While Jonathan Smith can be criticized for a multitude of things on the recruiting trail, he can't be knocked for his ability to identify top quarterback talent. The second-year Michigan State football coach was able to land two quarterbacks late in the 2024 process after he took over for Harlon Barnett and Mel Tucker.
In the 2025 class, he landed Leo Hannan in April which gave him time to focus on the rest of the recruiting class. While Hannan wasn't the highest-rated recruit, he was Smith's guy.
And in 2026, Smith secured a commitment from rising star Kayd Coffman in February which took a lot of pressure off his shoulders. What's helped even more has been the fact that Coffman is one of the fastest-rising recruits in the 2026 cycle. Coffman was a mid-three-star recruit when he committed in early February, rated an 86 by 247Sports.
Fast forward three months later to May 15 and the 247Sports Composite bumped him up quite drastically.
OK, so the composite rankings didn't just jump all at once, he was actually bumped to an 89 rating just two weeks after committing to Michigan State (the rare "Spartan bump"). A couple of weeks later, he rose slightly and was given a four-star rating. In mid-April he finally broke the 90 rating plateau.
As of May 15, he is the highest he's ever been, rated a 91 as a true four-star recruit.
Coffman received a four-point bump in the ratings over the past three months and he's now ranked the No. 258 overall recruit and 19th-best quarterback in the class, per the composite. He is also the No. 4 recruit in the state of Michigan.
Smith did a great job with his talent evaluation here and he's already beginning on diamonds in the rough in 2027 with an offer to an unranked quarterback on Friday.
The quarterback position looks solidified for years to come.