The Jonathan Smith era was mostly forgettable, but if there’s one thing the former Michigan State head coach can be praised for, it’s identifying elite talent early on.
Smith was able to land some late-bloomers who probably should’ve been ranked higher and he got in early on Kayd Coffman before he was given his fourth star. He also offered Detroit Cass Tech’s Donald Tabron II in the summer before his freshman season, making the Spartans his fifth Power Four offer. He was offered by Penn State, Michigan, Maryland, and Kentucky first.
It seemed like Tabron II would be a legitimate option for the Spartans since they were able to develop that relationship with him early, but the now-five-star prospect is leaning away from staying home.
According to a recent interview at the UA Next Chicago event, Tabron II was asked which schools are currently standing out to him in his recruitment and he mentioned Texas A&M, Auburn, Oregon, LSU, Ohio State, Kentucky, and USC. Those seven are standing out to him right now and it stings to see Auburn (who offered a week after MSU) and LSU (offered three weeks ago) on the list while the in-state Spartans are left out.
It’s also shocking to see no Michigan on his early list.
Once again, it looks like Michigan State is going to miss out on the five-star in-state quarterback to an out-of-state power. You don’t have to go back very far to find the last time this happened. Dante Moore committed to UCLA and then transferred to Oregon to back up Dillon Gabriel for a year before taking over in 2025. Moore was a five-star who, at one point, considered Michigan State but ultimately decided his best route was the West Coast.
He turned out to be right.
Times are different now, though. Pat Fitzgerald isn’t Jonathan Smith and the offensive coaching staff has improved from that era. The interest from Tabron II may just not be there.
Pat Fitzgerald may not want to waste his time
An elite prospect like Tabron II is going to receive interest from just about everyone. Schools from the SEC, ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten are all going to be throwing offers as the 2028 prospect and it’s hard to turn those down. A lot of these elite in-state prospects love going south to play for top SEC and Big 12 programs — or schools like Penn State, Ohio State, Clemson, or Notre Dame.
He may be getting feedback that Tabron II is interested in going out of state and that he’s not even going to consider the two in-state Power Four programs. That’s very possible.
If that’s the case, it only makes sense that he spends his time and resources elsewhere, but it’s disappointing to miss out on another five-star in-state quarterback. It feels like Michigan State has to win one of these recruitments eventually, right?
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