Michigan State listed in top 6 of 3-star CB James Monds III

Michigan State is one of six schools still in the running for three-star cornerback James Monds III of Fort Pierce, Fla.

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Michigan State is one of six schools still in the running for three-star cornerback James Monds III of Fort Pierce, Fla.

Monds revealed his top six on Sunday, which included Michigan State, Miami, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Mississippi State and Indiana.

Monds is ranked as the No. 79 cornerback and No. 802 overall prospect in the 2022 class by 247Sports.

Monds is currently projected to end up in East Lansing, according to 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions. Nebraska is the current runner-up in these predictions so it could be a battle between two Big Ten schools for this Florida prospect.

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A fan of Charles Woodson, FL 3-star CB James Monds III calls Michigan ‘my dream school’

Having grown up watching Michigan football as well as Charles Woodson highlights, the 3-star CB calls U-M one of his dream schools.

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2022 Fort Pierce (FL) Westwood three-star cornerback James Monds III grew up a Michigan fan.

While he also had an affinity for Florida State and Miami (FL), it seemed that no matter when he turned on the TV to watch college football, the maize and blue were there, wearing their winged helmets in all their glory.

Not to mention, Monds frequently would find himself on YouTube, watching highlights of the only Heisman Trophy-winning defensive player in cornerback Charles Woodson. As he got older, Jabrill Peppers was someone he also took a keen interest in.

Once Sept. 1 came around and coaches could initiate with players, he started getting text messages from Michigan safeties coach Bob Shoop. He asked Shoop if he could call — which he obliged — not knowing that it was going to lead to an offer from one of his three dream schools.

β€œWhat happened was Coach Shoop, he had been texting me, sending me little edits and stuff,” Monds told WolverinesWire. β€œAnd then I asked if we could get on a call, and we got on a call. It kinda caught me by surprise, because usually, the first call, they try to make a relationship and just tell you about the school. But our conversation was going so well, I guess it urged him to do it. He just said, β€˜Man, we really love your film, me and Coach Harbaugh really looked at it and you’re a good fit for us. We want to offer you a scholarship.’”

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Given the gravity of the situation, Monds was naturally elated — and led to something of a physical manifestation once he and Shoop’s call had been completed.

β€œI was hyped up!” Monds said. β€œMichigan was one of my dream schools as a kid. I just got juiced up! I was jumping around and stuff. I was super happy!”

Rated No. 506 in the country overall according to the 247Sports Composite, Monds has 33 reported offers, including opportunities from Clemson, Miami (FL), Michigan State, Penn State, West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.

At the moment, he’s just waiting for the moratorium on visits to be lifted, so he can get a better idea of where he’d like his future home to be.

β€œI really want to start cutting my list once they take the ban off visiting. I’m gonna take a lot of unofficials and visit all around and see what I like. I’m gonna try to narrow down my decision around senior year, probably around August or September and commit.”

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2022 CB James Monds III ‘feeling great’ about Wisconsin

The Badgers are targeting the 2022 Florida corner

The offers have been pouring in for Florida native James Monds III since the September 1 threshold. The 2022 CB has seen offers fly in recently as schools can now initiate contact with rising high school juniors. Among those offers are of course the Badgers, conference foe Michigan State, Kansas State, Miami, Mississippi State, and most recently Michigan.

Monds III has seen a meteoric rise in his recruiting over the past year, but of all the places that have been in contact with the Fort Pierce star, he told BadgersWire that the fan base at Wisconsin has stood out so far. “Since the offer, the fans have been in my messages on Twitter showing me hospitality and selling me on Wisconsin,” the four-star corner told BadgersWire on Friday morning.

The offer that came just a couple of days ago was not the first Monds III had heard about Wisconsin football. His cousin, DB Jameson Wright, was with the program in 2010 and 2011 before transferring to Bethune-Cookman.

It has not only been the fans who have been going after the talented Florida native, but also Wisconsin commits. S Braelon Allen, the first Badger commit in the class of 2022, immediately reached out to Monds III after the offer to give him his number and add him on Snapchat. The two have stayed in contact over the past couple of days, with Allen even adding Monds III to a group chat with 2021 commits that were selling him on the Wisconsin experience.

“2022 commit Braleon Allen texted me and added me to this group chat with other Badgers. They were a mostly 2021 commits, along with Braelon [Allen]. They were telling me what it is like to be a Badger.”

On Twitter, Allen has made his recruiting of Monds public, as have other Badger commits including 2021 WR Skyler Bell.

So, after all the love shown by the Badger community, how is Monds III feeling at the moment?

“I’m feeling great about Wisconsin. I am just ready to take a visit to Madison.”

Hopefully the Badgers are able to get Monds III on campus as soon as safety permits, as the Florida corner is ready to see what the Madison experience is all about.