Jonathan Smith outlines biggest challenges he has faced at Michigan State

Jonathan Smith made the jump following the 2023 season from Oregon State to Michigan State. With that, he’s begun the process of rebuilding the football program in East Lansing.

Now, head of Fall Camp and the 2024 season, Smith has looked back on his time so far at Michigan State and outlined the biggest challenges that he’s faced to this point.

“Obviously, learning, building trust with the roster over six months,” Jonathan Smith said. “Takes time to build some trust. That’s been something. Knowing the landscape is continuing to change and having to navigate [it] when there’s still some uncertainty on your roster size, and on how this thing is all gonna work.”

Jonathan Smith has previously had success as a head coach. He went to Oregon State, his alma mater, in 2018. At the time, the Beavers were coming off a 1-11 season that capped off the disastrous Gary Andersen tenure. It took a couple of seasons to rebuild Oregon State, but Smith did and finished with three straight bowl appearances and two straight Top 25 finishes.

At Michigan State, Jonathan Smith is dealing with another serious rebuild. The Spartans went just 9-15 over the last two seasons. Meanwhile, the Mel Tucker era ended in a scandal.

This all comes at a time of change in college sports. Not only are things like NIL and the Transfer Portal in place now, the House settlement is going to shake up how rosters are constructed and how budgets are built. On top of that, the Big Ten is adding four new schools and changing its division model for scheduling.

Still, Michigan State has a difficult schedule in 2024, with games against Ohio State, Michigan, and Oregon among others.

Jonathan Smith has also been active in rebuilding the roster through the Transfer Portal. The Spartans have the 58th-ranked transfer class in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings. It’s a class that includes 36 players on their way out and 23 transferring in as the roster has flipped.

Jonathan Smith calls NIL a ‘piece of the pie’ in recruiting

NIL is part of recruiting in the modern college football world. That’s something that Jonathan Smith says is a difference but also just another piece of the pie.

“There’s definitely a difference,” Smith said.

“It still starts with the evaluation process and beyond. I think that’s a piece of the pie. What we’re looking for is guys that it is a piece of the pie as they’re considering their options, but then there’s the education, the scheme, the staff, the fit, the area, all those are pieces of the pie.”