Jonathan Smith, MSU Football in Play For Unique Rising Prospect
The Michigan State Spartans are prioritizing the Midwest under Coach Jonathan Smith, and that goal has been successful in regard to the 2025 class.
10 of 16 commitments that Smith and Co. have landed are from the Midwest. Seven from Michigan, one from Wisconsin, and two from Ohio. The Spartans are heavily targeting Ohio.
A prospect that the Spartans are in play for late into the 2025 recruiting cycle is Warren G. Harding two-way prospect Chaz Coleman. Coleman might be one of the most intriguing prospects in the class.
Coleman is 6-foot-5, 225 pounds. He plays quarterback. He also sacks quarterbacks as an edge rusher on defense.
247Sports lists Coleman as a three-star prospect, the No. 57-ranked "athlete" in the class and the 31st overall prospect in the state of Ohio.
Coleman's head coach, Matt Richardson, told 247Sports analyst Allen Trieu that many schools have shown interest in him. Including the Spartans.
"I told [Coleman] with more blessings comes more responsibility," Richardson said. "He's working hard to be the best teammate he can be, best person in school he can be, all good things but it has definitely changed as far as contacts. He heard from Pitt, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan State, a lot of people have come in since getting that Ole Miss and that Kentucky offer."
Richardson validates a common thread in recruiting. Prospects' chances of getting more interest and offers can increase exponentially when they receive an offer. It turns the attention to them. All of these programs are connected and paying attention, a vast recruiting network.
Now, when you get offers from big SEC programs like Ole Miss and Kentucky, other schools will take a look at you. See if there is something there. With Coleman, there is something there.
Richardson discussed with Trieu how a basketball video exhibiting Coleman's athletic ability was enough to verify his potential.
"I just tell people to watch his basketball highlights and they understand," Richardson said. "I told people in the spring you don't have to see him play football to give him a football scholarship, just watch that [basketball clip]. He can do it all on the field. If he ahd been training as a quarterback since the 6th grade like others, he would be getting recruited as a quarterback. A lot of schools see him as an athletic end who can do different things as well as a wildcat quarterback. I see him as an EDGE. ... That's my opinion and people who make more money than me like him as a tight end, but athletically, he can do anything."
The fact that Coleman could be recruited by Michigan State tight ends coach Brian Wozniak or rush ends coach Chad Wilt is eye-opening itself.
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