Michigan State football makes the cut for 4-star OL Gregory Patrick

While the 2025 class has taken center stage for Jonathan Smith and Michigan State football fans, the staff is quietly working on 2026.

We've seen the staff working on the 2026 class as recently as this past weekend, hosting several top targets during Spartan Dawg Con. A number of 2026 offers were extended and those top targets grew relationships with the new staff.

It's clear that the 2026 class is now on the radar for Smith.

And that became clearer on Monday when four-star offensive line target Gregory Patrick released his top nine schools with Michigan State making the cut.

Patrick cut his list to nine on Monday: Nebraska, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Penn State, Alabama, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Michigan, and Michigan State.

Now that's a loaded top nine with mostly Big Ten teams but one thing could help the Spartans here: he's a legacy recruit. His father, Joseph Patrick, played for Michigan State about two decades ago on the offensive line and that might just be the Spartans' saving grace in this recruitment.

The four-star offensive lineman from Portage, Mich., is ranked the No. 155 overall recruit in the 2026 class, 13th-best offensive tackle, and second-best prospect from the state of Michigan, according to the 247Sports Composite. He is a top priority and he could be at the top of the board for Michigan State in the class.

If Smith wants to establish some recruiting dominance in the state of Michigan, this is a recruitment he must win. While it's nice to land some high-three-star recruits from Michigan, a top-200 prospect who also happens to be a legacy is critical to secure.

We'll see if the Spartans can hold off the likes of Notre Dame, Penn State, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Michigan for Patrick.