MSU’s Jonathan Smith recaps National Signing Day
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00:00 Always an exciting day, exciting day.
00:04 First one here in Michigan State.
00:06 A lot of work went into it.
00:08 I want to thank really the staff, the recruiting staff,
00:10 over these three weeks, things have been moving fast.
00:13 Really impressed with the coordination and really the work ethic.
00:18 Long hours, all of that, so I can't thank the staff enough.
00:21 Really excited about the group that we've got.
00:24 Currently, today, 2 o'clock, got signed up.
00:27 And then looking forward to continue to build this roster over the next few months
00:32 and all the way into the summer, but this is a great, great start.
00:35 Kind of want to talk about a little bit how we got here.
00:38 Three weeks ago, arrived, excited to meet the team at my first team meeting on that Monday,
00:45 and then dove into the current roster, trying to grow some relationship there,
00:48 learn what we have on the roster positionally, age-wise, things of that nature.
00:53 And that mindset really hadn't changed over the last three weeks.
00:58 First day was able to get out on the road with coaches and travel to the greater area of Detroit.
01:03 A bunch of good-looking players, enjoyed meeting high school coaches around that city.
01:08 Nick Marsh on day one, being able to see him, meet mom.
01:12 That's how we attacked the first day that Friday out.
01:15 And then really the next week, it still was back to the current roster,
01:18 spent a lot of the mornings meeting individually with our current roster players,
01:22 learning, getting to know them, and then travel late afternoon, evenings to home visits
01:27 throughout that first week.
01:29 All at the same time, trying to hire a defensive coordinator.
01:32 Brought six coaches over here with me that I've got deep trust and knowledge of,
01:36 but a huge piece of this was the defensive coordinator, a lot of phone calls,
01:40 talking to a lot of people interested in the job, continue to circle back to Joe Rossi.
01:46 Couldn't be more excited about having him in the middle of this process over three weeks.
01:51 And then he dove right into it on the recruiting side, helping us get to the finish line.
01:56 Had huge weekends, really only had two at the total that we put together.
02:03 The last one I think we had close to 20 guys come through on a three-day span that last weekend.
02:08 That's going back to, again, thanking the staff and their approach going through this.
02:13 On this side of the class, we are excited. It's heavy on the high school side,
02:16 which is going to be an emphasis for us.
02:18 Starting really up front, the offensive line, well-represented in this crew.
02:23 Important to get a couple of quarterbacks to go awesome.
02:26 Tavon Alessio and Rylan coming on board.
02:29 Continue to build in the secondary side.
02:33 And we're not done.
02:34 I mean, this thing, this landscape now, college football, you can add to your roster
02:38 365 days a year.
02:40 We're in the midst of the portal being opened, and so there's opportunities there as well.
02:45 Visits early in January.
02:47 We've got a second signing date in February that we're going to attack.
02:50 Same time the portal will open again in April.
02:52 Feel confident.
02:53 We'll continue to add to the roster throughout the year.
02:56 But back to this day, first day, starting signing date, feel awesome about this group of young men we're bringing in.
03:03 Questions?
03:05 Chris?
03:10 I'm wondering on the quarterback situation in particular, when --
03:15 and we're not going to be talking about the transfer situations,
03:19 but when you have a guy right now that you kind of identify as a number one,
03:25 how difficult is it to maybe try and either from a portal or the high school ranks go after someone,
03:31 particularly in the situation that you guys are in with nobody left in that room?
03:35 Yeah.
03:36 You know, we did.
03:37 We had at one point in time no one on scholarship in that room,
03:40 and so I always wanted to put that perspective as actually a great opportunity to recruit, right?
03:46 You're trying to draw quarterbacks at that position, and when there's no one in the room, that's attractive to players.
03:52 Obviously, yes, we are going to be adding through the transfer portal, and a lot of that becomes public and things,
03:58 and so that's a key piece to that position.
