With the Early Signing Period opening on Wednesday, there was a lot of mystery surrounding 2025 three-star cornerback and Michigan State commit Aydan West.
Questions were answered on Dec. 4, as West officially signed with the Spartans.
Ohio State, Virginia Tech and UCLA all pursued.
That wasn't the only twist in West's recruitment as of late, as Spartans Illustrated confirmed earlier this week that current MSU cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin is expected to leave for a job at UCLA.
West originally committed to Michigan State on June 25, following his official visit to East Lansing during the weekend of June 21 through June 23.
His strong relationship with Martin was one of the driving factors behind his decision to pledge to the Spartans, but head coach Jonathan Smith, defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Joe Rossi, secondary coach Blue Adams and the rest of the MSU staff were able to convince him to stay with the Spartans even after Martin's impending departure.
He was in Blacksburg for an official visit with Virginia Tech during the weekend of Nov. 9. Following that trip, there was some smoke that the Hokies were in a good position to flip West. However, he told Rivals at the time that he was still committed to Michigan State and that nothing had changed in his recruitment. Sources told Rivals.com that the West family reaffirmed their commitment to the Spartans after the trip to Virginia Tech.
During the weekend of Nov. 23, West was in Columbus for an official visit, which is when he received a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes. West was able to watch Ohio State defeat the previously unbeaten Indiana Hoosiers while he was on campus.
West picked up an offer from UCLA on Nov. 27 and later told Rivals he was considering the Bruins. The news of Martin going to Los Angeles added extra intrigue, but ultimately, nothing developed there.
On Nov. 30, West returned to Michigan State to watch the Spartans' senior day and regular-season finale loss against Rutgers.
"Michigan State exceeded my expectation," West recently told Rivals about his most recent visit to MSU. "I didn’t expect the fans to really come out because of the weather and it was a holiday weekend, but I was surprised at the number of people that were there. I was able to get a look at the facilities again and just spend some one-on-one time with the coaches."
A belief in Smith's vision to turn the Michigan State program around is one of the reasons why West chose to stick with the Spartans.
"What stands out (about MSU) is Coach Jonathan Smith’s leadership and how he responds with the players," West said.
After a whirlwind recruitment, West will remain with Michigan State.
West currently attends Quince Orchard High School in North Potomac, Md. He has helped lead the Cougars to an undefeated campaign thus far in 2024. They will play against Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School on Friday in the 4A Maryland State Championship Game.
He will finish his career as the all-time leader in interceptions for Quince Orchard.
West ranks as the No. 21 prospect in the state of Maryland and the No. 68 cornerback in the 2026 class.
During the summer, West also took official visits to West Virginia, Virginia, Cincinnati and Wake Forest.
In addition to the schools already mentioned, West received scholarship offers from from Penn State, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Duke, Boston College, Minnesota, Charlotte, Memphis, East Carolina, Marshall and others.
With West remaining in the group, and a couple of signing day surprises for the Spartans, Michigan State's 2025 class now includes 18 commitments and ranks 50th nationally.
