Now former Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith will be remembered in East Lansing for never quite having the fire or passion to get the program to the next level.
He’ll also be remembered for squandering some elite talent — and not giving other elite talent a chance to prove themselves at Michigan State.
The first part is obvious. Smith just never looked like he wanted to be there, and he showed no emotion on the sidelines. That didn’t sit well with fans. He just didn’t have the fire required to succeed as a head coach in the Big Ten. When was the last time you saw a head coach win the Big Ten without having an out-there personality?
Now, onto the second part. Smith is going to be remembered for letting Katin Houser and Sam Leavitt walk, and not hiring the right coaches on offense to really take advantage of elite talent on the roster.
Need any proof? All you have to do is look at the On3 transfer portal rankings.
On3 transfer portal rankings prove what we all knew about Smith
If you look at the positional rankings at On3, the No. 1 quarterback transfer on the market is a former Spartan, the No. 8 transfer quarterback is also a former Spartan, the No. 10 quarterback on the list is — you guessed it — also a former Spartan. As for the receivers, the No. 1 transfer receiver is a recent Michigan State transfer, too.
The No. 1 quarterback and No. 1 receiver in the transfer portal are from Michigan State. How is it possible that Michigan State was 9-15 under Smith if that’s the case?
Sure, there are more positions on the field that make up a team and two players can’t single-handedly carry a program, but to have three top-10 transfer quarterbacks and the No. 1 transfer wideout and to not have made a bowl game in four years is an incredible misuse of resources.
This isn’t all on Smith, though. Katin Houser and Sam Leavitt committed to Mel Tucker and left when Smith was hired, but that’s because the then-new head coach was planning on bringing in his own quarterback. That led to Houser and Leavitt looking for new homes.
All this talent and no postseason success to show for it.
It was time to move on.