Country Day WR commits to MSU

Detroit Country Day wide receiver Bennie Fowler initially wanted to wait until October or November to make his college decision.

After an unofficial visit on Friday to Michigan State, he knew where he wanted to continue his football career.

Fowler became the 11th member of the 2009 MSU recruiting class Saturday when he told coach Mark Dantonio that he wanted be a Spartan.

"Michigan State was just a good fit for me," Fowler said. "My parents felt that way as well. But the coaching staff was the main reason I chose MSU.

"Plus, it's close to home and it's a program on the rise, and I want to be a part of that."

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound speedster chose MSU over offers from Indiana, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan and Toledo. He was also receiving interest from the rest of the Big Ten, except Ohio State, and Notre Dame.

"He's fast, very athletic, jumps real high and has outstanding hands," Country Day coach Dan MacLean said of his wide receiver. "If he continues to grow, gets bigger and stronger, he can be a very good player at MSU."

Fowler, ranked as a two-star recruit by Rivals.com, has been to numerous summer camps impressing schools with his speed and playmaking ability. At Michigan State's elite camp in June, Fowler was clocked at 4.36 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

Fowler will be the third Yellowjacket receiver in the last five years to commit to Michigan State, joining redshirt freshman Chris D. Rucker and redshirt senior Deon Curry.

Fowler, however, will be the first player from Country Day recruited by Dantonio. Both Rucker and Curry were recruited to MSU by former coach John L. Smith.

"Chris Rucker is a real good friend of mine, but he didn't really help recruit me to MSU. He just told me how much fun it was up there, how hard they work and that he likes it a lot. He just said people up there are good people."

With the recruiting process out of the way, Fowler is looking ahead to a successful senior season at Country Day. Last season, the Yellowjackets lost in the Division 4 state final to Marine City, and he and his teammates are using that loss as motivation.

"Personally, I just want to have the best season I can possibly have. As a team, we want to go back to state championship and this time around win it."

The task will be more difficult with the loss of two Division I prospects off last season's team. Running back Jonas Gray (Notre Dame) and linebacker Kenny Demens (Michigan) have both graduated so the attention of other teams will shine on Fowler.

"We are excited about him (Fowler) going into his senior year. We plan on utilizing him in many ways by getting the ball in his hands as much as possible," MacLean said. "With the loss of Jonas and Kenny, people are going to have to game plan for him because he can make a big play at anytime."