3&Out from National College Showcase: High school recruiting still vital to Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith
Detroit – Three takeaways from Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith’s press briefing while at the National College Showcase recruiting event on the campus of Wayne State University, Thursday.
1. HIGH SCHOOL RECRUITING STILL MATTERS
The chase for high school prospects took a back seat to the comings and goings of the transfer portal in late April and May. For the past two decades, spring time news of unofficial visits by high school prospects, and a smattering of early verbal commitments often led to mild celebrations by some fanbases, and also some negative hand-wringing when high-profile recruits chose to commit elsewhere. Those visits still happened for Michigan State this spring, along with some commitments. But recruiting news was overshadowed by transfer portal movement.
Since Mel Tucker’s firing in September, Michigan State has seen 34 scholarship players exit the program via the transfer portal, and 23 arrive.
In April and May, 17 Michigan State scholarship players left the team via the portal and 13 were added.
Of the 17 who left in the spring, I would estimate – via insider conversations and some educated hunches – that Michigan State would have liked to have hung onto four or five of those players. The others weren’t viewed as keepers by the new coaching staff, as they sorted through the players they inherited from the Tucker regime.
Meanwhile, Michigan State gave a close look to its cornerback situation during spring practice and realized that an influx of talent was needed at that position. The Spartans gained transfer commitments from Ed Woods (Arizona State), Jeremiah Hughes (LSU) and Lejond Cavasos (North Carolina). Look for Woods to be a prime contender for starting duty in the fall. He will be a plus for the roster.
When honorable mention All-Big Ten safety Jaden Mangham surprisingly entered the portal and transferred to Michigan after spring practice, the Spartans became increasingly reliant on Dillon Tatum stepping up as a star-in-the-making at that position, alongside returning starter Malik Spencer. The combination of Spencer and Tatum should be pretty good. Michigan State filled Mangham’s scholarship slot in the safety depth chart with Central Florida transfer Nikai Martinez.
Martinez is a proven major conference player, having started 13 games for UCF in the Big 12 last year. He’s a pretty solid addition. There might be times when Michigan State needs Tatum in the slot at the nickel back position. If and when that happens, Michigan State will need Martinez to compete for a spot as Spencer’s tag team partner at safety. That trio is likely to be pretty capable at two positions, plus the nickel. But they have to learn to work together within Joe Rossi’s new system.
Martinez will be hard-pressed to approach Mangham’s level of play, but when a roster slot suddenly springs open, the portal is the place to go to fill it. Sometimes you can find a player of equal or better talent to the player who left. Sometimes not.
The goal in the meantime is to fortify the roster with strong incoming freshman talent. That objective has never changed, although the public’s attention has been diverted from it a bit.
College coaches have often referred to recruiting as the lifeblood of a program. I asked Smith on Thursday if that’s still the case. He said it is. Kind of.
“Player acquisition now is kind of the lifeblood of the program,” he said, combining high school recruiting and portal recruiting into one. “You have to have talent and fits for your style of play and your program philosophy and all that, so the talent you bring in is still the lifeblood.
“(We) still would like to build the roster from the high school level and supplement it from the portal, long-term strategy.”
This off-season, Michigan State has 23 incoming transfers and 18 incoming freshmen from the high school ranks.
What will the ratio look like as Smith’s program gains a footing? He’s not sure. But don’t expect there to be more incoming transfers than high school players in the future. This year was a foundation-resetting anomaly.
“It’s going to be fluid,” Smith said. “I would love to be a majority high school and then supplement. Is that 80-20 or is that 55-45? I don’t know.”
To know, he would have to be able to forecast how the minds of young athletes, and their advisers, will work in the near future within the new landscape. He’s hoping that old-time team values will make some players want to stay, even if they’re third-stringers early in their careers. And he’s setting out to attract players who are more inclined to have those values – if they still exist.
Name, image and likeness promises were a big part of the high school recruiting puzzle last year, and the year before, as NIL became part of the college football landscape. But with unlimited transfer rules being adopted, the big NIL deals are going to transfers now, and not incoming recruits.
NIL opportunities are still part of discussions with high school recruits. But traditional recruiting pitches might be regaining strength.
“I think that (NIL) is a piece of the pie,” Smith said. “What we’re looking for is guys (for whom) it is a piece of the pie as they are considering their options but then there’s the education, the scheme, the staff, the fit, the area. All of those are a piece of the pie.
“It still starts with the evaluation process.”
