More Bad News for Wolverines in Light of Michigan State's Resurgence Under Jonathan Smith

As Michigan State's presence on the recruiting trail picks up, the Michigan Wolverines lose out on multiple valuable recruits.

Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith gives a thumbs up to the crowd as he enters the field during the football Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

Michigan State and Coach Jonathan Smith had a productive month of June, as Coach Smith and his coaching staff secured a flurry of commitments on the recruiting trail. Smith aimed to add as many talented players as possible to the team’s 2025 recruiting class. Michigan State succeeded in doing so, nearly tripling the number of recruits they had signed to the class entering June.

While Smith and his coaching staff are focused on rebuilding Michigan State’s football program, it is hard for any program not to keep an eye on what is happening with its biggest rival. Watching Michigan fall short in any aspect is a positive for Michigan State.

After having a productive June as Michigan State did, Michigan is off to a rough start in July. 

July has already seen three of the Wolverines’ top targets in the 2025 class committed elsewhere on Monday and Tuesday. Four-star linebacker/edge rusher Marco Jones recently chose Texas A&M over Michigan, Texas and USC. Jones visited Michigan, Texas, and USC in early June before signing with the Aggies.

The Danville, California native was ranked as the 167th-overall prospect by the 247Sports Composite rankings. Although the Wolverines were never the favorites to secure Jones, he is a significant loss, even for the defending National Champions.

However, Michigan was favored to win two other recruits it lost out on. Four-star offensive lineman Hardy Watts and four-star defensive lineman Maxwell Roy were two players many experts predicted would sign with the Wolverines. 

According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Watts is ranked as the 222nd-best prospect in the country and was considered a valuable target for the Wolverines. He eventually verbally committed to Wisconsin. On the other hand, Roy is ranked nearly as high as Watts.

The 247Sports Composite rankings also have him ranked as the 229th-best overall prospect. Although his last official visit was to Ann Arbor, he would sign with Ohio State, adding another talented player to Ohio State’s already gifted 2025 recruiting class.

“For me, it was the people and how they interact with each other in the building,” Roy said, per On3. “They always talk about brotherhood, family, and how connected they are. For me, seeing it on my official visit, how the players and coaches interact, how the players interact with each other, it was special. It was what I was most looking for in a college, and to see that on my visit was special.”

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