The last 30 days have been uncharted territory for the Michigan State University football program. By all accounts thus far, head coach Jonathan Smith has not only passed his first big tests – building out a staff, recruiting the 2024 freshman class, handling transfer portal comings and goings, re-recruiting all the players in the program, and building relationships with Midwest high school coaches just to name a few – but he did so with flying colors.

In order to take a look behind the scenes at how Smith and his team pulled off what seemed like an impossible task a mere 30 days ago, Spartans Illustrated talked with a handful of sources in the football program. Sources were granted anonymity so they could speak freely; some were already on the Spartan staff when Jonathan Smith and his team arrived and some arrived with Smith.

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The last month was a grind, no doubt, but it appears that this new incoming staff – as well as those who were here in East Lansing waiting for their arrival – embraced the challenge and set the foundation for what Spartan football will look like in the future.

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As Michigan State’s Athletic Director Alan Haller said four weeks ago at his introductory press conference, Smith has a proven track record of success, having built Oregon State from the ground up by implementing his plan.

What does that plan look like?

We can get some clues on that from how he approached his first 30 days on the job.

So let’s jump in.

When Smith arrived in East Lansing a month ago, he and his closest advisors immediately got to work. Within the first 24 hours, they had applied their OSU method of evaluation to three different groups: the recruits who were still committed to MSU, the recruits who were considering MSU, and the recruits who had been considering MSU but had chosen a different school.

Smith knew what needed to be done in the final recruiting sprint ahead of the early signing period. The recruiting visits went extremely well as a result. There was a shift, yes, but not in the “how” to recruit, but in the focus on relationships with recruits. Nowadays, legit relationship building in recruiting is hard to do and sources tell Spartans Illustrated that it is big that Smith’s staff is so good at it.

Sources also mentioned that they can tell Smith was a quarterback during his playing days from his systematic approach. MSU might be a bigger place than OSU – with more resources and staff – to implement his system, but he is doing just that.

Smith’s system is described as not necessarily unique or out of the ordinary – more of a “this is how it is, this is how it is going to be” approach – but that his sense of stability is going to resonate with people. You can sense the way stuff is presented: “We’re here to do the job, we’re here to win championships.” No nonsense. His approach was even described as “vanilla,” and that term was not used in a negative sense of the word.

To implement his system, Smith brought a significant number of staffers with him from Corvallis, Oregon, the home of Oregon State University. Sources told Spartans Illustrated that the importance of that cannot be understated as it speaks volumes to Smith’s reliance on the building of relationships. Still, though, one of the real questions that had to be answered was if the incoming staff would mesh with the staff that was already at MSU, and would the current MSU staff buy into the new approach of the incoming coaching team.

From all indications so far, the answer to that question is a resounding yes.

Smith has explained his approach to the current football staffers and asked them to trust the process. And they have. The buy-in from staff of his process has resulted in one individual describing him positively as “the lone voice of the program” in regards to how easily staff can convey the program’s vision he has in mind to build.

With such a short window to accomplish a lot before the early signing day period arrived on Dec. 20, there was only time for the new coaching staff to do what they knew. In fact, it’s been said by multiple people that Smith and his team basically did what they would have done had they remained in Corvallis.

When Smith and his staff went through each of the recruits considering MSU – and being considered by MSU – they didn’t just assume the kids could play. They delved into their tape and their story, and staff looked to see if recruits would fit the culture they were going to build at Michigan State. That was the first and most important part of their approach.

When it comes to recruiting, Smith has a few key folks on his staff, including: Cole Moore, general manager; Dan Van De Riet, chief of staff; and Michael Doctor, director of recruiting and player relations.

Moore helps oversee all aspects of roster management and oversees recruiting strategies for MSU. Van De Riet is considered Smith’s right-hand man and has worked in this role since 2017, coordinating day-to-day operations, including the team’s budget and staffing. Doctor does exactly what his title suggests – he directs MSU’s recruiting and manages player relations.

From all indications, Doctor is going to be special. Sources tell Spartans Illustrated that the way he interacts with the players and recruits is extraordinary and that anyone who talks to him is most likely going to be sold on the program.

Doc, as he goes by, was described to Spartans Illustrated as “Smith’s secret weapon – we don’t get guys like this in East Lansing.”

The praise for Doctor might seem lavish, but it also appears to be accurate. His work capacity is said to be second to none and it appears to match his head coach’s work ethic.

Going into more detail, that source said that, while other football coaches at Michigan State have spent a lot of time in the office, no one has ever matched the hard work that this team has put in over their first month.

Smith and his trusted team designed and planned every single facet of the recruiting visits. Where to eat, what to do, how to sell MSU. They didn't have time to find out and mirror how it's been done at MSU before – so they just did what they knew worked for them. And they trusted the professionals who were already on campus to fill in the blanks.

The results speak for themselves. Not only has MSU vaulted up the recruiting rankings, but the coaching staff has remained true to its word in letting current players figure out their best way forward – and many of the most talented have chosen to remain at Michigan State.

Shortly after their arrival in East Lansing, the staff met with every member of the Michigan State team. Their message was honest and straightforward, explaining they understood what the players had gone through this year with the firing of their coach, the pulling of name, image and likeness (NIL) money, and just the general upheaval that they had worked their way through. The staff made it clear to the players that they were going to be very fair to the current players as they figured out what was best for everyone’s future, whether that be in East Lansing or somewhere else.