04:01 Really excited about the two guys that we're adding with Alessio and Rylan.
04:05 Rylan would no longer.
04:06 We've been recruiting Rylan for a long time.
04:08 Alessio, Coach Langer got out to the school and the house to meet him and the family.
04:13 They were on visits, good people, and we feel both of those guys can play a high level,
04:18 and both of them will be here in January.
04:21 Want to go back to the three-week stretch here and what kind of a run that was.
04:28 I mean, you're trying to hire a staff, as you said.
04:30 You're probably getting to know your secretaries.
04:32 You're trying to find a house.
04:33 You have all this to do at such an important recruiting time.
04:37 What kind of a challenge has this been?
04:39 Yeah, you know, it's a challenge that we were diving into and navigating, doing our best.
04:44 Again, it started with the idea that you're trying to recruit and retain your current roster
04:48 and so not completely detaching from those guys.
04:51 Spoke to the team that way.
04:52 It wasn't going to just go to a day and run through eight different high schools when the opportunity--
04:57 there's good players here, and making sure that those guys at least hear the vision
05:01 and feel comfortable with that.
05:03 And then, yes, you're trying to add to the roster through the recruiting thing.
05:07 On the hiring piece, it was going to be deliberate on that.
05:10 And, again, it's about the fit, obviously, and expertise with the type of man that you're going to add to the staff.
05:16 And so that was part of that process all in these last three weeks.
05:20 And you knew that you were going to have some attrition after that meeting from people who chose to left here.
05:25 Did you just kind of accept that as part of the job?
05:29 Yeah, we understood the situation.
05:31 Those guys that didn't through previously, and that's the landscape now in college football,
05:36 they can go in and explore options.
05:38 I think it was painted pretty clear to them, you know, if you're going to go in the portal,
05:41 it's my responsibility to actively work to replace them.
05:45 And so we continued to recruit some of them.
05:47 Some have come back.
05:49 At the same time, we're working to replace them.
05:51 I think we've done a good job.
05:54 Hey, John, from the front here.
05:55 I was wondering, you inherited some commits, and then obviously there are guys that you recruited previously to Oregon State.
06:01 I guess how did you blend those two, and is there a common denominator in what you--
06:05 and your guys kind of sold them for, you know, signing with--
06:09 Yeah, I think we blended it really well.
06:12 I think the guys that were current guys that were committed to the place before we arrived,
06:15 we tried to dive into those guys and communicate the vision, obviously evaluate,
06:20 make sure the fit is right on both sides, which it really was with these guys that can play.
06:25 At the same time, we had some deep-rooted relationships with previous players that were committed elsewhere
06:30 that I think a lot of this in recruiting is about the relationship.
06:33 They felt good, got them out here on campus to make sure they see the environment
06:37 and land in a good place with those guys.
06:39 What's it like when you're trying to recruit somebody to the West Coast,
06:42 and then all of a sudden from Hawaii they're going to Lansing in December?
06:47 Yeah, I mean, it's definitely a different location that you recruit to, but there's a lot to sell here.
06:52 And what attracted me to the job was similar to what attracted these recruits.
06:59 Over here, I've got two.
07:00 When you come in and there's a list of previous commits,
07:05 there's sort of a blueprint for how the previous staff is going about it.
07:09 How much communication did you have with them, with Harlan,
07:12 and sort of then putting together your own attack and approach for it?
07:16 And part of that is their role for Harlan.
07:19 What's going on with Harlan? Is he going to be part of your staff?
07:22 Right. We did use the data.
07:23 There's a lot of people still in the building that have been here previously,
07:27 and so getting background information of what--learning about a particular recruit.
07:33 A lot of what previously was sold in Michigan State, why is it still here?
07:37 You talk about the education facility, the conference, the people around the place, all of that.
07:42 So that was pretty consistent.
07:43 On Harlan's end, he's been helpful as well.
07:46 I met with him now a couple of times.
07:48 Just given the landscape, his approach, yet to be determined on Harlan.
