EXCLUSIVE: Elite MSU OL Prospect Reveals the Will to Prepare
The late, great Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight always said that the "will to win" was overrated; the "will to prepare" was more like it.
Under Jonathan Smith, Michigan State football is recruiting players with focused work ethics and dedication to the game. True football players in the way they study the game and work to improve their understanding of it, along with performance, too. Competitors in every sense of the word.
Recent offeree Deacon Schmitt, a 2026 three-star offensive lineman out of Windsor, Colorado, has that work ethic and the intangibles the Spartans like. His offseason workout program is through former NFL offensive lineman Matt McChesney's Six Zero Academy. Right now, Schmitt is working out at 5 a.m. on weekdays.
Schmitt told me that training and preparing is the "biggest part of the whole thing."
"If you have talent, you have to work hard," he said. "God blessed me with good size, with good talent, and so, I'm doing my part and working hard, and I think that's the meat and potatoes of all this. You got to put yourself to it; if you're lazy, then it just won't work out, so I'm just trying to take advantage of every opportunity I can to get better. Because I ultimately have a pretty big goal in life."
That goal is the NFL. Michigan State offensive line coach Jim Michalczik, who offered Schmitt, has a strong NFL pipeline (over a dozen players that have signed with NFL teams) and connections to the league from his time as offensive line coach with the Oakland Raiders.
Schmitt likes that fact.
"When you have a coach that has seen what it takes and has seen the guys that are in that position, I think that's a very good advantage," Schmitt said. "So, I think just him having that background would only help me increase my chances of my ultimate goal."
At 6-foot-5, 310 pounds, Schmitt has a great frame for the next level as an interior offensive lineman. He is the 35th-best interior offensive lineman and the second-best player in Colorado's 2026 class, per the 247Sports Composite rankings.
With Schmitt's combination of measurables and intangibles, expect the Spartans to make a strong push moving forward.
Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.
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