Jonathan Smith’s first year of recruiting at Michigan State University was disappointing

Any first-year head coach will have a tough time putting together a great recruiting class. The only first-year head coach to put together a top-15 recruiting class, according to 247Sports, was Kalen DeBoer at Alabama, who had a sophomore class of 2024.

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith, who is in his first year on the job, has taken in the 42nd recruiting class of 2024, according to 247Sports, while also bringing in the 12th transfer class. Smith’s highlight of the freshman class is wide receiver Nick Marsh from River Rouge, Michigan.

Carter Bahns of 247Sports discussed the current state of recruiting for Michigan State following the Spartans’ official summer visits.

“It’s early enough in the recruiting cycle to not sound the alarm, but Michigan State has the lowest-rated 2025 class of any power conference program with new head coaches,” Bahns wrote. “Jonathan Smith was never a world-class recruiter at Oregon State, but you’d expect him to build better classes at his new program. He’s not a four-star signing in his debut. The transfer class, however, is far more exciting. High-profile quarterback Aidan Chiles followed Smith to East Lansing and should be one of the best first-year starters in all of college football, and there are plenty of talented recruits around him.”

This summer, Coach Smith signed 10 players, putting the Spartans at No. 62 in 2025 according to 247Sports. That’s not an ideal start for Michigan State, but Smith has never been one to always sign the best high school players. However, like former Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio, Smith can develop players who are ranked lower and mold them into star players on offense and defense.

Spartan fans will be excited to see how well Smith and his team do during the rest of the summer recruiting season.

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