EAST LANSING — Tyler Higby had some idea about Michigan State football because his mother is from Saginaw and he has uncles in Detroit — that’s how the Houston offensive lineman came to pop by MSU on a whim in July.

He left, after long conversations with coach Mark Dantonio and offensive line coach Mark Staten, convinced he would be a Spartan. He committed a few days later. Offers from LSU, Miami (Fla.), TCU, Ole Miss and many others could not deter him, and when the Spartans beat Baylor in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, a few more folks from his region of the country came to know what he knows. - Read more at Freep.com