Pat Fitzgerald is on the hunt once again.
The first-year Michigan State head coach is aiming to add to his 2027 class over the next 1.5 months as official visits are about to get underway and while he has dozens of visits planned, Fitzgerald is adding new targets to the board every day.
Michigan State has been targeting some new 2027 prospects over the past couple of weeks, and now Fitzgerald is pushing for a Big 12 offensive tackle flip.
On Tuesday, Michigan State was one of three teams to offer three-star offensive tackle Zay’vion Smith who’s been committed to Cincinnati since April 13. One month later, he has some tough decisions to make after the Spartans, Pittsburgh, and Arizona all offered him on the same day.
Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Arizona among the several new offers for Cincinnati commit Zay'Vion Smith following his performance at his school's showcase.https://t.co/bxbgENeVOH pic.twitter.com/tNjJ0qt2VB
— Allen Trieu (@AllenTrieu) May 12, 2026
As Allen Trieu reported, the offers came rolling in after his performance at his school’s showcase.
The offer is a big one for the Warren, Ohio, offensive tackle because he’ll now have a chance to play for a Big Ten program that, by all accounts, is trending up under a new coaching staff. Going to Cincinnati would be opting to stay home instead of playing for a program that could be contending for playoff appearances in a couple of years — obviously this is the vision that Fitzgerald is selling.
Since he’s been committed to Cincinnati for a month, he has no official visits planned but I see that changing in the near future with three teams jumping into the race.
Pat Fitzgerald isn’t backing down on the trail
In the 2026 cycle, despite having just a couple of months to build relationships, Fitzgerald was able to work his magic and beat out Alabama, Georgia, Penn State, and West Virginia for four-star wide receiver Samson Gash.
A few weeks ago, the former Northwestern head coach landed a four-star defensive lineman over Michigan, Miami, and Ohio State.
This week, he sent staff in to check on top-100 defensive back Gideon Gash from Detroit Catholic Central who’s being pursued by Oklahoma, Alabama, and Texas Tech.
Now, he’s looking to flip a rising three-star offensive tackle from a Big 12 program. Pitt and Arizona are also pushing for Smith which will only make this a tougher recruitment to win, but Fitzgerald has proven that he’s not going to back down when he wants a player.
This is the exact recruiting approach that fans have been begging for over the past few years. Mel Tucker had it for a minute but finished second too much. Fitzgerald is looking to avoid that fate.
Flipping Power Four recruits and winning recruiting battles against SEC and Big 12 programs wouldn’t be too shabby of a start to his MSU career.
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