Jonathan Smith is feeling the pressure to win now with Michigan State football, but if he can’t topple a beatable Michigan team on Saturday evening in East Lansing, his run may be over.
The former Oregon State head coach went 5-7 in his first season with the Spartans and now he sits at 3-4 just seven games into year two after a 3-0 start. The team is one of the worst in the Big Ten, especially after losing to then 1-4 UCLA by 25 points at home.
The Spartans need a change, more than likely, and that’ll come from new AD J Batt, as long as he can scrape together $31 million for a buyout and more funds for the next coach’s contract.
That next coach has yet to truly reveal himself, but there are some intriguing candidates that Spartan fans have been throwing around like James Franklin and Brent Key, among others.
However, a recent recruiting update revealed another legitimate candidate, and this is one that may not require top-tier money, but could still produce some elite results. That candidate is none other than Ohio State offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline. And the update was regardhim him visiting two elite receivers from Harper Woods, Mich., on Monday.
Ohio State receivers coach Brian Hartline was at Harper Woods (Mich.) this morning.
— Allen Trieu (@AllenTrieu) October 20, 2025
2027 prospect Dakota Guerrant and 2028 DeAndre Bidden both at the school.https://t.co/TfvbfUffLR pic.twitter.com/uovyRCTh3h
Michigan State is at its best when it recruits the state of Michigan and the Midwest well. What does Hartline do? He recruits the state of Michigan and the Midwest at an elite level. Sure, he’s at Ohio State and it’s easy to recruit at an elite level there with all the resources, but Michigan State would be able to give him a shot to do similar work in East Lansing.
Batt would likely hand him the keys, give him a nice raise, and tell him that he has the free reign to put together attractive NIL deals for the best recruits in the Midwest with a competitive salary pool for his assistants as well.
Hartline is coming to the state of Michigan to recruit two elite targets that the Spartans are after as well in four-star 2027 wideout Dakota Guerrant and five-star 2028 receiver Deandre Bidden. Those two have a chance to be the best receivers in their respective classes.
If Michigan State wants to take a chance on a coordinator with no head coaching experience who can recruit at an elite level and who has won a national title, Hartline should be the guy.
Hartline’s name came up in the 2023 head coaching search but was never taken seriously, but I think it’s worth taking a look at, especially if he’s potentially stealing top in-state prospects.