Surprisingly, Former MSU Football Coach Named Top Recruiter in the Country

The Michigan State Spartans saw former offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic join Alabama in February and now he has received special recognition for his recruiting ...

Michigan State's assistant head coach Chris Kapilovic on the sideline during the football game against Washington on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

The Michigan State Spartans have found the right fit in offensive line coach Jim Michalczik. He followed head coach Jonathan Smith to East Lansing from Oregon State, where he had a successful tenure producing some of the best offensive linemen in the country for the Beavers. Go watch Taliese Fuaga's highlights, he was a first-round pick out of Oregon State in 2024 and possibly one of the closest players to a "can't-miss" prospect in that draft.

Michalczik's predecessor, Chris Kapilovic, is now at the University of Alabama. Kapilovic had a reasonably succesful tenure in East Lansing before he left for an offensive line position at Baylor this offseason. Nearly just as soon, he found himself on Kalen DeBoer's staff at Alabama. The staff has the unenviable task of filling the shoes of Nick Saban, arguably the greatest head coach in college football history.

Recently, Kapilovic was named by 247Sports' the top recruiter in the country for the 2025 class. So far, Kapilovic has secured five commitments and the average player rating is 94.1, per 247Sports Composite Coach. He has secured a five-star and three four-stars with one three-star.

Five-star Ty Haywood looks the part of someone who could end up playing on Sundays, he is the No. 2 offensive tackle in the class and the No. 11 prospect overall. Kapilovic has a prototype for his offensive linemen, whether it is a tackle or interior linemen he prefers his targets to be 6-foot-5 or taller, and around 280-pounds. All of his 2025 commits fit that bill. Like DeBoer's offensive lines at Washington, the Crimson Tide's line looks to be long and athletic.

Kapilovic did not have the same success at Michigan State, though he did earn commitments from blue-chippers during his time with the Green and White. Four-star Stanton Ramil was an Under Armour All-American and a Top 100 player. Ramil redshirted last season, and could be a key piece for the Spartans in the future. Kapilovic was unable to get Ramil to leave with him to Tuscaloosa like Geno VanDeMark had.

Michalczik is a more than worthy successor to Kapilovic, and the Spartans are better off given Michalczik's coaching abilty and developmental track record.

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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