07:53 He's got opportunities to other options and things, and so we'll see where that lands.
07:59 The question is, with NIL, which is obviously a huge part of everything,
08:03 and you had a system and an approach at Oregon State,
08:07 I'm wondering if you brought that here and if you could sort of share your approach and philosophy with NIL.
08:13 In regards to NIL, I think the resources around here, the opportunities are really good,
08:18 and I've learned more and more being here three weeks on what that all is.
08:23 Again, we've had approaches at Oregon State that are going to be similar here
08:27 and not just in the NIL space, offense, defense, schematically, how we evaluate,
08:31 how we develop players around here, and so there'll be some similarities.
08:36 I wanted to ask you about Ohio.
08:40 Obviously, that's a big secondary recruiting territory for Michigan State for a lot of years.
08:44 I was talking to Austin Police Coach last night, and he said that they're excited that Michigan State's back in Ohio.
08:48 You guys are actively involved with high school coaching in that area.
08:52 What is your reception been like in that key area?
08:55 Yeah, that is a big area. There's a lot of good players.
08:58 There's a lot of good high school coaches, and again, I'm not trying to claim like I'm the expert yet,
09:02 but our intention will be to get used to these months of January, getting around those high school coaches
09:08 because there's players there.
09:10 We want to make some inroads in three weeks in these hotbeds of locations where players are.
09:16 This state, Ohio, within driving distance, gives us a little time when we're going to get there.
09:21 You mentioned the first day you were able to go out and recruit Eastside McMarsh.
09:25 I'm just curious what stood out about him as a person and a player as well.
09:28 Yeah, from the get-go, you talk about a good young man, humble, talked about his teammates, well-spoken.
09:35 We've really loved Michigan State for a while now, getting to know him, kind of what he values.
09:41 He helped us recruit at the same time, so he's been a great teammate that way.
09:45 Mamatron as well, she's been helpful in the recruiting process as well.
09:51 When it comes to, like you mentioned, having to pitch your vision to a lot of these recruits
09:55 and the current roster and stuff, we talked a little bit at your introductory press conference about what that is.
10:01 But when there's a new coach coming in and a new staff sometimes,
10:04 there's uncertainty about what can happen with the program.
10:09 So, I guess, how has the vision maybe solidified over the last three weeks?
10:15 What is your selling pitch and what is the new section for some recruits?
10:20 I think uncertainty but also opportunity.
10:23 I think the opportunity to kind of fresh start, you know,
10:26 down a proven track record of doing things a certain way.
10:29 I think Michigan State, again, sells itself with so much beyond just the facility upgrades.
10:35 It's been phenomenal to get these guys on campus, the educational opportunities,
10:40 the academic support, the support from a fan base that is passionate.
10:43 So, there's a lot to sell in regards to opportunity.
10:48 John, from the front here again.
10:49 I know you said TBD on Harmon, whether he'll be part of the staff, but with the two openings you have,
10:54 do you know which direction you plan to go?
10:56 Because it looks like you might be filled out offensively, but, you know, just--
10:59 Yeah, kind of fluid on those last two spots.
11:02 You know, kind of just thinking through again getting Coach Rossi over here
11:05 in regards to some of his vision to finalize the defensive side,
11:08 obviously has got to answer the special teams side as well.
11:11 So, we'll kind of see.
11:13 I was not going to rush on those decisions.
11:15 I wanted to make sure, again, the particular person to fit and fit on both sides.
11:20 And then the current setup of finalizing defense and answering for special teams, we're sorting that out.
11:28 Jonathan, right here.
11:29 You mentioned the other day at your press conference about diving in and learning the history of the program.
11:33 I'm wondering how much you were able to catch up on the Michigan State's history with Hawaii and Hawaiian players,
11:39 and how much you were able to learn and how much you think that maybe helped in landing the two guys.
11:43 Yeah, I've learned a little.
