MSU Football Coach's Unique Take on Midwest Recruiting

The Michigan State Spartans have been recruiting the Midwest hard under Coach Jonathan Smith. Who's to say they can't have fun doing it?

Brian Wozniak / Aidan Champion

Michigan State is looking to make the tight end position a premier one under Coach Jonathan Smith. His offensive coordinator, Brian Lindgren, likes to make his tight end a vertical threat. Tight ends coach Brian Wozniak, in turn, likes his tight ends to be athletic, "basketball" tight ends.

The Spartans have made it their goal to make the Midwest their top priority on the recruiting trail. Wisconsin, Ohio and the home state would receive a greater emphasis than it did during the Mel Tucker era.

So far, the Spartans have landed 10 2025 commits from the Midwest -- seven from Michigan, two from Ohio and one from Wisconsin. Wozniak, who is also the Spartans' recruiting coordinator, told reporters on Monday that recruiting the Midwest has been "awesome."

"I love it ... you get to go down and hang out in Ohio for three or four days," Wozniak said. "You kidding me? It's awesome. Got to spend some time in my own college stomping grounds, Wisconsin, and then you get to recruit the state of Michigan. Really, really good high school football. It's been a lot of fun. To me, it doesn't feel like a new landscape, but it almost does because I haven't been in it for so long. So it's cool seeing those older high schools that maybe I knew growing up, playing against, or even my own high school, going in and seeing it. It's been a lot of fun."

Two of those Midwest recruits are tight ends. Three-star Wisconsin tight end Emmett Bork might be one of the Spartans most promising recruits. Bork is 6-foot-6, 240 pounds and has a wide receiver's background. Jayden Savoury has similar measurables and a high ceiling as the No. 1 tight end in the state of Michigan.

At Big Ten Football Media Days, Smith praised his coaching staff's approach to the Midwest.

"Trying to get out in schools as much as possible, trying to invite [recruits] to campus," Smith said. "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."

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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