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Incoming recruit looking to join Michigan State CB competition
Kaleel Gaines sounds like someone who knows no one has locked down a starting spot at cornerback for the 2015 Spartans
"I'm just working my butt off down here in this Florida heat trying to earn that position," Gaines told the Griff and Grinz show on 92.1 FM in Lansing via MLive.com. "Every chance I get I grind."
Gaines was a three-star safety according to Scout.com, but he told 92.1 he played cornerback as a senior at Frostproof (Fla.) High School last fall.
He signed in February and this summer he will join a roster that has no one returning as an established starter at either cornerback spot after Trae Waynes opted to leave early for the NFL and Darian Hicks was benched late in the year in favor of Tony Lippett, the Big Ten Receiver of the Year who became a two-way starter. Lippett is also off to the pros after using up his eligibility.
MSU head coach Mark Dantonio spoke well of the cornerbacks throughout spring ball, particularly converted safety Demetrius Cox, but Gaines figures to get a chance to compete in a group that also includes Hicks, Arjen Colquhoun, Jermaine Edmundson and Vayante Copeland.
Considering the high-profile nature of the position and its importance in Michigan State's pressure defensive scheme, this figures to be an interesting battle to watch throughout the preseason.
(H/T MLive.com)
