Pat Fitzgerald gets another recruit to stick with MSU in middle of basketball game

The vibes surrounding Michigan State athletics right now are sky-high. Michigan State just hired a new football coach in Pat Fitzgerald, introduced him on Tuesday, and then the No. 7 Spartans took on Iowa in the Big Ten basketball opener with him in attendance. Oh, and the Spartans take on No. 4 Duke on Saturday at the Breslin Center and the hockey team faces Michigan in a top-five showdown.

There's a buzz -- an electricity -- in East Lansing

It's amazing what a coaching change can do for an athletic department when everyone seems to be getting on board with it. After watching Fitzgerald's Tuesday afternoon presser, there can't be too many recruits or players not on board -- even fans, for that matter.

Unfortunately, Fitzgerald did see a decommit on Tuesday as Christopher Knauls, who originally reaffirmed his commitment on Monday, decided to reopen his recruitment.

Fitzgerald didn't stop working during the basketball game, though.

While he was enjoying himself, talking to the crown, firing up the Izzone, and taking pictures with eager fans, Fitzgerald was working on keeping the 2026 recruiting class together with the early signing period starting on Wednesday. That work paid off in the middle of the basketball game against Iowa as three-star cornerback TJ Umenyiora reaffirmed his commitment.

He posted that he'll be singing with Michigan State on Wednesday.

The Spartans have had a number of recruits reaffirm their commitments after Fitzgerald was hired, including Kayd Coffman, Adam Shaw, Unemnyiora, Eddie Whiting, Joey Caudill, Brayden Thomas, and Eli Bickel. There has been one flip (Jordan Vann), and two more guys who said they remain committed (Samson Gash, Zachary Washington) who also plan to reopen their recruitments.

Both could end up in Michigan State's 2026 class when it's all said and done, but Fitzgerald is going to have to keep recruiting them as they're both signing in February.

You can't be too mad at the job he's done in just one day as head coach. He's gotten some key recruits to reaffirm their commitments to Michigan State, and it seems like the team has bought in, especially since Alessio Milivojevic was at the Fitzgerald intro presser.