Hey Hondo! Answering Your Michigan State Football Questions, What Happened with Kaden Strayhorn?

Sports Illustrated’s Hondo Carpenter answers the emails and questions of Spartan Nation regarding Michigan State Football.

Detroit Catholic Central Kaden Strayhorn (75) runs off the field during the first half of the Prep Kickoff Classic against Chippewa Valley at Tom Adams Field in Detroit, Thursday, August 26, 2021. / Junfu Han via Imagn Content Services,

The Spartan Nation is fortunate to have one of the most storied college football programs.

With multiple national titles and single-handedly breaking the color barrier, along with a lineage of players who are genuinely the who’s who of the sport, the heritage is fantastic.

So today, I set out to answer some of your questions regarding the football program.

Hondo, for Jonathan Smith to lose Kayden Strayhorn tells me he is a fraud and will be terrible at MSU.  It would be like Stephen Izzo going to Michigan.  Tell me I am wrong.  Thomas C.

You are wrong; that might be the most ignorant thing I have ever read. Additionally, his name is Steven.

Hondo, I know you bleed green. Would you agree that Jason Strayhorn should not be able to work for MSU again with his son going to Michigan?  Marcus C.

That might be the second most ignorant thing I have ever read, and I don’t agree at all.

Lots of rumors with the Strayhorn recruitment and him ultimately choosing UM. Can you cut through the BS and give us the truth?  Did the staff not recruit him because our NIL isn't strong enough to compete or was he not a culture fit? Thanks as always. Stephen N.

This is a great question. I would love to answer it, but first, some perspective. Kaden’s father, Jason, is not just a person I know; he is a personal friend. He is a devoted Spartan who loves the school, but more importantly, he is a great person and father.

Kaden was raised by terrific parents who love MSU, but they were raising their son to be a man. Sadly, many parents raise football players. These parents brilliantly focused on raising a son who plays football. They did it right.

For the last several years Michigan State football has been a disaster.  Those closest to it, know how bad it was.  Michigan State hasn’t been a destination place, going back to even the last few years of Mark Dantonio.

Michigan has been prosperous, and the last Dantonio years and, subsequently, the Mel Tucker fiasco were all many Kaden’s age remember.

I would not have wanted my son to attend MSU under Mel Tucker.  I know he isn’t here, but there is a reason Jonathan Smith is rebuilding.

Michigan built tremendous relationships with Kaden, and his parents were always there to advise and help him make a decision about where he would begin his adult life.

His parents aren’t living life vicariously through him.  They are successful people.

It was in NO WAY a rejection of Jonathan Smith.  It was NOT about NIL money.  It was about what you want decisions to be about.  By the time Smith arrived, Kaden had relationships built, and the connection was there.

It pains me to credit Michigan, but they earned it. They recruited Kaden brilliantly.

Do I think the Strayhorns’ could have pushed him? Yes, but if they had, it wouldn’t have been the character that makes me admire them and call them friends.

Michigan did what Tom Izzo does, and what Jonathan Smith is doing.  They recruit via built relationships. 

Would I have loved to see Kaden in Green & White? Of course. But this young man, whom I have watched grow up, did what his parents wanted.  He made his choice.

He has great grades, great personality, and great character. He chose the people he had a relationship with to get a free $100K education and play football.

I will NEVER root for Michigan, but I will always be a Kaden Strayhorn fan. He is a great kid from a great family. I hope he loses every game he plays against Michigan State, but I always hope he plays outstandingly well.

Michigan State recognized where they stood early. Smith invests, and invested where his Spartans could get footing. He didn't reject Strayhorn, not Strayhorn him.

I have tremendous faith in Jonathan Smith; Kaden made the right choice for him.  Football and thus sports are just that; this was life.

In the long term, I think UM is heading for disaster, and MSU is the better place, but Kaden does not feel that way.  It isn’t anything other than that, despite the rumors you hear.  Sometimes, the truth is just hard to swallow, and it is mundane.

Jonathan Smith and Michigan State football have a very bright future. So does Kaden.

Hondo, in our last Q&A, you mentioned that the gentleman from Detroit told you things had gotten bad even when Mark Dantonio was at MSU.  Does any of that have to do with Curtis Blackwell? Gabe in Haslett

Yes, a big part of it.

How worried should we be about the offensive line this year? We have a great RB and what could be a dynamic QB, but I don’t think we will have any running lanes or time to throw. Matt from Oswego

I think the offensive line is a great concern in the short term but not long term. Jonathan Smith is extremely well respected around the game of football for his commitment to and development of both sides of the line. The anemic OL today reflects on Mel Tucker and is a big reason why I believe it will take three seasons for Smith to solidify this program's foundation.

If you have a question regarding Michigan State football, basketball, or the athletic program in general, please send it to SpartanNationMail@yahoo.com, and when you do, put in the subject line MSU Q & A.

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