Michigan State HC Jonathan Smith looking to 'establish an identity' in year one

When Jonathan Smith took over the head coach position at Oregon State, his alma mater, in 2018, the Beavers were coming off of a 1-11 season.

In Smith’s final two years in Corvallis, OSU finished 14th and 19th at the end of the regular season in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Now, Smith is looking to rebuild a recent Big Ten powerhouse in East Lansing.

Back-to-back losing seasons at Michigan State have set the stage for a difficult climb back to the top for Smith and his staff. Smith told On3’s Steve Wiltfong at Big Ten media days on Wednesday that it all starts with building a strong culture within the program.

“Well, it starts with laying a foundation of some work ethic and accountability within your own building,” Smith said. “But then you’ve got to continue to add to your building. So, build a roster inside-out in regards to location.

“You know, in driving distance there’s a lot of good players right here in the Midwest, the state of Michigan and in driving distance from campus. So that’s been our approach on the recruiting side to fill the building that way. Then you want to establish an identity going into a year one that you can build off of.”

Building a culture in East Lansing

Former head coach Mark Dantonio led Michigan State to three Big Ten championships under the culture mantra of ‘Spartan Dawgs’. Smith plans to build something similar in this new era of football in East Lansing.

“I think it’s similar in regards to work ethic, deep passion for football,” Smith said. “Wanting to be a good teammate, this is the ultimate team game — guys that don’t want to make it all about themselves and want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Those attributes are what we’re looking for besides, obviously, the skillset side and all that.”

Smith said that in terms of roster management, it will be a bit of a “balancing act” between high school recruiting and the NCAA Transfer Portal — but that he wants the program to be a “majority” of athletes recruited out of high school.

Spartans working toward recruiting success

MSU currently sits 52nd in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings in the 2025 class with 15 commitments.

“I like a lot,” Smith said of this year’s class. “One, just what we were talking about, characteristics and the type of guys they are. I think we’re spread out across both sides of the ball, line of scrimmage, back end. So, I feel like we’re well-rounded currently. Obviously, we’re not done.”

When talking with prospects on the recruiting trail, Smith put a big emphasis on being “authentic” in their approach.

“I think we’re an authentic approach,” Smith said. “You mentioned coach (Chad Wilt) already — I think the type of people that we’ve got in the building resonates with people the more they get around us, the more they get to know us. So we’re pretty authentic in our approach, up front and honest.”

Part of the approach is detailing the success Smith and his staff have had with developing prospects for the next level.

“I think the track record of development — each position coach, what they’ve been able to develop at that position, Smith said. “They’ve got a bunch of guys playing at the highest level. Recruits themselves start at different stages, right, in their growth, development, strength, how big they are, all these things. We’ve got a proven recipe in development to get you to the highest level.”

Getting back to the top level of the Big Ten

Beating Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State will have to be the goal of any playoff-worthy program in the Big Ten. But, it is especially important in East Lansing with a tradition of playing those schools unlike some of the newcomers to the conference.

A major key to that, Smith said, will be recruiting players who have chips on their shoulders and can battle against those currently bigger programs.

“We want guys, for whatever reasons, with chips on their shoulders That they’re motivated, that they want to be competitive, to compete and win. And they understand that it takes a lot of work to do that.”