Michigan State Coach Jonathan Smith's Ability to Develop Players Will be Tested

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith is banking on his ability to develop talented but overlooked recruits. Coach Smith is a taking a huge bet on himself.

Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith looks on during the Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith and his coaching staff have had a strategic plan of attack for their recruiting process.

Coach Smith wisely figured Michigan State would likely be out of the running for most four- and five-stars on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal, as most of those players would likely go to more prominent football schools. While the Spartans are rebuilding their football program, they still must add the necessary talent. 

So far on the recruiting trail, Smith and his coaching staff have used their plan of offering primarily three-star athletes and many local athletes with fewer stars. No matter the outcome of Coach Smith’s first season at the helm, he and his coaching staff clearly have a plan, and they are sticking to it, too. Smith has been extremely busy over the last few months.

Smith and the Spartans have signed multiple three-star athletes over the last few weeks, quickly improving the incoming talent. It speaks to the fact that Smith and his coaching staff have a plan and have been able to communicate those plans to the athletes. Smith and his coaching staff targeting mid-level players makes a lot of sense, considering how likely the better players will or have already signed somewhere else. 

More than anything else, the one thing Smith and his coaching staff are planning on is their ability to develop the players. Smith’s repeated offers to athletes with three stars or less speak volumes about how much confidence he has in himself and his coaching staff’s ability to properly develop the incoming players. 

Smith is confident in his ability to get the most out of recruits with three stars or less because of his successful stint at his alma mater, Oregon State. He already has a history of turning around a program, which undoubtedly involved development.

Smith's prior success at Oregon State likely contributed to his confidence as a coach who does equally as good a job in East Lansing with those three-star recruits. On many levels, Smith was the best person for the job. However, as he enters his first season at the helm, his ability to develop players will immediately be tested during the first season of rebuilding Michigan State's football program.

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