The offseason has been exciting for Michigan State and head coach Jonathan Smith. Not knowing what to anticipate, Coach Smith and his coaching staff embarked on their first offseason in East Lansing. An important roadblock would come earlier this year when Michigan State’s roster lost almost twenty players due to transfers.

It’s possible that Smith and his coaching staff weren’t ready for this setback. They did, however, bounce back by obtaining one of the nation’s top transfer portal classes. After that, Smith and his coaching staff concentrated on the recruiting trail because, at one point, their 2025 recruiting class was among the worst in the Big Ten.

A number of gifted players were added by Smith and his coaching staff to Michigan State’s 2025 recruiting class. While on the recruiting trail in June, they gave Michigan and the neighboring states priority, awarding scholarships to and winning commitments from a large number of prospects in the Midwest.

Despite a strong June for Smith and his coaching staff, offensive lineman Kuol Kuol, a prospect they had their eye on, broke bad news. The three-star offensive tackle from Dayton, Ohio, recently declared his intention to commit to Purdue rather than Michigan State, despite reports that Michigan State had a positive effect on him earlier in the spring.

Kuol is rated as the 44th-best player from Ohio and the 80th-best offensive tackle in the 2025 recruiting class by 247Sports. Kuol met a lot of the requirements that Smith and his coaching team had while looking for recruits. He is among the greatest in his position and a three-star athlete from the Midwest.

It is regrettable for Michigan State as a program to have missed out on such a talented player as Kuol.

Still, Smith and his coaching staff will surely overcome this setback, just as they have overcome the majority of the other challenges they have encountered this summer. There will be more inadequacies on the recruiting trail and in the football field as Smith finishes the initial steps of rebuilding Michigan State’s football program. It will be important to see how Michigan State and Smith react.