When brand new Michigan State head football coach Jonathan Smith arrived in East Lansing in late November, he had a tall task ahead of him. In just a little over three weeks, he needed to assemble the bulk of a recruiting class for a school that he was just getting to know.

Skip ahead just 25 days and Coach Smith was standing at the podium in the Tom and Lupe Izzo Family Media Room in Spartan Stadium, talking about the newest group of Spartan signees. The total group includes 18 high school seniors who signed National Letters of Intent (NLI) on Dec. 20.

Meanwhile, one additional recruit, linebacker Jadyn Walker, plans to sign in February. While he currently remains committed to the Spartans, Walker is also being heavily pursued by USC. At least five transfers and one preferred walk-on (likely many more) are expected to join the roster for the 2024 season as well.

At the time of Smith's press conference, 16 prospects were officially signed.

Smith admitted to the media that the class and the performance of his staff has exceeded expectations so far. So how did Smith and his staff pull it off? He believes that it is due to a combination of being able to sell Michigan State as a university and as a community, and he himself being able to sell his vision of where the Spartans are headed.

The Michigan State community is still very new to Smith, but he is getting a crash course. While he admits that he hasn't had a chance to see all of campus yet, he is making progress. A big part of getting acclimated as to what it means to be a Spartan has been attending some of the other sporting events on campus.

"The basketball games and the hockey game, that's been fun," Smith said. "I plan on getting to more and more (of those) when it somewhat slows down for me."

Smith mentioned that the games have been a great chance to meet people. He also specifically wanted to extend his thanks to the Spartan community for making him, his family and his staff feel welcome in East Lansing so far.

Beyond shaking hands at sporting event, Coach Smith reminded the media that his task over the past few weeks has been similar to the task that athletic director Alan Haller had in trying to sell the benefits of Michigan State University to a certain young football coach from the West Coast.

"There's a lot to sell here," Smith said. "What attracted me to the job is similar to what attracted these recruits.

"I think Michigan State sells itself with so much. The facility upgrades have been phenomenal. You get these guys on campus (and they see) the educational opportunities, the academic support (and) the support from the fan base that is passionate."

In addition to the many benefits that Michigan State can offer, Smith pointed out that he and his staff have a proven track record of success, and that they bring a tough-minded brand of football that is a good fit in the Big Ten. At the same time, they will be bringing something new.

"Everyone in the locker is starting at the same level," Smith said. "I think it'll be a good opportunity (for a) fresh start."

The word "opportunity" was one that Smith used at least six times in the 24 minutes that he spoke to the media on Wednesday. He even used if in reference to the quarterback room, which was empty when Coach Smith arrived on campus.

"I wanted to flip that perspective," he said. "It is actually a great opportunity to recruit, right? You are trying to draw quarterbacks at that position when there's no one in currently in the room, that's attractive to players."

The other word that Smith used over half a dozen times on Wednesday was "development," in reference to high school prospects, transfer and even walk-ons.

"We want to be a place of development," he said. "The longer you have the player to develop, the better and better he's going to get."

Coach Smith spent a significant amount of time on Wednesday commenting on some of the individual players who had just signed National Letters of Intent. Based on NCAA rules, coaches cannot comment on any high school prospects until that paperwork is complete.

Here is what Smith said about some of the members of the 2024 Michigan State recruiting class.

On wide receiver Nick Marsh from River Rouge, Michigan:

"From the get-go, you talk about a good young man. He's humble, well-spoken, (and he has) really loved Michigan State for a while now. (We're) getting to know him and what he values. He helped us recruit at the same time, so he's been a great teammate in that way. We met his mom, 'Mama Tron,' as well, and she's been helpful in the recruiting process as well."

On tight end Wyatt Hook from Cupertino, California:

"Wyatt we've known for a while. He's physical, but is athletic and can catch the ball. Size-wise, he's what we're looking for: length, weight, height and all of that. With the background we've had offensively with the tight end spot, we feel like he's a perfect fit."

On running backs Makhi Frazier from McKinney, Texas and Brandon Tullis from Frisco, Texas, and whether either might be able to moonlight as linebackers:

"We love running backs that have some versatility. Both Brandon and Makhi have some physicality to them. That stands out in that they're similar. Good high school players, especially running backs, should have the capabilities to play some defense at the high school level, but currently the plan is for them to carry the ball."

On defensive lineman Kekai Burnett and offensive lineman Rustin Young, both of whom hail from Hawaii:

"There's a history there (of Hawaiian players at Michigan State) so that helped to an extent. Both of the players coming over from Hawaii we've known deeply now for a long time. (They) make it physical at the line of scrimmage. We're interested in diversity and would love to start inside out location-wise, but we're going to go where we need to go to find players."

On offensive lineman and twin brothers Charlton and Mercer Luniewski from Cincinnati, Ohio:

"(They are) physical and athletic at the line of scrimmage. They both have great personalities and they're tied at the hip. They also were a part of helping us recruit. They've been there with this place for a long time. I'm getting to know them on a personal level, and I'm excited about them joining us."

On quarterback Ryland Jessee from San Diego, California.

"Ryland we've known for a longer time. He's athletic and can throw it. I've seen him a couple of times and we were chasing him at Oregon State for a while. We built a relationship. (He comes from a) football family. Good football there."

On quarterback Alessio Milivojevic from Wheaton, Illinois.

"I've been getting to know him over the last two weeks. On tape, this guy can make throws down the field, which we want to be able to do in this offense. I think that guy is a football nut. He studies it and knows it inside and out."

On what as a former quarterback Coach Smith looks for in is signal callers.

"They can come in all shapes and sizes. Size does help. I try to simplify it down to this: we're looking for a shortstop in regard to the skill set, movement-wise, (who) can make plays in the hole, but they can still make that big time throw. We're not looking for a third baseman, overly, but they've got to be able to play that side of the field to make the throw."

With the 2024 recruiting class now mostly in place, it is time for Smith and his staff to shore up the rest of the roster. This includes potentially bringing new players in from the transfer portal between now and next August ,but also "trying to recruit and retain the current roster."

Coach Smith interestingly said, "We're definitely aggressively trying to retain a few, not all, but a few" of the current Spartans in the transfer portal.

"We understood the situation that those guys had been through previously," Smith continued. "That's the landscape now in college football. You can go and explore options. I think it was pretty clear to them that if you're going to go into portal, it's my responsibility to actively work to replace them."

One thing that was also clear from the signing day press conference was a sense of urgency from Smith to win and to win now.

"We're not going to sit here and be overly-patient," Smith said. "We're trying to build something quick and be really, really competitive this fall.

"We want to be consistent. We're going to aggressively attack to develop, and through development, these guys will be playing the best football they can. I'm excited about that opportunity. This roster, what it will look like come this summer, (I'm) confident that we will put a really competitive product out there. (I'm) not overly-patient in regard to that. We're not just casually going in with mindset of like, 'OK, year three, we gotta get this thing going.'"

In other words, as far as head coach Jonathan Smith is concerned, the future in East Lansing is now.

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