And that’s why Smith was in Detroit on Thursday, watching hundreds of players for several hours.
2. TALENT A BIT DOWN, BUT SHOWCASE SERVED PURPOSE
Talent was a bit down at the National Collegiate Showcase, compared to events staged in conjunction with the Detroit-based Sound Mind Sound Body organization over the past several years. Classes are still in session at most Michigan high schools, which can have an impact on curtailing the number of participants at a mid-week May camp.
Organizers have a tight window at this time of year. If they wait later, they get into official visit season, which would limit the number of players and college coaches who can attend.
Every member of the Michigan State coaching staff attended the event, with more than 200 players from 13 states and Canada participating in the noon portion of the camp on Thursday, and 200 more at the 2 p.m. portion.
Only a small handful of those have Michigan State offers, and a few others were under close observation for future scholarship consideration. Spartan coaches put eyeballs on everybody. Smith talks about the high number of Michiganders and Detroiters who are in the NFL. Most of those didn’t get offers from Michigan State or Michigan. If and when that trend continues, he doesn’t want any of future pros from this state to matriculate elsewhere without at least getting a close examination from him and his coaches.
A pair of in-state tight ends continued to increase their profile as Big Ten recruiting targets on Thursday. Jayden Savoury (6-6, 225, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) had a strong day. He’s listed as a three star prospect, ranked No. 18 in Michigan in the On3 Industry Recruiting Rankings, but his junior film looks like four star material to me. And Lincoln Keyes (6-6, 220, Saline, Mich.), ranked No. 11 player in Michigan for 2026, had strong moments as well.
Rising sophomore Anthony Cartwright (6-4, 198, Detroit Country Day) is on track to being one of the top players in Michigan for 2027. He already has offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Kentucky, Maryland, Pitt, Kansas and many others, based on freshman film. He’s listed by most outlets as an athlete, but says he’s likely to land at tight end. He has also been evaluated as a defensive end. He has more growing to do. His ceiling of potential is high.
Michigan State is becoming increasingly involved with rush end Xavier Newsome of Detroit King. Newsome is a high three-star recruit, ranked No. 6 in Michigan in the On3 Industry Recruiting Rankings. Newsome told SpartanMag on Thursday that he plans to camp at Michigan State in June. Newsome has offers from Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee and others, while mutual interest with Michigan State is on the rise.
As for new scholarship offers, Michigan State extended two to out-of-state players on Thursday in Detroit. The Spartans offered junior wide receiver Larry Miles, of Winter Garden, Fla., and Vanzale Hinton of East Hamilton, Tenn. Both are three-star recruits. Hinton is committed to Vanderbilt.
So even on somewhat of a down day for talent due to some in-state no-shows, there was still a good smattering of players for Smith and his staff to watch.
“Some of these guys, we have already evaluated and we want to add to that,” Smith said. “It starts with evaluation, seeing them move around. And then it’s a process of the individual, his family, his family network, those that influence him, get him around the campus, consistent communications, selling the vision of what our place is.”
3. MICHIGAN STATE STILL HAS ROOM FOR ONE?
SpartanMag unofficially has Michigan State at 84 scholarships accounted for. I asked Smith if the roster is set for the fall.
Smith indicated that the Spartans are contemplating adding one more player to the roster this summer.
“Pretty close (to set),” he said. “Potential addition, maybe one, maybe not, but it’s pretty close to finalized.”
With 34 scholarship players having transferred out, and 23 new transfers on the way in, plus 18 incoming freshmen, that’s a total of 41 new faces on the roster for 2026.
With the roster pretty much set, Smith is now setting out to forge a level of chemistry and camaraderie within the team, which won’t be easy.
“That is something that is really important,” Smith said. “Getting there and getting them settled, the organization, the structure of it. Making sure they are getting tied into the teammates on the team and working, and the guys that are here, looking out for the new guys
“Excited about that opportunity through this summer, especially this month and into August as we build it together.”
When Smith was asked during a brief question-and-answer session with camp participants to describe his program in one word. “Competitive” is the word Smith selected.
Will Michigan State be championship-caliber in Smith’s first year with the Spartans? No one outside of the locker room is expecting that. Competitive? If off-season objectives of sharpening knowledge of the scheme, improving in the weight room and establishing a strong level of chemistry are achieved, then something more than competitive is possible. It will take a lot of efficient work this summer to get there. On Thursday, Smith and his staff put in a lot of efficient work for the future.
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