11:45 Yeah, there's a history there on that end, and so that helped to extend both the players coming over from Hawaii.
11:51 We've known deeply now for a long time, making physical at the line of scrimmage.
11:55 So, we'd love to--again, we're all into diversity, love to spark inside-out location-wise,
12:01 but we're going to go where we need to find players.
12:04 Was it something they were aware of, just being names out there that someone's Michigan State?
12:08 You know what? I don't know for certain if they were aware or not.
12:11 Okay. Chris?
12:13 I wonder about the two running backs that you brought in, obviously guys that you knew and were familiar with.
12:18 How are their styles different and similar?
12:21 And the second part of that is a guy like Frazier, it seemed like he could play some linebacker, you know, too, as well.
12:29 Do you have other guys that you kind of want to see?
12:32 And I think there's a couple guys in the class that could go either direction if you want them to.
12:38 Well, we love running backs that have some versatility, both Brandon and Kai have some physicality to them,
12:44 and so that stands out that they're similar.
12:47 I mean, good high school players, especially running backs, should have the capabilities of playing some defense at the high school level,
12:53 but currently the plan is them to carry that.
12:59 When you were selling, especially the recruits on the West Coast, you know, to MSU,
13:04 how much did you pitch the idea that you guys were kind of going to be coming in kind of on the ground floor together,
13:10 that this was going to be a learning process for everyone involved?
13:14 How much was that a, you know, a convincing pitch to some degree?
13:17 Well, guys, at some point, especially the guys that are arriving in January,
13:21 they're on the ground level learning schemes in all three phases, right, offense, defense, and special teams,
13:26 everyone in the locker room starting at the same level there, so the opportunity for that.
13:30 Again, I think it's something to be cool about building something, and again, we're not going to sit here overly patient.
13:36 We're trying to build something quick and be really, really competitive this fall.
13:40 But the opportunity to come on the ground level was part of the dream pitch.
13:46 You've featured the tight end position in the past.
13:50 Can you talk a little bit about why it helped, what you saw behind it initially, what attracted you to him,
13:54 what attracted you to him in that whole process?
13:56 Yeah, why it was known for a while makes it physical, but it's athletic and catch the ball size-wise,
14:02 it looks, you know, what we're looking for in length, weight, you know, height, all of that.
14:07 And so, yeah, the background with that, offensively, the tight end spot, we feel like he's a perfect fit.
14:13 So, folks that come in and look at Michigan State, what were their reactions to it?
14:18 They were excited about it.
14:19 Again, we talked, you know, knowing these guys for a while, and then coming over, seeing the facility piece,
14:23 they knew the people for the most part, but just the environment, the location, the stadium,
14:28 learning more about the school, the academic support is phenomenal around here.
14:32 And so, they responded really well.
14:37 John, when you got here, you said you hadn't had a chance to walk around campus yet, I guess.
14:41 Obviously, everything else you've been doing, if you had a chance to kind of get out,
14:44 you've seen a couple of basketball games now, what's that been like for the last couple of weeks?
14:47 Yeah, that's been fun, basketball games, hockey game, that's been fun.
14:50 I plan on getting more and more when it somewhat slows down for me.
14:53 So, it's been, again, I want to thank, again, welcome the people around here,
14:58 not just to me, family, the staff as well.
15:02 So, it makes us to get to more and more events, and I haven't gotten to all the campus yet to be able to get that done.
15:08 Also, the Malignaschi twins, they were already committed earlier as you've gotten to know them,
15:12 what have been your impressions?
15:14 And when you look at them on film, what do you think?
15:16 Yeah, physical, athletic, at the line of service, both with great personalities,
15:21 you know, they're tied into him, but they also were a part of helping us recruit,
15:25 you know, been there with this place for a long time, getting to know them on a personal level,
15:29 I'm excited about them joining us.
15:31 I know you dropped the puck, I don't know how long you stayed, how did you enjoy your first ice hockey game?
