Pat Fitzgerald signed his first Michigan State football recruiting class last month, and he’s still working on maybe landed a couple of guys.
The Spartans have a solid class, but it’s not quite where it likely will be in 2027 when Fitzgerald has a chance to get his guys in place. He has an underrated batch of recruits coming in as true freshmen this offseason, led by one guy who was just ranked in the top 65 nationally by On3.
Several Spartans were listed in On3’s rankings update on Tuesday afternoon. This update shook up the top 300 recruits in the country, and Michigan State has four of them signed and another potential signee listed.
While the composite may not be as high on the Spartan signees, On3/Rivals is.
Here’s where the Spartan signees came in, including a top-65 recruit who ended up sticking with Fitzgerald and the new staff after Jonathan Smith was fired:
- Collin Campbell, OL — No. 65
- Eli Bickel, OL — No. 170
- Kayd Coffman, QB — No. 203
- Joey Caudill, TE — No. 235
As you can see, the Spartans are well represented, but they could have even more representation in the coming weeks if Samson Gash commits. He’s ranked the new No. 188 recruit nationally.
Michigan State has some nice pieces in 2026
Although the 2026 class is ranked somewhere in the 40s or 50s, depending on which recruiting database you trust, the Spartans have some solid pieces for the future.
You obviously have Campbell who is considered one of the best offensive line recruits in the country and then there’s Bickel who’s also right there. Coffman is the future at quarterback, Caudill is going to be a really good tight end, and if Gash commits, he will have a role immediately.
Guys like Zachary Washington, Adam Shaw, and Eddie Whiting also have bright futures, and the 2026 transfer class is going to pair nicely with these younger guys.
The Spartans face an uphill climb back to Big Ten relevancy, but there are some solid pieces in place for that rise to happen. We’ll see just what kind of early turnaround Fitzgerald can accomplish.