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Jonathan Smith’s second signing day as Michigan State football’s new head coach arrives Wednesday.
That’s two more than Mel Tucker had when he was hired in 2020 after Mark Dantonio’s sudden retirement the day before the official period opened in February that year.
Four years later, Tucker — despite his firing last year — has set Smith up with several talented recruits from the past two cycles, most of whom have remained loyal to the Spartans going into the first spring of the leadership change. (Worth noting: The transfer portal reopens in April, and history shows more movement, both outbound and inbound, can be expected.)
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Smith has already showed a willingness and ability to mine the portal, largely pulling from his previous program at Oregon State to add instant talent upgrades in quarterback Aidan Chiles and offensive lineman Tanner Miller.
And Smith also kept many of the key recruiting pieces Tucker added the past two years, including blossoming linebacker Jordan Hall and defensive linemen Jalen Thompson, Bai Jobe and Andrew Depaepe from the 2023 class. Those former four-star prospects have stuck by the Spartans, along with 2022 recruits such as defensive backs Dillon Tatum and Jaden Mangham.
Smith inked 18 high school players in December and has at least four more three-star prospects prepared to sign letters of intent Wednesday: Defensive lineman Mikeshun Beelers from Chicago committed Monday and offensive lineman Kyler Brunan from Traverse City did so Tuesday, joining wide receiver Jaylan Brown from Texas and kicker Martin Connington from Idaho. The Spartans also hope to keep Portage Northern linebacker Jadyn Walker, who did not sign in the early period, from flipping his commitment to incoming Big Ten…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-state-footballs-5-faces-110232659.html
Author : Detroit Free Press
Publish date : 2024-02-07 11:02:32
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