How Pat Fitzgerald Can Maximize First MSU Recruiting Class

The Michigan State Spartans have signed most of their 2026 recruiting class as of National Signing Day on Wednesday.

MSU still has a few players left who need to sign: wide receiver Samson Gash, offensive lineman Collin Campbell, and defensive back Jeremiah Favorite. Other than that, every player has signed their National Letter of Intent.

While most of those players committed to playing for Jonathan Smith, they bought into the culture that new head coach Pat Fitzgerald is trying to instill in East Lansing. Fitzgerald has done a good job getting recruits to buy into the coaching change.

With his first Spartan recruiting class signed, here’s how Fitzgerald can maximize his newest players.

Pat Fitzgerald and the Spartan signees

Michigan State football's new coach Pat Fitzgerald, center, holds up a jersey with MSU president Kevin Guskiewicz, left, and athletic director J Batt, right, during Fitzgerald's introductory press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, at the Tom Izzo Football Building in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Fitzgerald formerly coached at Northwestern, becoming the winningest coach in program history. He did so by finding underrated talent and developing those players into future professionals.

He will be tasked with doing the same for this class, as it is not rated very highly nationally. MSU’s 2026 class ranks 46th nationally and 12th in the Big Ten on 247sports.com.

The biggest key for Fitzgerald will be developing the trenches, and he has a few players who will be important as he tries to bring winning back to Michigan State.

Michigan State's new football coach Pat Fitzgerald pats his heart at the crowd in attendance for the Spartans basketball game against Iowa on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

An offensive tackle like Eli Bickel will be key to that turnaround, as the Spartan offensive line has been poor for the past few seasons. Bickel is a composite four-star, ranking as the No. 457 player in the country.

Fitzgerald must also modernize his offense, as he only won seven games in his last three seasons at Northwestern because his offenses were so poor. The Spartans cannot be bad on that side of the ball if Fitzgerald is going to bring them back to the top.

That is where new quarterback, four-star Kayd Coffman, and wide receiver Zachary Washington can come in. If Fitzgerald builds an offensive staff that can develop those players and scheme a system around them, MSU will have an efficient offense for the first time in many years.

East Kentwood quarterback Kayd Coffman fires a pass downfield during a victory over Howell Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. | Timothy Arrick/For the Livingston Daily / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Establishing a culture that players want to be a part of is also key, and Fitzgerald’s inaugural class can help him do that. He got them all to buy in, despite those players committing to Smith.

Fitzgerald has all the tools to build a successful first recruiting class in East Lansing. These players will set the tone for the new Spartan coach, and it will be on him to get the most out of them.

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