Kaden Strayhorn bashing Michigan State football for being "scared" makes no sense
![Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith walks to the sideline during the Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith walks to the sideline during the Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2400,h_1350,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/137/01j15ym8eyj7rxp4x0ww.jpg)
The Kaden Strayhorn commitment was interesting from the get-go. Mel Tucker recruited him when he was still the Michigan State football coach but when the new staff took over, the relationship he had with the Spartans seemed to diminish.
So when he picked Michigan on Sunday, it wasn't a total surprise.
OK, so seeing him commit to Michigan over the other offers on his sheet was a bit surprising, especially given his dad's ties to Michigan State, but it looked like Kaden wanted to forge his own path. But Michigan State not recruiting him had to play a massive role in this decision.
In fact, he told WolverinesWire that he didn't schedule an official with Michigan State and the new staff didn't recruit him because they were "scared" of his list of offers.
And to me, that's an asinine statement.
First, I doubt Jonathan Smith and the staff felt like they had no shot to land a legacy recruit, especially when their dad is the radio color commentator for Michigan State football and hosts a Spartan podcast and played in East Lansing. If Smith really wanted Strayhorn, it probably wouldn't have been too hard to make that known and he probably would've had an immediate advantage.
Second, Smith has recruited against most, if not all, of the schools on Strayhorn's offer sheet that he claimed "scared" the new staff. He said that they were scared to compete against those top programs for him.
And third, Strayhorn grew up around the program and was probably a Spartan fan growing up. There's no way that the staff would've been spooked if Georgia or Alabama offered. He's the No. 436 prospect in the nation who happens to be a legacy recruit. If Michigan State made a strong push, there's a good chance he would've been a Spartan.
Unfortunately that wasn't the case and this whole statement from Kaden sounds like sour grapes.