Michigan State adds receiver on the rise in Jaelen Smith to 2023 class
Michigan State received a commitment from Houston (TX) Klein Cain 2023 wide receiver Jaelen Smith on Tuesday (Dec. 20) evening.
Smith held 15 total offers. Michigan State was his first Power Five offer, with Spartan wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins issuing the offer in early November. He announced a top three including Michigan State, Minnesota, and Vanderbilt on Dec. 14. Smith also held Ivy League offers from Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton, and more.
Smith announced his commitment via social media at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Spartans sealed the deal on signing day eve (Dec. 20). Smith is a late-riser, who recently debuted in the On3 Consensus rankings as a three-star, No. 646 overall in the country, the No. 94 wide receiver and No. 110 in Texas.
Smith officially visited East Lansing the first weekend in December. He then visited Minnesota for an official visit the following weekend. Hawkins, of Michigan State, and Minnesota Head Coach PJ Fleck and Co-offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers coach Matt Simon visited Smith at school during the week.
“The reputation that they have there stood out,” Smith previously told SpartanMag.com. “Coach Hawk is a good receivers coach. All the coaches have NFL experience. I want to go to the NFL, so going to a coaching staff with that experience is big.”
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Smith told SpartanMag.com that Texas had recently been getting involved. The Longhorns sent a coach to his school this week, but Smith told the staff he would be signing in the early period, not leaving any time Texas to close in.
Smith is the second wide receiver committed to the Spartans in the 2023 class, joining 6-foot-2, Aziah Johnson of Richmond (VA), who committed last week. The Spartans added two commitments to the wide receiver room after Demitrius Bell decommitted from the Spartans in August.
Like Johnson, at 6-foot-2, Smith has risen on college recruiting boards and evaluation service rankings for good reason. He shows good hands, runs strong routes to get in space and makes defenders miss after the catch.
Michigan State’s 2023 class now holds 14 commitments and is ranked the No. 21 class in the nation by the On3 Consensus Team Rankings.
