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Michigan State's new football coach Pat Fitzgerald pats his heart at the crowd in attendance for the Spartans basketball game against Iowa on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ranking Spartans' Class After February Signing Day

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Travis Tyler | Last updated Feb 5, 2026 11:00 AM ET

The importance and urgency of college football's February national signing day have diminished over the year's , but the day still marks a significant step in the offseason calendar.

Sure, most schools already had their classes mostly set and few uncommitted players remained, but for schools with a new coaching staff, like Michigan State, it's another opportunity to keep building a competitive roster. They're not necessarily concentrated on luring in the big five-star fish and more focused on laying a foundation.

Michigan State's Last-Minute Additions

The Spartans added eight more players to their high school recruiting class on Wednesday, led by the re-affirmed commitment of four-star wide receiver Samson Gash, from Detroit Catholic Central High School. Gash had originally comitted to MSU and former head coach Jonathan Smith in June 2025 and chose to reassess his options once Smith was fired.

Schools like Alabama, Penn State, and Georgia tried to swoop in on Gash, but he chose to stick with the Spartans in the end. It's a hug win considering he's the top wide receiver in the state, and Penn State is his father's alma mater. Gash will also join his older brother Caleb in East Lansing, and he has another brother with an offer from the Spartans in a future recruiting class.

Staying in STATE. ⚔️@GashSamson is officially a Spartan! pic.twitter.com/KUhr8ZK9h7
— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) February 4, 2026

"To add Samson Gash, today, to this football porgram is a huge win," head coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "... To add the top receiver in the state, and you could argue one of the top wide receivers in the country, here, along with some young men that are going to be priority walk-ons for us, was a great first Wednesday in February."

The preferred walk-ons (PWOs) include:

K Stephen Gonzales (Union Academy - NC)

QB Peyton Babbitt (Orchard View HS- MI)

DB Darelle Cochran (Ferndale HS -MI)

DB Luca Genrich (Detroit Catholic Central - MI)

OL Cole Bertke (East Grand Rapids HS - MI)

RB Cedric WIlliams (Detroit Catholic Central - MI)

LS Trey Serauskis (Lincoln-Way East HS - IL)

Where does Michigan State's Recruiting Class Rank?

The Spartans currently have 21 high school players signed as part of the 2026 recruting class, inlcluding four four-stars. It's the No.54 overall class in the country, accorind to On3' Industry Consensus data that takes all recruiting rankings services into account.

Brandon Folsom/Hometown Life / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The class includes four players ranked among the top-500 recruits in the country. Gash leads the way as the No. 188 recruit nationally, the No. 7 player in the state of Michigan, and the No. 43 wide receiver in the country. Offensive lineman Collin Campbell ranks 220th nationally and is a top-five player from Arizona. Quarterback Kayd Coffman (East Kentwood, Mich.) ranks 240th and tight end Joey Caudill (Mansfield, OH) is the No. 471 player in the country.

While Spartan fans hope to see things go up from here, it's an overall solid start for the Fitzgerald Era. He was able to keep much of the class he inherited intact, and some could become key players this fall.