Michigan State Football Could Be Slightly Ahead of Schedule

As coach Jonathan Smith approaches the start of his first season in East Lansing, he and his coaching staff have already done an admirable job of putting the Spartans in perhaps the best possible situation considering the state of the football program upon their arrival.

Coach Smith inherited an unfortunate situation. Since arriving on campus, he has constantly struggled with the usual difficulties of a head coach in his first year at a new school.

However, Smith also had to contend with a unique combination of issues that few college football head coaches have faced at the same time. Smith and Michigan State initially had one of the largest groups of players ever transferred by a college football team. While some of the departures will likely help the Spartans improve in one way or another in the future, losing so many athletes took its toll on Michigan State’s roster.

Smith and his coaching staff also had to tackle recruiting players at Michigan State University in his first season after their archrival won the national championship.

Not only did the loss of so many players leave gaps in the squad, with several regulars and talented substitutes leaving the team, but the numerous transfer departures also meant that Smith and his coaching staff had to allocate more time to fill those gaps and focus on the upcoming season.

This put Smith and Michigan State at a disadvantage against many of their competitors in recruiting for the 2025 and 2026 classes. However, Smith and his coaching staff were able to put together the 12th best transfer portal class of 2024. The loss of nearly 20 scholarship players at Michigan State created gaps that allowed many talented players who already had college football experience to come to East Lansing to help rebuild a program.

While Michigan State continues to offer scholarships and secure commitments from players in the 2025 class, they currently have one of the worst 2025 recruiting classes in the Big Ten. The Spartans will certainly struggle at times this coming season and will need to add even more talent to their incoming classes. There is a chance they may be a little faster than expected due to the quality of their 2024 transfer portal class.

Until the season begins, there is little reason to believe the Spartans cannot achieve the small number of wins they have been projected to have this season. Although Michigan State has one of the most challenging schedules in the Big Ten, no one knows what to expect from Smith and the Spartans until the first kickoff of the season. If Smith and his coaching staff can develop players and steal a few games this season, they could have a six or seven win season.

This would put them well ahead of schedule.

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