Norman reflects on Michigan State visit

The northern half of Michigan's lower peninsula has produced a number of Division I prospects in the last five years despite being a lightly populated area. One of the most sought after prospects from that region in the class of 2013 is Cadillac's Riley Norman.

The 6-7, 315-pound Norman is receiving loads of mail from Division I programs, and picked up his first scholarship offer of the process from Michigan State this summer. Last weekend, Norman traveled to East Lansing to take in the Spartan's home win over rival Michigan.

"It was fantastic and I loved it," Norman said. "It was a great game and great people down there. I got to talk to Coach [Mark] Dantonio and he was a great guy."

Norman has strong connections to Michigan State. One brother is currently a sophomore at Michigan State and another brother graduated from the school.

The Spartans are the only school that has offered Norman at this stage of the process, but he is receiving strong interest from the likes of Georgia Tech, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State and Wisconsin. With more than 15 months before he has to sign a Division I letter of intent, Norman is not in a rush to end his recruitment at this time.

"I'm just going to enjoy the recruiting process," Norman said. "I will try to visit other schools and see what other schools have to offer - see the campuses, see the teams."

Friday night, Norman led his Cadillac team against Buchanan for a game that would determine their postseason fate, and came away with a 37-25 victory.

"We've been to playoffs the two prior years that I have played on varsity and this is the first time in history that Cadillac has made it to playoffs three years in a row," Norman noted.

Norman is also a standout on the track. This past spring he took second in the shot put at the Division 2 state track meet with a toss of 58-9.5.