Michigan State football up to 6 four-star commits in latest Rivals300 update

"Jonathan Smith can't recruit."

That's the phrase that Michigan State football fans got used to hearing after just one recruiting class was signed by the new head coach. I'm not going to count the 2024 class because he only had a couple of months to finalize it, but he did still vault it about 40 spots before February's signing day.

The 2025 class ranked No. 42 in the country, and that caused some concern among fans who expected him to just sign top-25 classes regularly. Obviously rebuilds take time.

In the 2026 cycle, however, Smith is proving a lot of doubters wrong. He got off to a slow start, entering official visit season with just four commitments, but he immediately changed that, getting hot in June, securing over a dozen commitments.

Of those 18 new commitments, four have since earned four-star status in the latest Rivals300 update. Michigan State is now up to six four-stars in its 2026 class.

Eli Bickel and Kayd Coffman were already committed to Michigan State before the wave of verbals in the summer, but they're getting a ton of love from Rivals. Coffman is ranked No. 286 overall, and Bickel is about 100 spots higher at No. 177.

Bickel isn't the only four-star lineman that the Spartans have secured. Collin Campbell, an Arizona-based prospect, is No. 186 in the 2026 class.

Michigan State also has two four-star receivers in the 2026 class in Tyren Wortham and Samson Gash. Courtney Hawkins is going to have fun coaching these two. Wortham is ranked No. 127 nationally, and Gash is No. 264 in the Rivals300.

Lastly, fast-rising linebacker Braylon Hodge is No. 170 in the country, and he's the No. 9 linebacker in the new Rivals300 update. He's currently being pursued by Michigan, Texas, and Missouri.

Don't let anyone tell you that Smith can't recruit. This is his class before the wins come. Just imagine how effective of a recruiter he'll be when Michigan State starts making bowl games.