Michigan State football is hosting its first Junior Day under Jonathan Smith. Who will be on campus for the event?
This weekend will mark the first major recruiting weekend of 2024 for Michigan State football. Jonathan Smith is hosting his first Junior Day and a bunch of talent will be coming to East Lansing for the event.
Junior Day camps are important. Getting a lot of players on campus for a camp will give a lot of insight into players that the staff has had their eyes on. Obviously these kids that will be coming to campus will not be committing in the 2024 cycle. There will be kids attending from the classes of 2025 (mostly), 2026, and 2027 so the potential future impact players will be evaluated.
Who will be on campus this weekend you ask? Let’s discuss that below.
Note: Not all of the players named on this are currently offered by MSU. Some are and we expect even more to leave this weekend with offers depending on how they are evaluated. Normally I would give you a little blurb about each player, but with the list being so extensive for this weekend, I will try to give you an overall summary.
Let’s first start with the class of 2025 players.
Class of 2025 recruits
- 4-star OL Avery Gach (Wylie E Groves HS – Franklin, Mich.) — MSU offer
- 4-star DE Xavier Newsom (MLK High School – Detroit, Mich.)
- 4-star TE Brock Schott (Leo HS – Leo, Ind.) — MSU offer
- 3-star DB Jai’Mier Scott (Mt Healthy HS – Cincinnati, Ohio) — Wisconsin commit with MSU offer
- 3-star DB Desmond Straughton (Roseville HS – Roseville, Mich.) — MSU offer
- 3-star DE Javeon Campbell (Western Hills HS – Franklin, Ky.)
- 3-star OT Darrin Strey (Paw Paw HS – Paw Paw, Mich.) — MSU offer
- 3-star TE Jayden Savoury (St Mary’s HS – Orchard Lake, Mich.) — MSU offer
- 3-star DB James Finley (Andrean HS – Merrillville, Ind.) — MSU offer
- 3-star DB Elijah Dotson (Detroit Jesuit HS – Detroit, Mich.) — MSU offer
- 3-star DB Josh Johnson (Ironton HS – Ironton, Ohio)
- 3-star OT Cam Clark (Dexter HS – Dexter, Mich.)
- 3-star OT Antonio Johnson (St Mary’s HS – Orchard Lake, Mich.) — MSU offer
- 3-star ATH Terris Dudley (Hilliard Bradley HS – Hilliard, Ohio)
- 3-star WR Jackson Wiley (Olentangy HS – Lewis Center, Ohio)
- 3-star LB Charles White (St. Mary’s HS – Orchard Lake, Mich.) — MSU offer
- 3-star TE John Baker (Cass Tech HS – Detroit, Mich.)
- 3-star WR Bryson Williams (St. Mary’s HS – Orchard Lake, Mich.) — MSU offer
- 3-star DL Brendon Rice (North Farmington HS – Farmington, Mich.)
- 3-star DE Cal Thrush (Upper Arlington HS – Columbus, Ohio)
- Unranked OT Jaylen Pitts (River Rouge HS – River Rouge, Mich.)
- Unranked DB Victor Singleton (Central Catholic HS – Toledo, Ohio)
- Unranked RB Noah Sanders (Wylie E. Groves HS – Franklin, Mich.)
- Unranked DE Warren Cain (Davison HS – Davison, Mich.)
- Unranked OT Lucas Barnes (Plymouth HS – Canton, Mich.)
- Unranked OT Christopher Climes (Elizabeth Forward HS – Elizabeth, Penn.)
- Unranked DB Cameron Summerour (Cass Tech HS – Detroit, Mich.)
- Unranked DL Logan Howell (Cass Tech HS – Detroit, Mich.)
The class of 2025 recruits are making a big dent in the list. This group is loaded with talent. Some familiar names on this list have been targeted by Michigan State football for a while now. Avery Gach is probably the most familiar name on this list as Mel Tucker’s staff originally offered him. Smith and the new staff also see his major upside and quickly re-offered him after taking over.
Jai’Mier Scott, the cornerback from Ohio who is currently committed to Wisconsin, is another big name. He recently committed to the Badgers but is still coming to MSU this weekend. He held offers from schools such as Michigan, Wisconsin, MSU, Tennessee, and Penn State to name a few. It will be interesting to see if Smith and defensive backs coach Blue Adams can make any headway with potentially flipping him.
Another notable name on this list is unranked running back Noah Sanders from Franklin, Mich. He is the son of former Lions running back Barry Sanders and his older brother Nick is a walk-on for Tom Izzo and the MSU Basketball team. Could his Michigan State ties land him in East Lansing with his older brother? He is a name to certainly watch.
Moving on to other recruits on the list, we have four big-time recruits from the class of 2026 coming to East Lansing this weekend. One recruit from the 2027 cycle will also join them.
Class of 2026/2027 recruits
- 2026 OL Ben Nichols (Davison HS – Davison, Mich.) — MSU offer
- 2026 OL Gregory Patrick (Portage Northern HS – Portage, Mich.) — MSU offer
- 2026 TE Jack Janda (Catholic Central HS – Orchard Lake, Mich.) — MSU offer
- 2026 ATH Geno Steets (Waterford Mott HS – Waterford, Mich.)
- 2027 QB Kayden Edwards (Ironton HS – Ironton, Ohio)
These five recruits bring MSU’s current total of players coming tomorrow to 33. The class of 2026 and 2027 players are also loaded with talent. The familiar names here would be offensive line prospects Ben Nichols and Gregory Patrick. Tucker offered Nichols previously on the former staff. He announced today that he was re-offered by Smith’s staff. He is a big-bodied offensive lineman who could be a potential anchor up front. He stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 315 pounds as a sophomore and helped lead Davison to a state semifinal run this year.
Patrick also is a highly talented offensive tackle hailing from Portage, Mich. He was also offered by the previous staff and has since been re-offered by Smith’s staff. Smith wants to build the trenches up here in East Lansing. With him and Jim Michalczik having success in the past in developing their offensive line, that is great news for Michigan State football fans.
The list for this weekend is ever-changing so expect some names to be added/removed as the weekend continues. Regardless, a big weekend is setting up for the new football staff.
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