Michigan State welcomed 3-star safety RJ Holland this weekend

The Michigan State football program has used Spartan Dawg Con to expand its reach on the recruiting trail and strengthen relationships over the past three seasons. The event brings together Michigan State players from all eras, past, present and future. It has benefited the Michigan State football program and was once again this offseason for Coach Smith and his coaching staff. As Michigan State approaches the beginning of the Coach Smith era in East Lansing, the Spartan Dawg Con event gave Coach Smith another opportunity to interact with valued recruits.

As former and current Michigan State football players gathered with 2024 commits and Michigan State prospects in future recruiting classes in East Lansing, Coach Smith and his coaching staff continued to maximize their time with future recruits, showing interest in talented players from across the country. The event has been an asset to the Michigan State football program since its inception a few seasons ago. It was even more valuable to Coach Smith in his first offseason at Michigan State, allowing him to accelerate the recruiting process for future recruiting classes.

Michigan State and Coach Smith have been prioritizing athletes from across the Midwest in upcoming recruiting classes and continued that trend when they hosted three-star safety RJ Holland at this past weekend’s Spartan Dawg Con event. The Pickerington, Ohio native announced his visit on the social media platform X. According to 247Sports, Holland is the 42nd-best safety and 37th-best player from Ohio State in the 2026 recruiting class.

In addition to Michigan State, Holland has received scholarship offers from over a dozen football programs, including Illinois, Cincinnati, Minnesota and Marshall. As Coach Smith and Michigan State begin their new uniform together, it will be up to Coach Smith and his coaching staff to remain consistent on the recruiting trail. In order for Coach Smith to achieve his goal of quickly turning around the Michigan State football program, it will depend heavily on his ability to recruit talented players successful.

So far, he’s shown he can do it, as he’s secured a solid transfer class, nearly completed Michigan State’s entire 2025 recruiting class, and has already begun doing his due diligence on post-2025 recruiting classes. For his tenure to be successful, he needs to complete the process of bringing the talented players he’s shown interest in to Michigan State.

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