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FOOTBALL RECRUITING: Beedle gets Clarkston recruiting rush going, commits to Michigan State
CLARKSTON – Cue the landslide.
Local prep football star David Beedle, a 6-foot-6, 275-pound defensive tackle from Clarkston, committed to Michigan State Friday, giving the Spartans their second in-state grab this week and opening up the proverbial floodgates at Clarkston for what is certain to be a rush of college commitments.
Beedle’s pledge to play his college pigskin at Michigan State comes on the heels of the Spartans gaining a commitment from Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Jalen Watts-Jackson (CB-WR) Tuesday.
Clarkston’s expert run-plugger and quarterback-harasser chose Michigan State over a dozen other scholarship offers, the University of Illinois and the University of Cincinnati among them.
Although Clarkston has been a perennial state gridiron power the past decade and a half, the program has never had as many Division I college recruits in the mix at one time as it has these past couple of years.
Even with Jesse Chadwell (OL), a captain of last season’s league and district title-winning team off to college in the Big 10 at Illinois, Clarkston is brimming with intriguing college prospects.
Besides Beedle, all-state running back Ian Eriksen, cornerback Timmy Cason, defensive lineman Nick Matich, offensive lineman Adam Matich, tight end Cole Chewins, defensive back Caine Watlington and placekicker Shane Hynes, are all getting serious looks from Division I coaching staffs. Cason, the Matich brothers and Hynes all have Division I offers as the heart of the summer offseason recruiting period is about to gets on its way.
For a brief period a few months ago, Cason, an athletic, shut-down corner-type on the edge, was committed to Toledo, but has since de-committed and found himself attracting attention from bigger programs, such as ones from the Big 10.
Eriksen led Oakland County in rushing last year and Watlington split time at quarterback. Chewins, also an emerging prospect on the hardwood, standing 6-foot-7, is only going into his junior year this fall. Watlington is expected to move into the slot on offense for the upcoming campaign, handing over the keys to the Wolves’ field general post to junior signal-caller, D.J. Zezula, who he shared snaps with last season.
An experienced, hungry and talented Clarkston squad might very well end up posing the most significant threat to a three-peat state title by Detroit Cass Tech, currently the state’s premiere Division I recruit factory.
