Michigan State signs 2024 three-star EDGE Kekai Burnett
2024 Honolulu (Hawaii) Punahou School three-star EDGE Kekai Burnett signed with Michigan State on Wednesday. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Burnett committed to Michigan State on Tuesday, just days after he visited East Lansing during the weekend of Dec. 15.
Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith and defensive line coach Legi Suiaunoa originally recruited Burnett to Oregon State, but Burnett chose to decommit from the Beaver program and follow Smith’s staff to East Lansing. Burnett chose Michgian State over offers from Arizona, BYU, Oregon, Stanford and Washington State, among others. He took a visit to BYU the weekend of Dec. 8 before travelling to East Lansing the following weekend.
Burnett is the No. 1400 prospect, No. 119 EDGE, and the No. 6 player from Hawaii, per the On3 Industry Rankings. Burnett is currently Michgian State’s only 2024 defensive line commit.
Scouting summary
A strong EDGE prospect, Burnett does a good job of getting to the quarterback. He’s also disruptive in setting the edge in the run game thanks to his solid hands. Burnett also has a quick first step. He will need to put on some weight to help fend off bigger offensive tackles. He also has some room to grow in terms of technique.
Reminds us of
Purdue defensive end Gelen Robinson had a knack for setting the edge during his four years in West Lafeyette, Ind. Robinson came into college with a similar build to Burnett. Like Burnett, Robinson had some fine-tuning to do as a young player, but he got there relatively quickly. Robinson was a three-star prospect in the 2014 class. He was the No. 612 prospect, No. 27 defensive end and No. 9 player from Indiana, per the On3 Industry Rankings. Robinson finished with 162 tackles, 12.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and one interception in four years at Purdue.
Personal life
Burnett grew up watching Hawaii native Manti Te’o. He described Te’o as the player who inspired him to take up football as a kid. Burnett was a four-year starter at defensive end for his high school team.
