Michigan State football: 3 pros and 3 cons for Urban Meyer as head coach

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PASADENA, CA – JANUARY 01: Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer runs on to the field during the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2019 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Pro: Elite recruiter

With the two exceptions of the 2009 season (11th) and the 2015 season (9th), Urban Meyer’s recruiting classes have ranked fourth at worst. He had the No. 1 recruiting class in 2007 while at Florida and signed four five-star recruits in the four of the five years he was head coach.

At Ohio State, outside of the season ranking ninth, he has had six top-four recruiting classes, ranking No. 2 three times in an era where Nick Saban would fire a coordinator if they didn’t have the No. 1 recruiting class. Whoever Michigan State hires will have to be a master recruiter, having to battle Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and Notre Dame locally, while having to beat newcomers USC, Oregon, and Washington.

Recruiting rankings aren’t the end-all-be-all on how well your team does. Five-stars burn out fast, and walk-ons can win Heismans and go No. 1 overall in the NFL draft. But having talent helps widen the margin of error.

The 2023 Michigan State football team isn’t getting the proper coaching, which I believe is why they are losing so many games, but it’s hard to imagine how the current roster looks compared to a top 10, or even a top 20, school. Many of the kids that transfer out go to Group of Five schools or don’t see the field for a Power Five team.

Urban knows talent, he’s seen talent, and knows how to get that talent to perform at a high level in college and prepare them for the NFL.

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