Spartans Continuing to Expand Recruiting Boundaries

The Michigan State staff has continued to make moves with the 2026 class, extending yet another offer. This time they have offered Hawaiian native Malaki Soliai-Tui.

Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith throws a penny at the foot of the Sparty statue before the start of the football game against Ohio State on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, on his way to Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Michigan State coaching staff has connections across the country. Jonathan Smith and a number of his assistants came with him from Oregon State, where they were able to recruit extremely well on the West Coast and Hawaii. The Spartans new regime have brought that recruiting prowess to East Lansing with them.

The 2026 class consists of midwestern prospects so far but have a number of prospects they're still in on from out west.

The latest example comes this week as the Spartans offered linebacker and Hawaiian native Malaki Soliai-Tui. He announced the offer on social media on Sunday.

Blessed and Grateful to receive an offer to Michigan State University! @DLCoachLegi @JoeS_Rossi @BrandonHuffman @ChadSimmons_ @BlairAngulo @adamgorney @Solmatix7 @NihoaPule pic.twitter.com/XWRaKSO8cL

— Malaki Soliai-Tui (@soliaimalaki) March 31, 2025

Soliai-Tui is also being recruited by the likes of Cal, UCLA, Washington State and others. He currently has official visits scheduled to Cal and UCLA on May 10 and May 28, respectively.

Soliai-Tui's game is extremely fast-paced. He flies downhill and plays the run well. He is also able to get sideline to sideline well and be a force on the edge when necessary. On top of the prowess in the run, he is able to drop back and defend the pass, typically reading the quarterback well and getting to his spot with haste.

As the Spartans continue to push the boundaries of where Michigan State has recruited before, Smith and his staff are able to build credibility and build more relationships in places other Big Ten teams have not gone before.

Soliai-Tui's main point of contact within the program is defensive line coach Legi Suiaunoa, who spent time coaching at Hawaii before moving on to Oregon State to work with Smith. Suiaunoa is well connected on the west coast and on the islands, giving Michigan State a fighting chance for prospects out there.

East Lansing is a long way from Hawaii and could be a tough sell, but the staff has already shown the ability to be competitive out there and leverage their prior connections. As the staff continues their mission to build pipelines out west, it continues to build up credibility with schools and prospects that have been seen as out of reach in the past.

With the addition of teams like USC, Oregon, UCLA and Washington to the Big Ten, it will become even more important to take some real estate from them on the recruiting trail, and this staff has gotten a great head start on other midwestern-based schools.

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