Although Michigan State football is in the middle of a lengthy losing streak, and Jonathan Smith is sitting on the hot seat, the Spartans are still doing some recruiting.
While there hasn’t been a ton of good news on the recruiting trail in recent weeks with guys like Tyren Wortham and Braylon Hodge decommitting after receiving strong interest from other programs. Hodge has since committed to Oregon, so he’ll be remaining in the Big Ten, while Wortham is still looking for his new home.
Adding on to the bad news, four-star wide receiver commit Samson Gash is looking at Alabama and he has an official visit scheduled with the Crimson Tide.
On Friday, however, Michigan State got a sliver of good news as in-state wide receiver Colin Charles committed to the Spartans’ 2026 class as a preferred walk-on.
Home🏡 Go Green!@Coach_Ander5on @STMCT_Football @CoachHawk_5 @ColeMoore1991 @AllenTrieu @TomLoy247 @brentluplow pic.twitter.com/O0bSklN9Rs
— Colin Charles 3⭐️ WR (@colincharles123) October 31, 2025
Charles is a self-proclaimed three-star wide receiver who is unranked in the composite, but who has the frame of a solid college football pass-catcher. He stands 6-foot-0 and 180 pounds, and with Courtney Hawkins’ help, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him get some reps one day. Unfortunately, I don’t see this staff sticking around for much longer.
The Spartans have produced some NFL talent at wide receiver under Hawkins like Jayden Reed, Jalen Nailor, Keon Coleman, and Nick Marsh (soon to be). Omari Kelly, too, could flirt with the NFL.
So it’s no surprise that the Spartans are attracting talent at the position, even as walk-ons.
Charles, a Northville, Mich., native, held offers from Toledo and Ball State, according to ESPN. So he is a MAC wide receiver who’s walking on at Michigan State. But hey, MAC receivers have seen success at Michigan State before (Jayden Reed, Chrishon McCray).