Recruiting roundup: Belleville's Coleon Smith to play at Eastern Michigan

Belleville three-star offensive lineman Coleon Smith committed to Indiana during his senior season last fall, but then decided he was headed for Independence Junior College in Kansas due to grades on National Signing Day in February.

Well, Smith will be playing Division I football after all, announcing he was headed to Eastern Michigan University to play for the Eagles.

“He’s been working to get his grades up and it looks like he got it done,” Belleville coach Jermain Crowell said.

EMU seventh-year coach Chris Creighton is thrilled to have Smith on board. Creighton has guided the Eagles to three bowl appearances in the last four years.

“We have been recruiting Coleon for a long, long time,” Creighton said in a statement released by EMU. “He and his mother came on an official visit last June. He ended up deciding to commit to Indiana, however things fell through. He is from eastern Michigan and we are Eastern Michigan University!

“We love it when great people, who are talented, choose to represent their region. Coleon has the chance to be an outstanding offensive lineman for us. We are excited about landing another Big 10 caliber player on our roster.”

Smith was ranked No. 38 on The Detroit News Blue Chip list.

Meanwhile, Ypsilanti Lincoln tackle Tate Mackenzie — ranked No. 54 on The News Blue Chip list — decided to end his football career.

“I had a few options, just decided I didn’t want to play anymore,” said Mackenzie, who was offered by Michigan during the winter of 2019, his junior year.

Robinson, Williams to Wayne State hoops

Wayne State head basketball coach David Greer got a couple of prize recruits in 6-foot-7 Ann Arbor Huron forward Mike Robinson and 6-4 Detroit Edison forward Raynard Williams.

Robinson did an outstanding job defensively on Gatorade National Player of the Year  Emoni Bates, limiting Bates to 29 points on 8-of-27 shooting in Huron’s 64-54 win over Ypsilanti Lincoln in early March before nearly 5,000 fans at EMU’s Convocation Center.

Robinson, who earned a spot on The News All-West second team and has a 44-inch vertical, helped Huron to a No. 4 ranking in The News Super 20 and a Southeastern Conference Red Division championship during his senior year. He is the son of MSU Hall of Famer Mike Robinson Sr., a former Big Ten scoring champion while playing for the Spartans in the early-‘70s under Gus Ganakas.

Edison coach Bo Neely will have tremendous interest in Wayne State’s program with his son Brailen Neely the Warriors’ point guard, and now Williams joining Robinson on the team next year.

Brailen Neely led Detroit Western to the Class A state championship in 2015 before playing for Greg Kampe at Oakland, then transferring to Wayne State.

Williams, who was a member of Edison’s Class C state title team in 2018, averaged 14.6 points and eight rebounds this past winter to lead Edison to a 17-4 record and No. 14 ranking to earn a spot on The News' All-Detroit first team.

“Wayne State’s done a great job this year with Raynard joining Mike Robinson,” Bo Neely said. “When he (Williams) told me Wayne State I had chill bumps from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head. I still get to get to see him play and still get to help him work on his game, so it’s a win-win situation.

“The future looks bright for them. Brailen has one year left and I think he’ll relish the role of being a leader on that team; looking forward to watching them play.”

Bo Neely is well aware of Robinson since Edison played Huron in the season opener at EMU this past December, and Robinson scored 15 in a 53-50 win to be named Most Valuable Player of the game.

david.goricki@detroitnews.com