Michigan State football receives A+ grade for Jonathan Smith hire

Michigan State football fans like the Jonathan Smith hire and apparently national media members do, too.

For days, Michigan State football fans have been raving about Alan Haller’s ability to seal the deal with his top coaching target. Sure, there were other names thrown out there like Urban Meyer or Mike Elko, but it seems like Haller prioritized Smith from the get-go.

And he went out and got his guy.

Smith has only been in East Lansing for a couple of days, but he’s already getting to work. He’s making assistant hires, he’s meeting with current players, and he’s putting together a recruiting strategy. There are a lot of moving parts still, but he seems to be doing everything correctly and in a timely manner. From the early stages, it feels like Smith was a great hire. I mean, what other coaches could turn Oregon State around like he did? Not many.

Everyone has been singing the praises of Michigan State for this hire. The Spartans got a hard-nosed coach who knows how to build a program and a culture. He’s known for doing things the right way. Fans love this hire. And, apparently, some national media members do, too.

According to Barrett Sallee of CBS Sports, Michigan State won the coaching carousel — at least to this point. He gave the Spartans an A+ for landing Smith from Oregon State.

Here’s what Sallee had to say:

Smith is the perfect hire for Michigan State. The former Oregon State quarterback rebuilt the Beavers program into a consistent team despite challenges in the recruiting department. Michigan State is bound to be a developmental program in the new-look Big Ten, and Smith has proven that he’s one of the best at developing talent throughout his coaching career.

Sallee loves the idea of Smith coming in and having better resources. He still thinks Smith will be an elite developer of talent. Sound like a recent coach you know? My mind immediately went to Mark Dantonio.

If Smith could even be a fraction as successful as Dantonio, we’ll be in good shape.

I think Michigan State got the right coach to lead the program into the new Big Ten.