As if the Spartan defense was not good enough this year, Michigan State has gained another star for their team next year.

Montae Nicholson is a four-star recruit from Pennsylvania, and as the No.1 prospect in his home state, it is a big gain for the Michigan State Spartans.

Coming off of one of their best seasons in many years, this is big news for the Spartans. Nicholson had plenty of other offers from some of the top schools including Pittsburgh, Oregon, Florida State, and Virginia Tech.

It certainly says something about the recent reputation of the Spartan defense, and the way the Spartans performed this year, when a player chooses Michigan State over Florida State.

Florida State is a team that is being predicted to win the national championship, and has the recent Heisman Trophy winner with Jameis Winston.

Montae Nicholson made the announcement at his school on Thursday, and to the surprise of many people, he made the verbal commitment to be a Spartan. He is expected to official sign with the team in February.

Nicholson is a four-star safety by Scout.com, while he has also played cornerback, and is open to the possibility of playing wide receiver for Michigan State. He is ranked as the No. 21 safety in the country, and the No. 4 player overall in Pennsylvania by Scout.

Brian Dohn, a recruiting analyst for Scout.com spoke highly of the young player when saying “Nicholson is athletic and strong. He can cover sideline to sideline and has good ball skills. At The Opening over the summer, he showed good cover skills and the ability to break on the ball, and his ability to close is a big asset.”

He will join an already outstanding defense that easily beat Michigan earlier this year, and prevented them from scoring a touchdown. The Spartans also beat Ohio State, removing them from national championship consideration, and sent the Spartans to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1988.

2014 4* DB Montae Nicholson has committed to #MichiganState over FSU & Oregon. Nicholson is the #1 high school player in Pennsylvania.

— Rico Beard (@RicoBeard) December 19, 2013

At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Montae Nicholson is set to be one of the best in the 2014 recruiting class. The Rose Bowl berth for the Spartans was a nice bonus, but he said it was not the deciding factor. The Spartans will meet Stanford for the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

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