MSU Football OC Brian Lindgren Gives Insight into Midwest Recruiting
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan State Spartans under Coach Jonathan Smith have made the Mindwest their No. 1 recruiting priority. The states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio will play a vital role in that goal.
Recruiting the Midwest was something lost during the Mel Tucker era in East Lansing. Tucker attempted, and failed, to compete with SEC schools on the recruiting trail. That broad recruiting goal took Tucker and Co. all over the country to find talent, and no clear pipelines were established.
That is not how the Smith operation will run. Offensive Coordinator Brian Lindgren discussed the advantage of recruiting the Midwest with reporters on Thursday.
"You can see a lot of guys and don't have to travel quite as far," Lindgren said. "That's the thing. I think there is a lot of talent within driving distance. And that's been really cool. I mean, there's a lot of kids that can jump in the car and come here for a Junior Day, come here to watch a game, you know, and get guys on campus. And some of the other places I've worked out West, it was a little bit challenging, you know, there weren't as close places, guys had to jump on planes to come visit. So you just didn't have as many guys around the program. That, to me, has stood out."
Lindgren was previously at Oregon State with Smith, where he orchestrated some of the best offenses in the Pac-12. Lindgren was twice nominated for the Broyles Award, given to college football's best assistant coach.
Smith made mention of the Spartans' wide range of travel when he spoke at Big Ten Football Media Days last week in Indianapolis.
"[We're] Trying to get out in schools as much as possible, trying to invite them to campus," Smith said. "Watch us practice, or talk some ball, those kind of things. Did some camps in the state. When there's such limitations on the head coach getting out, our staff has made an emphasis on getting in a lot of Midwest high schools."
Lindgren said that the prototypical Spartan is someone ready to compete.
"We're looking for guys that are wired, you know, that are wired right," Lindgren said. "That love football."
Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.
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MICHAEL FRANCE