Michigan State football: 4-star RB Jason Brown back on the table?

It’s been months since Michigan State football has had any sort of momentum on the recruiting trail and when you lose your head coach mid-season, that’s bound to happen.

Following the firing of Mel Tucker, the Spartans’ 2024 recruiting class came to a screeching halt.

Since then, there have been a number of decommitments as well as some top targets kind of falling off the radar or picking other schools.

One of those prospects who has fallen off the radar since Tucker’s departure is Jason Brown, a four-star running back from Washington. And now that Jonathan Smith has been hired from the West Coast, it could mean good news for the Spartans in terms of the talented rusher.

A lot of people kind of expected Brown to commit to Michigan State early in the season but obviously that never happened and fortunately, he hasn’t committed elsewhere yet. With Smith now in town, he could give the Spartans a realistic look again.

Jonathan Smith recruited Brown at Oregon State

While Brown is highly considering Arizona State, Washington, and Oregon along with the Spartans, he does have some familiarity with Smith as he was offered by the Beavers and the new Michigan State head coach recruited him when he was in Corvallis.

Honestly, that could be enough to draw his interest back in.

Smith could — and should — absolutely get back into this winnable recruiting battle. Obviously it won’t be easy to take down Oregon or Washington, but the Spartans have to check in on him when the dead period ends.

This was a recruitment that I was ready to declare dead, but with Smith knowing Brown, I’m considering this a realistic option once again.