Jonathan Smith beat out Alabama, Ohio State for recruits on early signing day
When Jace Clarizio flipped to Alabama last week and Aydan West visited Ohio State and received an offer from the Buckeyes, Jonathan Smith knew he had some work to do.
It looked like Clarizio had made up his mind to join the Crimson Tide after being committed to Michigan State since the summer. And it was a shock because he's from East Lansing so he chose to move away from his hometown to play for Kalen DeBoer and Chris Kapilovic.
Fast forward to Wednesday morning and Clarizio not only decided to flip back to the Spartans but he also signed his letter of intent so he's locked in with Michigan State. He said he would be staying home and a report surfaced that Smith worked all through the night on securing this re-flip from Alabama.
“I’m told Jonathan Smith personally worked on him all last night to get this done.” -@JustinThind.
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) December 4, 2024
So please, do not tell me that Jonathan Smith took his money and does not care about this program. Do not tell me he didn’t care about recruiting this cycle. https://t.co/fVE7UDFXKT
Then came the waiting game for West.
West was a signing day decision and fans were worried that he might flip to Ohio State in the end, but the Spartans were able to fend off the Buckeyes. He signed with Michigan State and became the second-biggest pull of the day for Smith and Co.
And to top things off, Smith flipped a 2023 Oregon State linebacker signee who had been on a two-year mission. So he beat out a third power conference program (well, one former Power Five program) for a high three-star recruit.
Smith fended off Ohio State and former grad assistant Gerren DuHart as well as Alabama and Kapilovic for two of his top recruits in the 2025 class.
This is now the second straight offseason in which Smith has beat Alabama in a head-to-head battle for a recruit. Last offseason it was Arizona State cornerback transfer Ed Woods.