Florida QB Mariano Valenti hoping to impress Michigan State this spring

Class of 2019 quarterback Mariano Valenti recently made a bold move, electing to finish his high school football career at powerhouse program Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas. The Michigan native comes to South Florida with two offers on his resume, courtesy of Toledo and Central Michigan, but he’s hoping his move down south will help his list of options grow.

“I threw for Pittsburgh recently and I know a lot of other programs are coming,” Valenti said. “Temple is coming soon, so is Florida State and Michigan State.”

The Spartans are very familiar with Valenti and he said he’s looking forward to another shot at impressing the coaches in person.

“I’ve been talking to Michigan State for quite a while now,” Valenti said. “I have a pretty good relationship with their quarterbacks coach and I’ve known him for a long time now.”

It helps that growing up in Michigan, Valenti has always paid close attention to the Spartans.

“I’ve always been a fan since I was a little kid watching Connor Cook and guys like that,” Valenti said. “I was a Spartans fan. Cook was the guy I grew up wanting to be like. They had him, Foles and Cousins at the same time so that shows how good they are at identifying guys.”

The Spartans track record of producing quarterbacks is exactly why Valenti knows that if he gets an offer from Michigan State, it will be earned.

“The coaches up there know what they’re doing,” he said. “Coach Salem is the quarterback coach now and he knows what he’s doing. He can evaluate guys and also coach them up.”