Spartans' recent bid to learn from their recruitment

The Michigan State Spartans recently offered Kentucky linebacker Karsten Busch, a versatile player with a 6-foot-2, 223-pound frame who could probably do anything asked of him in the top seven.

Busch has 10 offers from programs of varying pedigrees, SEC, Big Ten and others. I recently spoke with Busch, who I consider to be a very insightful perspective who knows how the game works – on the field and in recruiting.

Busch is a 2026 prospect, which means he has only been contacted directly by coaches since June when the direct contact period opened. The direct contact period marks a major change in a player’s recruitment.

Coaches and schools add pressure and that’s where real relationships and connections are built. This is also when the real selling points emerge and the potential client can separate the candidates and suitors.

Busch told me what he learned most since the start of the contact window.

“I would say the biggest thing I learned was how to be patient with all of this,” Busch said. “You get calls from a school or you contact the school, they’re not going to be interested in you right away. It’s like their first thing is to get to know you. That’s what I didn’t know — like when I started getting recruited and it was like, go here, make an offer, but as it goes on and people don’t know you yet, they want to know you and they want to know about your grades, how you interact with your team. that when coaches are recruiting, guys come to watch your games, but they know that you can already play, so the main thing they look at is how you’re leading, how you interact with your teammates, coaches like you. It’s as a person, what your character is.”

Busch said he is looking for a show where he can connect with people.

“I just want to have a relationship where it’s like I’ve known them for more than a few months,” he said.

Busch said Michigan State does it “the right way.”

“They just want to play football and win games.”

Michael France is the Michigan State recruiting writer for Sports Illustrated, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for the Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartan recruiting coverage.

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