Trieu: Southfield A&T QB Anthony Romphf would ‘bring excitement to MSU like they've never seen’
Southfield A&T quarterback Anthony Romphf used to drive from Lansing, where his family lived, to the east side of the state for camps and to play strong competition in youth leagues. Now living in the area, Romphf recently received an opportunity to return to Lansing as Michigan State offered him a scholarship.
That offer came on a day he received four total. Schools saw him workout in person and his athleticism and effort shined. It has been a long process for Romphf, who has been dreaming about playing college football since very early in his life.
This led him to A&T last year after spending his earlier high school years at West Bloomfield.
“He has been great,” A&T offensive coordinator Aaron Marshall said. “When he got to me, he was young and he had never started on varsity before. He played a couple snaps as a backup at West Bloomfield but he never been handed the keys to run his own offense. I recommended things for him like leadership books and things a quarterback needs to know to take over a team. It didn’t take him long to gather it all because of how hard he works. He wants to be great and he listens when he trusts you’re leading him in the right direction. When he first came to Southfield I told him we work three days a week and he would call and say, ‘Let’s do a fourth.’”
During his junior season, Romphf had a chance to play against his old West Bloomfield teammates. A&T was the underdog in that game but pulled the upset in what proved to be a breakout game for the young quarterback.
“For him, it was really personal because he knows all the guys on the team and the coaching staff,” Marshall said. “He was real emotional and he played like it. Now, that can go one or two ways; it can backfire if you get overzealous. But he ran for over 100 yards, threw for 300 and four touchdown passes, and scored every possession in the first half. He was amazing.”
Still, it took major schools time to offer. Romphf only had one year of starting experience and some programs wanted to evaluate him as an athlete. Akron extended an early offer. Then a winter rush came with Michigan, Minnesota and more. The spring has brought about new opportunities, including Michigan State.
The Spartans offered as an athlete.
"It means a lot, being a hometown kid and I grew up loving the Spartans," Romphf said. "My relationship with them is awesome. I have known them for a long time. I think I would kill their offense and I would bring excitement to MSU like they've never seen before."
Romphf is preparing to release his top seven and the Spartans figure to be a part of that. However, he says the offers are nice, but relationships will rule the day when he is ready to make a decision. That is because he has come too far in this journey to make a decision based on a logo.
“When he was younger, I remember him at camps and watching little league football and he was undersized,” Marshall said. “So he has always had that ‘I'm not big enough’ chip on his shoulder, and that’s part of the reason he has experienced success now. He’s grown to be 6-foot and nobody saw that coming. He and his dad continued to work. Shout out to dad for putting him around great people along the way.”
Romphf recently recorded a laser-timed 4.50 40-yard dash at The Opening Regional in Washington D.C. His overall testing results were among the best at the event.
Spartan target set to announce decision
Gibraltar Carlson senior-to-be Ian Stewart will announce his college decision on Saturday, with most analysts now believing Michigan State is the favorite to land the 6-foot-3, 200-pound wide receiver.
Purdue, Kentucky and West Virginia are the other finalists.
The 247Sports Composite ranks Stewart as the No. 17 class of 2020 prospect in the state.
Two scholarship offers in St. Louis
Michigan State made an early move with two of the top young recruits in Missouri – Lutheran St. Charles freshman running back Arlen Harris Jr. and sophomore defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio.
Both have NFL bloodlines. The 6-foot-5, 290-pound Rubio’s father Angel played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals. Harris Jr.’s father played for the Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams and now serves as head coach at Lutheran.
Oklahoma, Georgia, Ohio State and Iowa are among the other programs who have offered Rubio.
More information
Allen Trieu covers Midwest football recruiting for 247Sports. He has been featured on the Big Ten Network on its annual Signing Day Show. His Michigan and Michigan State recruiting columns appear weekly at detroitnews.com.