Murrieta Valley (Calif.) @ Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.)

Location: Cougar Stadium at Rancho Cucamonga High School, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

Date & time: 7 p.m. PST, Friday, Aug. 23

Michigan State commit to watch: Three-star OL Drew Nichols, Murrieta Valley

The final California matchup is between Murrieta Valley and Rancho Cucamonga. 2025 Michigan State interior offensive line commit Drew Nichols and Murrieta Valley come in as underdogs, ranked No. 26 in California. Rancho Cucamonga is the No. 18 team California, per On3/Massey Ratings.

Nichols and 2025 four-star Stanford quarterback commit Bear Bachmeier are both nationally-ranked for Murrieta Valley, while Rancho Cucamonga has 2025 three-star UCLA EDGE commit Epi Sitanilei and the No. 34 prospect in the 2026 class, four-star cornerback RJ Sermons. Last season, Murrieta Valley finished 9-4 and lost to Rancho Cucamonga, 29-27, in the season opener. But the Nighthawks avenged that loss with a thrilling 53-52 double-overtime victory in the quarterfinals of the Division II CIF Southern Section.

Perkins (Ohio) vs. Bellville (Ohio) Clear Fork

Location: Perkins High School Football Stadium, Perkins, Ohio

Date & time: 7 p.m. EST, Friday, Aug. 23

Michigan State commit to watch: Three-star WR Braylon Collier

SpartanMag reporter Kenny Jordan will travel to Perkins High School to cover this game, which features 2025 Michigan State wide receiver commit Braylon Collier. Collier is the only nationally-ranked prospect in this game, though he has a few teammates with Division I offers. Perkins enters as the heavy favorite over Clear Fork, which finished with just one win last season. Perkins is coming off a 12-1 season, with its only loss coming to the eventual state champion, Glenville, in the regional final. Collier had 80 receptions for 1,164 yards and 18 touchdowns last season.

Bushnell (Fla.) South Sumter @ Niceville (Fla.)

Location: Eagle Stadium at Niceville High School, Niceville, Fla.

Date & time: 7 p.m. EST, Friday, Aug. 23

Michigan State commit to watch: Three-star DB George Mullins

2025 Michigan State defensive back commit George Mullins and South Sumter will open the season against Niceville this week. South Sumter did play this past weekend, winning 38-0 over Wildwood (Fla.) High School. Niceville played this past weekend as well, winning 45-0 over Panama City (Fla.) Bay High School. South Sumter’s defense consists of Mullins, 2025 four-star Georgia safety commit Rashad Johnson, 2025 Central Floria linebacker commit Malakhi Boone and 2025 Pittsburgh athlete commit Ja’Kyrian Turner.

Upper Arlington (Ohio) vs. Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville

Location: Marv Moorehead Memorial Stadium at Upper Arlington High School, Upper Arlington, Ohio

Date & time: 7 p.m. EST, Friday, Aug. 23

Michigan State commit to watch: Three-star EDGE Cal Thrush

Another Ohio matchup pits 2025 Michigan State EDGE commit Cal Thrush and Upper Arlington against
Michigan State 2026 four-star linebacker target Cincere Johnson and Glenville. Like Collier and Perkins, Thrush and Upper Arlington are coming off a season that ended in the regional finals. Upper Arlington finished the 2023 season with an 11-4 record, while Thrush earned First Team All-Conference honors. Upper Arlington is the slight favorite in this matchup, given its No. 15 ranking in the state, while Glenville is the No. 31 team in Ohio.

Oconomowoc (Wisc.) @ Pulaski (Wisc.)

Location: Pulaski High School Football Stadium, Pulaski, Wisc.

Date & time: 8 p.m. CST, Friday, Aug. 23

Michigan State commit to watch: Three-star TE Emmett Bork

Michigan State tight ends coach Brian Wozniak dove into his old college stomping grounds of Wisconsin when he identified and earned a commitment from tight end Emmett Bork. Before Bork heads to East Lansing, he hopes to end his career at Oconomowoc High School on a high note. Last season, the team finished a disappointing 3-6, but a strong senior season from Bork could help this year. Oconomowoc is the slight favorite to beat Pulaski in this matchup, with On3/Massey Ratings predicting a 28-21 win for Oconomowoc to start the season. Bork earned All-Classic Eight Conference honors after catching 23 passes for 322 yards and three touchdowns last season.