Michigan State lands three-star 2025 LB DiMari Malone
Michigan State received a commitment from 2025 Macomb (Mich.) Dakota linebacker DiMari Malone on Sunday. Malone wanted to make his commitment official on Mother’s Day to honor his mother.
A three-star recruit, Malone is the No. 756 player in the 2025 class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. He’s also the No. 16 player from Michigan and the No. 78 linebacker in his class.
Michigan State offered Malone (6-2, 220) on Jan. 19, a few days after Spartan head coach Jonathan Smith visited Malone’s high school. Malone committed to Michigan State over offers from 17 other schools, including his three other finalists in Illinois, Minnesota and Pittsburgh.
Malone most recently visited East Lansing for a spring practice on April 6. The only other visit he took this spring was in March to Minnesota. Malone planned to take an official visit to Illinois in late April, but didn’t make the trip. He has an official visit to Michigan State scheduled for June 7.
Malone represents Michigan State’s third commitment of the 2025 class. He joins three-star Anaheim (Calif.) Servite quarterback Leo Hannan and three-star Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary’s linebacker Charles White. Hannan and White will join Malone in East Lansing on June 7.
Michigan State defensive coordinator Joe Rossi was initially drawn to Malone’s versatility. Rossi told Malone that he can see him playing either the Mike or Will linebacker positions in his system. Since receiving his Spartan offer in mid-January, Malone’s relationships with Rossi and Smith have only grown stronger.
Michigan State’s coaches also picked up on Malone’s off-the-field character early on the recruiting process, which helped set him a part as a prospect.
Now that Malone is committed to Michigan State, he’s looking forward to recruiting other members of the 2025 class to East Lansing.
After that, Malone plans to focus on his senior football season at Dakota. Last season, Malone totaled 73 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three interceptions, one sack, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and six pass break-ups. He was a key part of a Dakota team that went 8-3, and a defense that allowed just 14.7 points per game.
