REPORT: Breaking Down Michigan State Football's Recruiting

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith aims to build his 2025 recruiting class.

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith talks the media on the first national signing day for college football recruits Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King / USA TODAY NETWORK

It took some time, but Michigan State and Coach Jonathan Smith have started making progress in the transfer portal and are also looking to make progress on the recruiting trail.

247Sports analyst Allen Trieu believes the Spartans have been patient for a reason.

“I think they wanted to make sure they took guys they wanted,” Trieu said. “and didn’t just do it to fill the space.”

Coach Smith recently noted how busy of a month he and his coaching staff will have in June.

Trieu also noted how critical June will be for Michigan State.

“To me, looking at the commit list is only one piece of it,” Trieu said. “When you look at their official visitors list, and you look at who they’re going to be able to get on campus during the month of June, I think you have to feel pretty good about where this class will end up.

“I think it’s possible they’ll double the class by the time mid-July comes around and kind of see how it goes after that,” Trieu said of Michigan State’s commits. “I think it’s an impressive group coming in.”

Coach Smith has some catching up to do on the recruiting trail for the class of 2025.

“We know it takes time for a new staff to get their board established and building relationships, especially in the following class,” Trieu said. “Last year, they were able to take existing relationships they had in the ‘24 class bring over a lot of kids from the Oregon State class. I think they did a good job of also establishing some new pipelines. In ‘25, you’re starting over.”

Trieu noted Coach Smith has taken a different approach to recruiting than his predecessor.

“I think Coach Tucker’s staff, it was a little bit more national, I think they put out a little bit more offers,” Trieu said. “I think they recruited with a little bit more of a newer age flash, and I think that style can be effective. I think Coach Smith’s staff seems to me to be a little bit closer to how Coach (Mark) Dantonio’s staff did things.

"It’s a little bit more regionalized. It is based first in Michigan and Ohio. Now, they’re going out to the West Coast, they’re going other places, they’re dipping into the Southeast here from time to time, but in terms of the breakdown in who they’re recruiting, I think regionally it’s more similar to Coach Dantonio’s and their style of evaluation.”

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