Jonathan Smith is beginning to put together his coaching staff at Michigan State and Spartans Illustrated alongside our Oregon State site BeaversEdge has been working hard to see which Oregon State assistant coaches will be making the jump to East Lansing alongside Smith.
Please note that none of these moves are final and things could still change but this is what our sources are indicating so far.
Update: Bray was named head coach at Oregon State
Please note that none of these moves are final and things could still change but this is what our sources are indicating so far.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR - Brian Lindgren
Lindgren will not be a head coach option for the Beavers. He’s headed to East Lansing and will take over as the Spartans offensive coordinator per sources. The Beavers were able to put together top-40 scoring offenses each of the last two seasons under Lindgren despite suboptimal quarterback play at times.OFFENSIVE LINE COACH - Jim Michalczik
One of the best offensive line coaches in the country, Michalczik is expected to join the Spartans staff in East Lansing. The Beavers under Michalczik have been able to put together one of the top offensive lines in the country in each of the last two seasons and is a Broyles Award semifinalist.TIGHT ENDS COACH - Brian Wozniak
Our sources are indicating that Wozniak is expected to make the move East. During his time with the Beavers, Wozniak helped recruit and develop key tight ends such as Luke Musgrave and Jack Velling. It will be interesting to see if 2024 commitment Wyatt Hook or 2025 commitment Baron Naone follow Smith and Wozniak to East Lansing.SECONDARY COACH - Blue Adams
Based off our intel, we are expecting Oregon State secondary coach Blue Adams to also be headed to East Lansing. A tough blow for the Beavers as Adams had been a key part of building one of the best secondaries in the country during his time with the Beavers.RUNNING BACKS COACH - Keith Bhonapha
Bhonapha was a huge hire for a Oregon State last year and while all of his experience has been on the West Coast, we are hearing it’s very likely that he will be on Jonathan Smith’s staff at Michigan State. During his career, the former Hawaii tailback had proven to be a great identifier of talent and has developed that talent into all-conference running backs and more everywhere he’s gone.DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR - Trent Bray
When it comes to Trent Bray, the word has been mum which is intriguing. We believe that the Oregon State alum is a legitimate candidate to become the next head coach in Corvallis. We expect him to at the very least receive an interview for the job. If Bray doesn’t land the job, it seems unlikely he would stay around in Corvallis but it’s worth noting that he has spoke before about just how much he loves Corvallis and that money isn’t a factor. That being said, adding a second comma to that total salary can always make one thing differently. If he doesn’t get the head coaching job, he’ll have his fair share of options including Michigan State.Update: Bray was named head coach at Oregon State
WIDE RECEIVERS COACH - Kefense Hynson
Named the interim head coach, it seems unlikely that Hynson is going to be headed to Michigan State with Jonathan Smith. We have not heard any intel yet that would suggest he is likely to either but that could change .Recruiting personnel
Director of Player Personnel Cole Moore is expected to make the move to East Lansing, we have confirmed. He was a key recruiting hire for Smith in February 2022 for the Beavers. Additionally, it is expected Dan Van De Riet, Smith's right-hand man inside the program will takeover the role of Director of Football Operations for the Spartans as well.
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