Jonathan Smith shut door on 2 former MSU assistants trying to steal recruits

I have to give credit where credit is due: Jonathan Smith did a fantastic job of closing on his 2025 recruiting class.

The first-year head coach didn’t exactly sign a star-studded group for 2025 as it’s ranked No. 58 in the country, but he was able to hold off the likes of Alabama and Ohio State while also flipping kids from West Virginia and Oregon State in the past week. He closed as strong as you could possibly ask for and it gives hope that the future is bright under his leadership.

What is not being talked about enough, though, is the fact that Smith shut the door on two former Mel Tucker assistants who tried flipping his recruits. That has to make fans feel better about this new staff.

So who are these former assistants who tried stealing Michigan State’s recruits?

The first actually did steal Jace Clarizio from Smith and the Spartans. Former offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic was Clarizio’s secondary recruiter at Alabama and helped secure the flip of the high three-star running back from East Lansing. He likely scouted Clarizio during his time at Michigan State and liked what he saw so that’s why the effort was there to flip him. Unfortunately for him, Jonathan Smith didn’t give up in that recruitment and flipped him back to the Spartans.

Kapilovic flip denied.

The other former Tucker assistant who tried to steal one of Smith’s 2025 recruits was Gerren DuHart. The former grad assistant under Tucker helped coach the defensive backs and is now at Ohio State. He was the secondary recruiter for Aydan West, a three-star Michigan State cornerback commit. Unfortunately for him, West stuck with the Spartans on signing day.

DuHart flip denied.

Two big victories for the first-year head coach over a couple of guys familiar with East Lansing and Michigan State’s recruiting strengths. While that may not seem like much since both are former assistants, they are now at two powerhouse programs. Smith made a statement on Wednesday.