Official visit season was kind to Jonathan Smith and Michigan State football this summer as the Spartans landed about 20 commits and vaulted from the 70-range nationally into the top 25. They've since dropped slightly, but it feels like this class will end up being better than last year's.
Smith has proven that he can recruit at a fairly high level although the quality of his commits should improve if he can lead Michigan State to winning seasons and bowl games.
While his 2026 recruiting class is filling up quickly, Smith is already looking ahead to 2027, and he knows how important winning some key in-state recruiting battles will be. If he wants to get Michigan State back to the top of the Big Ten where Mark Dantonio had it, he'll need to find success recruiting in the state of Michigan -- and Ohio.
Smith has already identified one of his top targets in the 2027 recruiting class and it sounds like he'll be getting him on campus next month for a huge visit.
According to Allen Trieu, Michigan State will host four-star in-state tackle Dewey Young this fall for a game. While you'll have to pay for Trieu's VIP article, his 247Sports profile indicates that the visit will take place on Sept. 6 -- that's also a huge weekend for basketball recruiting.
Kalamazoo (Mich.) Central Top247 OT Dewey Young has his first four game visits of the fall set.
— Allen Trieu (@AllenTrieu) July 28, 2025
He starts at Kansas' zero week opener, then gets to Penn State, Michigan State and Indiana.
(VIP) https://t.co/GT6tR1y4EQ pic.twitter.com/MAkP7hRqzh
This is a big-time visit for Michigan State because Young is the No. 3 prospect from the state of Michigan for 2027 and the No. 189 recruit overall. He's the 19th-best offensive tackle in 2027.
Jim Michalczik and Smith will have a chance to get an early jump on this recruitment but battling programs like Kansas, Penn State, and Indiana won't make this an easy one to win.