Pat Fitzgerald wants his Michigan State football program to be about relationships.
And with the Spartans’ top-rated recruit in limbo after a coaching change, that meant relying on his new wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins to bridge the gap to keep Samson Gash heading to East Lansing.
It paid off.
Gash signed his letter of intent to join MSU in 2026 on Wednesday, Feb. 4, the first day of the traditional college football signing period. The four-star recruit from Novi Detroit Catholic Central did not sign during the early period, which ran Dec. 3-5 and started two days after Fitzgerald was hired to replace Jonathan Smith.
“It’s been great to get around the state in recruiting,” Fitzgerald said on Wednesday at a signing-day availability. “I alluded to it now numerous times, and hopefully now the high school coaches see we’re backing it up. We’re gonna start and end our recruiting in the state of Michigan.
“Samson obviously is a huge piece of that puzzle today.”
MSU also added in-state priority walk-ons in Muskegon quarterback Peyton Babbit, Redford defensive back Darelle Cochran, East Grand Rapids offensive lineman Cole Bertke and two of Gash’s Catholic Central teammates in defensive back Luca Genrich and running back/safety Cedric Williams Jr. Two other specialists joined the Spartans on Wednesday in long snapper Trey Serauskis from Frankfort, Illinois, and kicker Stephen Gonzales from Monroe, North Carolina.
They join the 18 players who signed in December, which gives MSU the No. 46 recruiting class nationally, according to 247Sports.com’s composite rankings.
Gash is the jewel, however.
The 6-foot, 180-pound wide receiver had 60 catches for 1,010 yards and 14 touchdowns along with 100 rushing yards and a touchdown on 11 attempts to earn captain of the 2025 Free Press Dream Team offense and lead the Shamrocks to a state title in Division 1 with a 14-0 record. Gash also returned three punts for touchdowns and won the state title in the 100 meters last spring. One older brother, Isaiah, played football at Michigan while another, Caleb, finished his third year as a defensive back at MSU. Their father, Sam, played in the NFL and was an assistant coach with the Detroit Lions.
Fitzgerald sat with Samson Gash at the MSU-Michigan basketball game Friday as part of the home stretch to signing day. Gash reopened his recruitment following Jonathan Smith’s firing on Nov. 30, with pursuit from Penn State, Alabama and others following.
“They were talking about actually signing early. They were not sure about where things were at here, even though he was committed,” Fitzgerald said about Gash and his family. “And I just said, ‘Why don’t we hit pause … as we build this relationship and take some time?’ And that’s exactly what we did.”
Fitzgerald said he relied on Hawkins – a former MSU and NFL star receiver who he retained from Smith’s staff – to help keep Gash heading to MSU. Hired in 2020 by Mel Tucker, Hawkins “helped a lot” with Gash, Fitzgerald said, as did bringing in new offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan.
Ultimately, it was up to Fitzgerald to sell his holistic vision of what he wants the Spartans to be moving forward to land Gash, including a home visit with the new head coach and a number of others.
“Samson is obviously the fastest athlete in the state but also one of the fastest in the country,” Fitzgerald said. “So to add that type of dynamic athleticism is exactly what we’re setting out to do with every position. Samson, hopefully, will be a huge catalyst not only for this year but then also to make a statement to the great state of Michigan to stay at home.
“And the great players of the state go to State, right? And that’s what our expectation is from my standpoint – to our personnel staff and to our coaches – that we want to keep our best players home here in the state of Michigan.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Is landing Samson Gash sign of things to come for MSU football?
