EAST LANSING – Jonathan Smith’s last recruiting class will become Pat Fitzgerald’s first with Michigan State football.
And Smith’s assistant coaches who stuck around after his firing helped the Spartans keep almost all of the 2026 prospects who signed Wednesday, Dec. 3, on the first of the three-day early signing period window.
Something Fitzgerald appreciated from the previous staff on his first day at work.
“They’ve done a great job putting things together, put a great class together,” Fitzgerald said Tuesday during his introductory news conference.
Recruiting coordinator Brian Wozniak and the rest of Smith’s remaining staff continued to work through the whistle, getting two three-star prospects to flip commitments on Wednesday with the additions of offensive lineman Jack Ziarko from Canton, Ohio (previously committed to Miami, Ohio) and athlete Jonathan Granby from Georgia (previously committed to Georgia Southern).
That brings the Spartans’ class Fitzgerald will inherit to at least 17 − 16 of whom signed Wednesday and one who will sign Friday. Two others remain in limbo. MSU ranks 46th nationally in 247Sports’ composite team rankings and 12th in the 18-team Big Ten. Much of the class came together in June, a month that saw a flurry of 17 commitments, though decommitments started in October and continued through the opening of signing day with the coaching situation in flux.
“I think the big thing was sticking to the process of what we talked about,” Wozniak said in September. “We kind of foresaw the big summer coming. It might be frustrating to fans at the time time, to reporters at the time prior. But that’s our process.”
The early-signing window for high school prospects closes Friday, and it reopens for Fitzgerald and his new staff Feb. 4, 2026. MSU will be waiting and working on two of its top players in the class, including four-star Novi Detroit Catholic Central wide receiver Samson Gash, to sign then. Gash said he plans to weigh interest from other schools before the next signing period. Another four-star recruit, offensive tackle Collin Campbell from Arizona, remained unsigned as of Wednesday night and was drawing interest from Utah and others in lieu of Smith’s firing.
The coaching turmoil this fall did come with seven other defections from the class, though. MSU lost three-star defensive end recruits Fameitau Siale from Seattle (to Utah) and Chris Addison from Louisiana (to Mississippi State) on Wednesday, after seeing safety Jordan Vann from Middletown, Ohio, decommit Monday and sign with Louisville and defensive lineman Christopher Knauls Jr. from Texas reopen his recruitment Tuesday.
The Spartans also lost three others during their 4-8 season under Smith as four-star prospects Tyren Wortham from Florida and Braylon Hodge from Colorado depledged in October and three-star offensive lineman Quinn Buckey from California reneged on his commitment last week before MSU’s win over Maryland. Hodge signed with Oregon on Wednesday, while the other two remain uncommitted.
“In terms of getting commitments, what does that mean? A kid can play at four different schools in five years,” said Wozniak, who played collegiately at Wisconsin. “I think more than anything, it’s we want the right guys, we want the right people in this building. … You want to be around people you like that are good players, so I think that’s what we’re looking for. We want people to be proud of what Michigan State football players represent.”
A number of those players, headlined by four-star East Kentwood quarterback Kayd Coffman, will arrive in January to a new regime under Fitzgerald, who was officially named as Smith’s replacement Tuesday. He will be joined as early enrollees along with four-star tight end Joey Caudill from Ohio and offensive tackle Eli Bickell from North Branch, who sent their Letters of Intent Wednesday morning.
“Obviously every recruitment is about opportunity and what you’re coming into,” Smith said in early November. “We’ve got a lot of guys that we’re recruiting that want to be on the field and want to compete right away. There’s that opportunity with that.”
An opportunity that now comes under Fitzgerald, who said he immediately jumped into watching film online of the players who are on their way to MSU and those he plans to pursue in the coming months. He also quickly got in touch with Wozniak and Smith’s other assistants and recruiting staff to figure out what the Spartans have coming and what needs remain.
“I went through with the tape I had available when this thing started to progress,” he said Tuesday. “And it wasn’t great on the internet, meaning I had junior and senior highlights. If this was a normal case, I don’t offer (a scholarship) on the appetizer. I want to have the steak. And as you guys can see, I’m a sweater so I’m an eater. I want to see it all, but that’s just not the case.
“And the staff did a really good job. I got on the phone with multiple staff members here, and we just started talking through each player and we went over an extensive Zoom about each guy. And I’m working through that process, I’m not quite there yet.”
Fitzgerald said he does still plan to “add some pieces” through traditional recruiting but also admitted his next phase will be to mine the transfer portal for an infusion of talent along with trying to prevent current players on the roster from leaving. Two sophomore starters, wide receiver Nick Marsh and running back Makhi Frazier, have announced their intentions to enter the portal.
“That’s just a reality of college football,” Fitzgerald said. “And if young men decide that this is the right fit for them, then we’re gonna evaluate them like I would to make sure that’s gonna happen, and we’ll add those pieces. And if some young men decide that maybe moving on is their best decision, I would support them wholeheartedly, without a doubt.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MSU football signing day preserved in Pat Fitzgerald’s 2026 class
