Pat Fitzgerald is in the middle of his first spring with Michigan State football and he’s already making a strong impression on his new team. Nikai Martinez said that the energy level is clearly different this year and he said that you “stick out like a sore thumb” if you’re not with it.
Although his main focus is on his current team, he does have to keep an eye on the future, and that means working on building his 2027 recruiting class.
He’ll have plenty of time for that over the next few months, but Fitzgerald’s already making inroads with some of the top 2028 in-state recruits. The 2027 class is more important right now obviously, but working on building relationships with top 2028 recruits is important. That’s how a program like Michigan State can land some elite talent.
One of the top in-state recruits in the 2028 class just locked in a spring visit with the Spartans.
2028 Harper Woods 4 ⭐️ Safety Jayden Evans tells me he will be taking a visit to Michigan State on April 18thhttps://t.co/HklIUPKEDi pic.twitter.com/5isNvquNM4
— Corey Robinson (@C_Robinson247) March 24, 2026
Jayden Evans is one of the top in-state recruits in the 2028 class, ranked No. 5 in Michigan by 247Sports. He’s also the No. 156 overall recruit in the class and the nation’s 10th-best safety. Evans is being recruited by Michigan, Indiana, Ohio State, and Texas A&M, so this isn’t going to be a cakewalk for Fitzgerald.
Evans is going to be one of the most sought after prospects in the 2028 class.
Pat Fitzgerald is developing all the right connections
Since Fitzgerald got to East Lansing, he’s been doing a really good job of developing connections and relationships with the right people. He’s built relationships with Detroit Catholic Central which seems to always produce FBS recruits, and he’s also looking at Harper Woods where there’s a boatload of FBS talent.
Fitzgerald has been garnering praise from coaches in the state and it’s (hopefully) going to yield great results when the Spartans start finally winning games and sending guys to the NFL.
Tapping into this Harper Woods pipeline is important, so getting Evans on campus is big, especially if Fitzgerald wants to land multiple elite prospects from the school.
It’s too early to tell what kind of recruiter Fitzgerald is going to be, but he’s not shying away from tough battles.