Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith talks the media on the first national signing day for college football recruits Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

June Will Be Big for Jonathan Smith, MSU

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Carter Landis | Last updated May 28, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Recruiting is the lifeblood of a college football program.

The best teams in the country consistently attract the top high school players year after year. It allows them to reload when they lose players to the NFL.

The Michigan State Spartans have not recruited like a top program in the last few years. They have had some difficult waters to navigate, but they need to land more top talent.

Jonathan Smith did a nice job pulling together his 2024 class at the 11th hour, with only weeks between the day he was hired and Signing Day. However, his first full class only featured two four-star recruits and ranked 42nd in the country on 247Sports.com.

June begins in just a few days, which is arguably the biggest month of the summer for recruiting. Smith and his staff have a chance to bring some juice back to the program.

MSU’s 2026 class currently has just four recruits, one of whom is four-star quarterback Kayd Coffman. The high riser from East Kentwood, Michigan, also recently took a visit to Ohio State, which has worried some Spartan fans.

If the Spartans can keep Coffman home, it would be a major recruiting win for Smith over one of the biggest and most successful recruiting programs in the country.

According to 247Sports, Smith and his staff have 34 recruits scheduled to visit East Lansing in June, including two of their own commits. Landing multiple players from those visits would be a great start to the 2026 class.

Among those visits is four-star defensive end Carter Gooden, who ranks as the No. 69 player in the country. Gooden could be the biggest name Smith has landed in his short time as coach.

Many schools are after Gooden, so if MSU can separate itself during his visit, they could put themselves in good standing with the talented edge rusher.

The Spartans do not have an athletic director in place yet, but according to The Detroit News’ Tony Paul, MSU could be willing to move past the $1 million mark in salary for the next candidate. Paul also said the Spartans could have their next athletic director "by mid-June."

Former MSU AD Alan Haller made a little more than $900K in annual salary. I’m hearing MSU could go well beyond that, even in the $1.5M range, for its next athletic director. Such a salary would suggest the next leader could be a “name.”

Next AD could be in place by mid-June.
— Tony Paul | Detroit News (@TonyPaul1984) May 27, 2025

Landing big recruits in June could turn things in the right direction for Smith. It is up to him and his staff to close the deal.

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This article first appeared on Michigan State Spartans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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