MSU Offers Scholarship to Unranked Player from Ohio

Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith continues to stick to his plan of signing mid-level players and developing them into productive parts of the Spartans' resurgence.

Michigan State's new football coach Jonathan Smith speaks to the crowd during a timeout in the / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith continues to look to the future as the Spartans have offered a scholarship to edge rusher Cincere Johnson of Cleveland, Ohio, Johnson posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The unique thing about Johnson is that he is not yet been ranked nationally by 247Sports. However, he is rising the ranks as he still has another year of high school and room to grow physically and mentally.

The Spartans’ campus visits and the scholarship offers they have handed out point to a clear recruiting plan Coach Smith and his coaching staff have in place for their first offseason in East Lansing. Most players who receive offers remember the schools that offered them early, especially in the case of an unranked player.

Smith’s ability to find diamonds in the rough will be critical to reviving the MSU football program, especially in the long term. Smith and the Spartans are in the same conference as the defending national champion, Michigan, and Ohio State, which will each only be part of the competition around the country MSU will have for the players it is high on. It will be necessary for Smith and the Spartans to set themselves apart, especially in the case of the unranked defensive end. 

MSU was the seventh school to offer Johnson a scholarship, joining Louisville, Kentucky, Central Michigan, Notre Dame, Cincinnati and Toledo. As Johnson finishes high school, he will undoubtedly add to that number.

Smith and the Spartans are playing with house money in the head coach's first year -- or possibly even his first two years -- at the helm while he and his coaching staff try to rebuild MSU's program. 

Smith will need players who are OK with an uphill battle en route to possibly developing into a player with a future at the professional level. An unranked, overlooked athlete from a neighboring state could fit the mold perfectly. There are very few players with the mental makeup it will take to play for MSU in this day and age, with all the best talent going to the same few teams. 

However, nothing is impossible. All it takes is Smith to secure and develop a few low-star athletes and more talented athletes who are seeking playing time, which will come in due time.

The Michigan State Spartan Football Spring Green and White Game (Spring Showcase) will be held at the High Cathedral of the Spartan Nation, Spartan Stadium, on April 20, 2024, at 2 p.m.

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