Many players looked around and saw all new faces – 100% of the people who recruited them were no longer there. So, the coaching staff wanted them to understand that it would take some time for them to make adjustments and decisions – and that that was OK.

Smith and his team made it clear that the entire roster could use the transfer portal system for what many believe it was designed for: student-athletes came here under one coach, one coach promised them all of these things, they built relationships with that staff and coach – and then that all changed. The student-athletes should have the opportunity to re-evaluate these things.

And that is what has happened – and is still happening.

Not only did MSU’s student-athletes get the opportunity to re-evaluate their options, it gave Smith’s new staff a chance to build relationships. Smith talked to the guys in the portal every single day, a couple times per day in fact. They gave him a chance to talk about his program and what his future plans are going to be. In the end, they all used the system for what it’s for – after all, players come to a coaching staff, to a relationship. They needed to make sure that it was still a good fit or see if there is a better fit out there for them somewhere else.

Sources told Spartans Illustrated that the players remained open to listening to Smith and to building their relationship with him. The fact that so many decided to come back made it obvious that they liked being Spartans, they liked the community, they liked being here. These guys came back because of Michigan State – they gave Smith the opportunity to sell them on playing in a system that gives them a chance to be successful on and off the field. Smith also showed them that he and his team have a track record of putting guys in the pros. The players who returned saw this is an opportunity to come back to a place they had committed to and to be successful under a different regime.

There was no panic.

While some people were almost panicking internally – how many offensive linemen went in the portal? Who is going to block for us next year? – Smith held steady. He told his team that players going into the portal is a good thing for them – “let them go ahead and look, and we’ll slowly build these relationships.”

Smith simply recruited them back. Incrementally.

Many folks mentioned to Spartans Illustrated that spending this time with current players is a glimpse of how Smith is going to build relationships with high school kids as he builds out his program in East Lansing.

In fact, folks had plenty of things to say about Smith, and it was generally all positive. Here is what some of those in the football building had to say about the new man in charge:

“He is a breath of fresh air.”

“He’s a strategic thinker. He’s not a spur-of-the-moment kind of guy.”

“When it comes to the transfer portal, he’s not looking at shiny objects. He’s looking at how people will fit in and how it will work, long-term.”

“He doesn’t make moves just because it looks good right now – even with his staff. That’s why he hasn’t filled those two (coaching) positions.”

“When he is making personnel moves, he is a deep, deep thinker.”

“He cares. Even though he’s getting paid. It’s still clear that he cares. A guy that has no connection to our program cares to build a good program.”

In our conversations with sources in the football program, the main topic that everyone kept coming around to is the staff’s commitment to develop a deep connection with the players. Relationships are the foundation for this class. That’s how the coaches and recruiting staff led the charge at Oregon State, and that is how they are setting the foundation for the program here.

All in all, the meshing of the incoming staff with the staff that is already on campus was easier than was expected.

The football staff whom Smith inherited are generally viewed from the Oregon State folks as “hungry and ready to work.” Since the existing staff is already big on relationships, that makes the job easier for the new staff.

In fact, Spartans Illustrated is told that the existing staff are taking Smith’s lead: being genuine with people and building relationships. The shared goal is to “surround the student-athletes with a great team of coaches, great team of developers of young men – that’s what will make recruits want to become a Spartan.”

Smith’s staff put their own twist on everything that they found in East Lansing and worked really hard to elevate relationships. One of the most impressive things to the new staff members is the fact that, over the first three to four weeks, everyone has shown a willingness to pitch in, and the new incoming staff loves that the most.

“You can’t go wrong when everyone is pitching in for a common goal and going beyond the job description.”

That’s what the first month under Jonathan Smith looks like in a nutshell – a new task, a new goal to try to convince these young men that this is the place for them. In hearing from the kids and hearing from others around town, the relationships truly matter, and the Smith era couldn’t have gotten off to a much better start in that regard.

Smith will be engaging with former players the right way, and he has a plan for that over the next several months. More than just giving them tickets and inviting them to practice, he wants to make them feel comfortable that this is their program. It is noted within the football building that Smith spent six years at his alma mater, so he understands what it’s like to be engaged as a former player.

Sources told Spartans Illustrated that, while Smith will obviously make mistakes just like everyone does, the key is that he is authentic. Those in the Spartan community will like his vulnerability.

Smith has made strides in the NIL space as well, even though those details are still coming together. Sources say that MSU’s NIL will be stronger than ever, and the athletic department is preparing to announce something in the next several weeks. An intentional approach to NIL will clear up the confusion that has existed over the last couple months, and sources indicate that Haller will be more involved as it evolves.

In today’s day and age, it is clear: you don’t land top tier guys without having strong NIL offerings. The money has never been an issue in East Lansing – it was the process and system that needed to be buttoned up.

To that end, Haller getting more hands on is going to be beneficial. The head football coach’s role is to make sure that donors know that they have to give – and Smith has made that a top priority in his first 30 days. He is planning on expounding on it over the next couple months as well to help drive home that point. His role is to educate the supporter base on the current landscape of college football and why NIL is important. Sources say that he has been doing just that and doing it well. It was a piece that was missing before, but no longer. It’s already working with recruiting and is expected to get even better as Smith gets his footing.

Spartans Illustrated will have much more on this topic over the coming weeks.

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