Michigan State football pushing for flip of 3-star NIU commit

Jul 24, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images
Jul 24, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

With fall camp wrapping up this week and Michigan State football switching gears to game prep mode, Jonathan Smith and Co. will have limited time throughout the next few months to really focus on recruiting outside of bye weeks.

The Spartans are looking to lock in some visits before the season starts, and some of these recruits are committed to other schools.

That's right, Smith is looking to flip some top targets, including a four-star running back who has been committed to Pitt all summer. He added another flip candidate to the radar on Tuesday.

In fact, three-star Northern Illinois defensive back commit Justus Donahoo is getting some interest from Michigan State and it looks like the Spartans will be getting a visit from the safety this fall.

The paywall article would tell us whether Michigan State's visit is of the official or unofficial variety, but it's good to get him on campus either way. He's not the highest-rated recruit, but the fact that the Spartans aren't the only Big Ten team after him should show what his talent level is.

Donahoo has been committed to Northern Illinois since June and he didn't take any of his official visits, so Michigan State has a chance to pull this flip off with a plus trip.

The three-star safety from Niceville, Fla., holds eight offers and none of them are from the Power Four level, so this visit with Michigan State might produce a scholarship. He's one of the lower-rated recruits that the Spartans are after, ranked the No. 1,911 prospect in the class and the No. 171 safety, according to 247Sports.

If Michigan State evaluates him (I'm assuming they're waiting for some senior year film), and likes what it sees, I could see the Spartans pulling off the flip by signing day over a team like Maryland.