15:36 I enjoyed it, yeah, I wish I could have, I was beating a lot of people during the game,
15:40 but I definitely enjoyed it, I mean, the student section's back, the energy in the place,
15:43 the physicality, I haven't been to a hockey game in like 20 years, so I'm definitely going back.
15:48 On recruiting, there's a perception out there, really perceived, that it's not about high school recruiting anymore,
15:55 it's about how you manage the portal.
15:57 You made it clear at your introductory press conference at the end of the day
16:01 that high school recruiting is still important, that's a priority to you?
16:06 Yeah, 100%, we want to be a place of development, the longer you have a player to develop,
16:11 the better and better he's going to get.
16:12 Well, I'm not saying we're going to be exclusive just to the high school ranks,
16:16 but managing your roster, you can add through high school, yes, through the portal,
16:20 develop, walk on to a place of development, so we do want to be still a core of high school,
16:26 not exclusive, but the core of being from that age.
16:30 It's been pretty obvious, you mentioned about some of the young guys, the recruits who are helping you recruit,
16:38 what about the guys on the roster right now, so like Kent Talley's a guy that's really been active,
16:44 who else has been helping?
16:46 I think Sam was a huge part as well, he's got some influence, especially the first weekend we had visitors,
16:52 the current players were helping, that's a huge benefit, I think one of the biggest pieces in recruiting
16:57 is your current roster, they can keep it real in their experience of how it's going,
17:01 so I appreciate you guys giving effort, not just when you're on campus, but on social and things like that.
17:08 The calendar as it stands now, is it fair to you, to the new staff, to the players who are trying to make decisions,
17:19 you've got to be on the road now, or would it be better if it was in February and you had to grind through January?
17:24 Yeah, I don't know if it's fair, it's not ideal, I know that, and that's not just specific to our set up here at Michigan State
17:30 in three weeks, I just think there's a lot going on in one month in regards to coaching changes,
17:36 the portal being open throughout the month, early signing date, people making decisions on early signing date
17:42 when the portal is still open, there seems like there's a better avenue, recipe, calendar wise,
17:49 I'm not saying I know it, but there's just a lot going on as well.
17:52 Can you go to Todd on that? Is there an available, do you think a pre-season, like an August signing date?
18:00 Yeah, I mean there's ramifications, you go to August, the early signing date, is that going to affect high school players?
18:06 Are they going to continue to play their high school senior year? Are they opting out when they already got their scholarship?
18:11 So there's a lot to consider there, you know, often times guys are making their decisions earlier,
18:16 so now you're back in May and all the way just to February, there's ramifications there, not a simple solution.
18:22 I'll just go back to there, there's a lot going on in December.
18:26 John from New Brunswick, I was wondering with the half a dozen unenrolled so far,
18:31 you mentioned some of the transfer probably too, how important is that to get these guys on campus,
18:36 especially the ones you're not familiar with as far as having played for you at Oregon State,
18:41 to learn the system that obviously the guys are trained in?
18:43 Yeah, it's huge, anytime you can start as fast as possible, so the guys that are arriving in January,
18:48 getting acclimated, getting into the weight room, obviously learning their sign the ball schematics wise,
18:53 learning their teammates, so it's huge to have a good number, and we'll have a good number of them here in January.
18:59 And then with the guys, you still have a third number of guys still in the portal,
19:02 do you anticipate retaining some of these guys that are out there looking?
19:06 Yeah, to be determined, we're definitely aggressively trying to retain a few, not all, but a few,
19:13 and we'll, again, in this day and age, we've got that option, but we'll see where that lands.
19:19 The first year, do you feel like you have to sell yourself individually more so than the program,
19:28 and convince your recruits to come, maybe, versus when you're two or three years into it,
19:35 you can sell more of the program itself?
19:38 That's a good question. Probably 50/50 in regards to, yeah, you've got to sell yourself a vision of what you want this thing to look like.
