Where does Michigan State football’s Jonathan Smith stand as the Top T decision approaches?

The Michigan State Spartans have been somewhat successful in securing their top targets for the 2025 class. Head coach Jonathan Smith can be pleased with everything, he has dominated recruiting in the state and the Midwest and has positioned himself well with his West Coast pipeline.

However, Smith and defensive coach Legi Suiaunoa have not been able to secure a defensive player from that class yet. Defensive players are something the Spartans desperately need, especially for long-term success.

One standout target for 2025 is Brad Fitzgibbon, a junior from Marist High School. Fitzgibbon is a three-star player and the 89th-best defensive player in his class according to the 247Sports Composite. He was selected to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in May.

Michigan State is one of Fitzgibbon’s top three teams, along with Iowa and Kansas.

Fitzgibbon has spoken to me several times. From day one, he approached the recruitment process methodically, weighing his decisions, asking the right questions and, above all, valuing the honesty of the schools.

“I’m very honest with them,” Fitzgibbon told me in May, “and like, ‘I want to commit by the end of June.’ That was a focus for me – I made it clear to them that I have less time than some of the others, but I still have a lot of time to recruit. So I feel like it’s important to go in person, shake the coach’s hand and tell him face to face that I’m going to commit to his school.”

By that logic, things may be looking best for Iowa. Fitzgibbon will be in Iowa City this weekend for his June 21 visit, and poignantly, the Hawkeyes will be his last stop before his June 25 announcement day.

247Sports’ Crystal Ball heavily favors the Hawkeyes to sign Fitzgibbon. Iowa insider Sean Bock rates his confidence that Fitzgibbon will choose Iowa as “high.” 247Sports editor Michael Swain is also very confident. Swain has committed six of six this year, Bock has committed five of five.

Official visits usually involve commitments, and while this reporter isn’t making predictions, things aren’t looking good for the Spartans.

Fitzgibbon visited the Spartans on the weekend of May 31st.

Michael France is Sports Illustrated’s Michigan State recruiting reporter and covers all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive coverage of the Spartans’ recruiting.

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