Pat Fitzgerald had his hands full this week, getting hired, meeting with his new team, meeting with the media, and calling 2026 commits and other targets in order to keep the class together.
Unfortunately, not all of Jonathan Smith’s commits opted to remain with Michigan State after the head coach’s firing and the hiring of Fitzgerald.
There are some four-stars still left on the board who haven’t signed with Michigan State yet (Collin Campbell, Samson Gash) while a couple of others have flipped. The first was three-star safety Jordan Vann who flipped to Louisville earlier this week and then three-star defensive end Fameitau Siale decided to take his talents to Utah.
One name flew under the radar on Wednesday’s start to the early signing period as a Spartan flip, and that was three-star edge rusher Chris Addison.
On Wednesday night, news broke that Addison had flipped to Mississippi State.
JUST IN: Former Michigan State edge commit Chris Addison officially signs with Mississippi State https://t.co/FTBA6pwy0g pic.twitter.com/2NpoDIGhnL
— Maroon and White Daily (@MWD_On3) December 3, 2025
Addison is now the third Spartan flip in the cycle under Fitzgerald’s watch, and it’s not surprising to see attrition like this when a head coach is fired and a new one is hired just days before signing day. There’s obviously a good chance that these Michigan State flips were in contact with other programs throughout the season when it became obvious that Smith would be fired.
This was a recruit that a lot of fans were excited about, but unfortunately it looks like he’s going to play for the “other MSU” next year.
Michigan State signed most of its 2026 commits on Wednesday, leaving only Gash, Campbell, and Jeremiah Favorite — the latter said he’s signing with the Spartans on Friday. It’s impressive what Fitzgerald has been able to do with the class considering he’s had to do all of this in record time.
The next step for Fitzgerald is identifying 2027 recruiting targets as well as transfer portal targets. He will need to piece a competitive roster together for the 2026 season.
The Spartans are down to the No. 46 class in the country after starting early signing day ranked No. 33, but you can’t blame Smith for the losses that occurred. This class has gone from top 30 to mid-40s because of a handful of decommitments and flips. Addison is just the latest.