I've been pretty open and vocal about Michigan State football running out of juice and I seem to be vindicated whenever I look at the recruiting rankings or the 2026 class which hasn't seen a commitment since February while other programs are at 15-20 pledges by now.
Jonathan Smith has to do something soon or Michigan State is going to fall even further behind on the recruiting trail and that's not something that's easy to rebound from.
We all gave him his props when he turned the 2024 class around when he was hired. He got a lot of recruits to stay and even boosted the class from the 70-80 range all the way up to the top-40 range. He did a fantastic job right away and even brought some elite transfers with him like Aidan Chiles and Jack Velling. Everything seemed to be looking up.
But Smith's first season was underwhelming, finishing 5-7, and Chiles really struggled in his first year as a full-time starter. The flashes were there, however.
Finishing the year without a bowl and a thud in the season finale with a postseason berth on the line against Rutgers was demoralizing. It opened a lot of eyes to where the program really is.
With a chance to turn things around starting with the 2026 recruiting class (after an underwhelming 2025 group), Smith and Co. have a four-star running back prospect in their own backyard (literally, he's in Haslett) who named Michigan State in his recent top six before a decision date of May 23. All signs pointed to them getting back on track with a commitment from him.
Not so fast.
On Tuesday afternoon when Kory Amachree announced that he would be making his college decision on Friday, a crystal ball from the 247Sports staff came in for Kansas to land him. Since then, he's received another crystal ball to Kansas and all the talk is that the Jayhawks are expecting to land him.
There's still time from now until Friday, but it looks like the nation's No. 351 overall recruit and 24th-best running back will be leaving Michigan State's backyard for... Kansas.
This has to be a new low. You can't be losing four-stars from your own backyard to Kansas.
I'm hoping to be wrong, but it looks like Amachree is going to be picking the Jayhawk hat on Friday afternoon, breaking the hearts of Michigan State football fans (what's new?).