EXCLUSIVE: Elite Jonathan Smith, MSU Football Target on Big Hits, Culture
The Michigan State Spartans are making the Midwest their priority on the recruiting trial under head coach Jonathan Smith. That was something lost in the Mel Tucker era, as Tucker focused instead on competing with SEC schools in the recruiting race.
Now, Smith has seemingly turned that around with this 2025 class. 10 of his 15 commits are from the Midwest. Seven were from Michigan, two from Ohio, and one from Wisconsin. Key football states in the region.
Camps, 7-on-7 competitions, and training programs such as Sound Mind Sound Body, for example, have helped give the Midwest a higher pedigree when it comes to talent. Just look at the 2025 class' No. 1 overall prospect -- Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood of Belleville. What used to be a position held by the Deep South or California, now belongs to Michigan.
Smith is now looking ahead to the 2026 class. One target he has shown interest in is four-star safety Kaden Gebhardt of Lewis Center, Ohio. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder has good ball skills and is an old-school, hard-hitting thumper.
I spoke with Gebhardt, who doesn't have an offer from the Spartans but will be attending SpartanDawg Con this coming weekend. He told me what he will be looking out for at the event, which will have seemingly everyone in attendance -- alums, commits, offers, and targets that don't have offers.
"Definitely like the culture, just the way they do things around there, and definitely how they are gonna rebuild the program," Gebhardt told me.
Gebhardt said he wants to be part of a hard-working culture and that the amount of NFL talent a program churns out "definitely means a lot" to him.
Gebhardt describes his play-style as physical and fast and he wants a program to match it. He described what that would look like by describing Purdue, a school he has high on his list.
"So Purdue, the way they play their safety, they play it back 25 yards," Gebhardt said. "And basically, 25 yards, you're gonna get more picks there because you can see the whole field, you can see plays developing and stuff like that. I think that would really fit me well."
But most importantly:
"You're going to get some pretty big hits coming downhill at 25 yards."
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