19:47 The longer it goes, you've got the background of being in the program, and they've got an idea of what the identity is.
19:54 I still go back to this place, there's a lot to sell about Michigan State, Michigan football, fan base, athletics in general, so about 50/50.
20:04 So when you set out to put this class together three weeks ago, daunting task, big challenge,
20:09 is it about what you expected, or did it exceed what you expected? How did it all come together?
20:13 Right. It probably exceeds right now, I'm thinking about that first week, what we had to undertake here.
20:19 But I'll go back to we are not done. I mean, this thing isn't started. We're really excited about where we're starting.
20:25 But you can add to your roster over the next six, eight months, and we plan to do it.
20:29 You said at your introductory press conference you wanted to utilize the February study period also.
20:33 Do you anticipate some decent talent out there?
20:36 I think there will be, and we're going to uncover rocks and dig into it, and that kind of thing.
20:41 But we'll see. I don't anticipate it being this big, this many numbers, but we're definitely looking.
20:47 Any specific positions for February that are still on?
20:50 Still sort that out. Again, we'll get into how this portal closes and see where we're at, and we'll be able to identify our needs from there.
20:57 And one more thing about the quarterbacks in the local Olympic, and your thoughts about those two as prospects.
21:04 Yep. Again, Rylan we've known for a longer period of time, athletic, can throw it.
21:09 We've seen him a couple of times. We were chasing him at Oregon State for a while, built a relationship, football family, good football there.
21:16 Lessie O, given no aim over the last two weeks, on tape, this guy can make throws down the field, which we want to be able to do on the offense.
21:22 I think the guy who's a football nut studies it and knows it inside and out.
21:26 Great family when they're here for the weekend, so really excited about both of them.
21:31 Jonathan, I want to go on quarterbacks. As a quarterback guy, I'm wondering, do you have a sort of rigid framework or traits and things that you like in that position, or can they come in all shapes and sizes and different ways?
21:41 They can come in all shapes and sizes. Size does help. I kind of try to simplify it down to this.
21:48 We're looking for a shortstop in regards to a skill set. Movement-wise can make plays in the hole, but still make that big time throw.
21:56 We're not looking for a third base hit overly, but they've got to be able to play that side of the field to make the throw.
22:02 I also wanted to ask you about Courtney Hawkins. You've retained him since we talked to you.
22:05 What went into that decision? Obviously, a guy who knows this place and area. What's he meant to your staff at this point?
22:12 I enjoyed getting to know him. I'm deeply passionate about this place. He's got some track record of playing this game at the highest level, developing talent.
22:19 I love the idea that he spent some time with the high school ranks and what he did for that school and that community.
22:24 Learning that story was really fun and impressive to hear. I'm really excited he's on the board.
22:31 I know you've got a lot going on. This may be looking too far ahead, but coaches do spring ball different ways.
22:37 Do you have a spring calendar yet, or is it too early?
22:39 Not yet. Not defined. Targeted around starting mid-March and go from there.
22:45 You won't have a spring game, or don't you know yet?
22:47 Don't know yet. We'll see what this roster looks like. We definitely have some work to do in spring. Looking forward to that.
22:54 I talked to Mike Riley last week, and he said the best advice you would be able to give is knowing you have to build at your own rate.
23:03 I know you want to be competitive this fall, but how do you balance having the pressure to rebuild this program quickly and be competitive,
23:12 but also knowing that it's going to take some time to implement your strategy and scheme and your culture and everything?
23:19 I think we want to be consistent. We're going to aggressively attack to develop.
23:24 By through development, these guys play the best football they can.
23:28 I'm excited about the opportunities this roster will look like come this summer.
23:32 I'm confident they will put a really competitive product out there.
23:35 Not overly patient in regards to not just casually going into a mindset of like, "OK, year three, we've got to get this thing going."
23:43 But we want to be consistent in our approach.
23:46 Thanks, Coach. Appreciate it.
23:48 Thanks, guys.