Prep coach pleased with Michigan State football’s in-state recruiting target

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Michigan State football head coach Jonathan Smith made it his top priority on Day 1 to revive the Spartans’ recruiting presence in their home state, which had been lost during the Mel Tucker era. Tucker wanted to compete with SEC schools in recruiting, and while he occasionally succeeded in landing top-tier talent, he ultimately failed. In the aftermath, he also lost the Spartans’ hold on the state.

The Spartans have always gotten the best out of their own in-state talent. If you’re not a blue blood like Alabama, Ohio State or Oklahoma, you have to make do. The Spartans under Mark Dantonio, for example, made do.

Dantonio recruited the Mitten and surrounding Midwest states, and it paid off. From the overlooked talent came gems like Kirk Cousins, one of the best players and possibly the best leader in Spartans history, explosive playmaker Keshawn Martin, the Bulloughs, and more.

Now Smith is trying to do the same. So far, he’s made good on his promise to recruit the state hard. Seven of his 15 2025 commits come from the state of Michigan. Three alone come from Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and two come from Macomb Dakota, both southeastern Michigan powers just outside of Detroit.

St. Mary’s recruiting coordinator and associate head coach Greg Dixon credits Smith for recruiting out of state. The pipeline to East Lansing is a testament to Smith, his staff and the relationship they’ve carefully built with the prep school in such a short time.

“I think this current staff is just really focused on taking care of the home,” Dixon told me. “That’s one of the big things Coach Smith said to us, he wants to recruit Michigan and Ohio, and take care of the backyard. He said just looking through it, he realized how much talent there is here, he wanted to make sure he had a good footprint here. And I feel like that’s been lacking in our state with some of the universities, so it’s been refreshing to see that kind of effort and then the follow-through with this coaching staff.”

Smith and his staff are making their presence known in the state. At this rate, the Spartans could be a recruiting force sooner rather than later.

Michael France is Sports Illustrated’s Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.

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