Upon retiring from the NFL, Blaise Winter began speaking at clinics and helping schools with defensive line technique. One of the schools he worked with from approximately 2005-08 was Michigan State. In 2005, his son Donovan was only 6, but his father’s stories about working with the Spartans stuck with him. He decided at an early age that he wanted to be a Spartan.
That could be seen as the foundation of the 2017 recruiting class for Michigan State, young Donovan Winter deciding more than 10 years ago he would play in Spartan Stadium one day.
Not too long after that, Hunter Rison began building a closer relationship with his father, Michigan State great Andre Rison.