Jonathan Smith, MSU Football Offers Young QB Sensation
The Michigan State Spartans are set at quarterback for the foreseeable future with Aidan Chiles at the helm of Jonathan Smith's team. Waiting in the wings they have Ryland Jesse and Alessio Milivojevic. 2025 commit Leo Hannan, a fringe four-star, might be better than the latter two.
The Spartans -- a team looking to stretch the field vertically with a wide-open offense that many compare to the San Fransisco 49ers, ask a lot from their quarterback. Hence the reason Smith aims high with quarterback targets.
The Spartans already offered an elite, young prospect in Donald Tabron II. Tabron has only played one game of high school football for Detroit Cass Tech, and he was offered before that.
He holds several offers, including those from Penn State and Michigan, and some already consider him the top prospect in Michigan for 2028. The Spartans like him. As it stands, he happens to be close with Chiles.
The Spartans just offered another elite 2028 quarterback. Caiden Belton of East Marion High School in Mississippi announced his green and white offer on Tuesday. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound signal caller already has nine offers, and the programs offering him aren't slouches.
Florida, Ohio State, Tennessee, Michigan, Arizona State, Miami, Louisville -- all are vying for his talents. More are surely to come.
The Spartans have been predominantly recruiting the Midwest and the West Coast. Smith wants to build a pipeline in the former while maintaining one in the latter.
His background as a quarterback (he earned a starting job as a walk-on at Oregon State in the late 1990s, early 2000s) could surely be used to his advantage. His pedigree as one of the most respected coaches is a good selling point, as is his vision of the future for the Spartans.
"They're always looking into your background and your approach," Smith said at Big Ten Football Media Days. "And not just myself, this staff and what they have been able to develop as individuals, as players developing and going to play at the highest level in the National Football League. From a program side, the approach and the day-to-day development on and off the field. What we deeply believe in and how we're going to do it at Michigan State, speak deeply into Michigan State's tradition, passionate fanbase, the resources, the location, the conference. There is a lot to sell at Michigan State."
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