EAST LANSING – Everything old is new again.
A new coach seeking a return to past glory. A new quarterback looking to prove himself. Massive roster turnover with a lot of new faces, from many different places.
And a lot of the same concerns that have been prevalent for Michigan State football since the late 2010s and the end of College Football Hall of Famer Mark Dantonio’s legendary tenure. A golden era Jonathan Smith hopes to return the Spartans to.
Someday. Maybe soon, maybe not.
For now, much like in 2007 when Dantonio took over a program left in tatters (from a different Smith, John L.) and eventually turned it into a multi-time Big Ten champion and national title contender, the building blocks for the new Smith are clear.
The first step to achieving close to what Dantonio did – making a bowl game in all but one of his 13 seasons, winning three Big Ten titles and earning a spot in the four-team College Football Playoff – is to rediscover consistency at the granular level.
“We want to be in a constant state of improvement and build it the right way,” Smith said last week at Big Ten media days in Indianapolis.
MSU opens practice Tuesday morning, one month out from the Friday night Aug. 30 season-opener at home against Florida Atlantic (7 p.m./Big Ten Network). Here are five storylines to follow as the Spartans prepare to see if Smith 2.0 can become extraordinary like Dantonio did.
Regime change
A year ago, Mel Tucker arrived at the start of practice for the 2023 season dealing with questions about his quarterback, offensive line, running game and defense coming off a second season in three years without going to a bowl game.
“Oftentimes,” Tucker said at Big Ten media days in July 2023, “you have to get kicked in the face before you can be great.”
Plenty more face-kicking ensued. For the coach, the team and the university.
Two games into the season, Tucker was suspended and eventually got the boot after embarrassing Title IX allegations of off-field indiscretions, sending an already wobbly program into a downward spiral. MSU missed the postseason again and finished 4-8, with interim head coach and alum Harlon Barnett and all but one coach from Tucker’s staff dismissed after the season.
Enter Smith, whose job now is to clean up a mess on both sides of the ball.
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MSU’s offense scored just 15.9 points per game, the Spartans’ lowest average since 1991, and averaged a program-worst 89.5 rushing yards. Their defense gave up a school record 713 yards against CFP runner-up Washington and allowed more than 413 yards per game in four years under Tucker, a former NFL and college defensive coordinator. MSU got outscored 170-10 and outgained 2,306-693 in four games last fall against the Huskies, national champion Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.
“All of us are competitive, so we don’t have a long patience for (not) playing quality football,” Smith said. “At the same time, I think you’re always building. You’re starting somewhere, you’re going to create a foundation, and then you’re building off of that. So I’m looking forward to that approach of we built something before.
“Not going to panic on the first adversity we see – understanding that, yeah, sometimes there is a process to it.”
Like Tucker did after his pandemic-disrupted first season in 2020, Smith and his staff are undergoing a massive roster overhaul. The Spartans have lost 38 players to the transfer portal, including more than a dozen with starting experience at MSU, since last season. That includes 21 since the spring. The new staff brought in 24 replacements via the portal, as well as a group of freshmen who could see the field early out of necessity.
How all those new faces gel on the field remains to be seen, as does whether Smith’s offensive-minded approach will play in the smashmouth Big Ten. So what does a successful debut look like for Smith?
“Winning. Winning more than we lose,” he said. “Playing our best football at the end of the year. We want to be in a constant state of improvement.”
Chiles’ time
Easily, the Spartans’ biggest offseason roster addition is transfer quarterback Aidan Chiles, who followed Smith from Oregon State after seeing action in nine games last season as a true freshman. The 6-foot-3, 217-pound California native was ranked the No. 8 transfer, according to 247Sports.com’s portal rankings.
Chiles takes over a quarterback spot that was a disaster last season after Payton Thorne’s post-spring transfer to Auburn in 2023. Former Dantonio recruit Noah Kim started early and was overmatched against Power Five competition before getting hurt, then redshirt freshman Katin Houser took over and struggled mightily. Those two, along with true freshman Sam Leavitt, all bolted for the portal shortly after Smith’s hiring, which came a day after MSU’s season ended with a 42-0 loss to Penn State on Nov. 24.
It was the final mark of the Tucker ear, as his staff went out with a splat that told the story of the post-Dantonio era – a third shutout defeat in four seasons and second of 2023, the Spartans’ worst single-game offensive output in program history (53 yards gained), the second-lowest single-game rushing total (minus-35 yards) and the fourth-fewest first downs in a game (five). Houser transferred to East Carolina, Kim left for to Coastal Carolina, and Leavitt went to Arizona State.
With Chiles, though, comes renewed hope for marked improvement in production. At Oregon State last season, Chiles was 24-for-35 passing (68.6%) for 309 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran 17 times for 79 yards and three touchdowns. However, he has yet to start or play a full game and only has 91 snaps of collegiate experience.
“He’s gifted at throwing the ball, he can move his feet, but he has a deep passion for this game. He likes studying it, and I think he’s got some instincts to play in the game,” Smith said of Chiles. “Yes, he’s still a youngster. He had some action last year, but we’re looking forward to seeing how him playing full-time, how he continues to grow and gives us a chance to score some points.”
Should Chiles falter or get hurt, the Spartans brought in another transfer, Tommy Schuster, who started all 42 games the past four seasons for North Dakota in the Football Championship Subdivision. Two true freshmen who enrolled in January, Alessio Milivojevic and Ryland Jesse, are behind the top two. But during spring practices, by all accounts, Smith appears ready to roll with the dual-threat talent of Chiles, regardless of potential developmental speed bumps that may occur.
Trench turnover
Chiles’ legs could be critical. And necessary for survival to avoid injury.
MSU lost five of its top offensive linemen from a year ago to transfer – two veteran starters in right tackle Spencer Brown (Oklahoma) and right guard Geno VanDeMark (Alabama), two emerging youngsters in Ethan Boyd (Colorado) and Kevin Wigenton II (Illinois), and 2022 junior college All-American Keyshawn Blackstock (Arkansas). Two other starters, center Nick Samac and left guard J.D. Duplain, graduated.
That leaves left tackle Brandon Baldwin as the lone returning starter, though backup center Dallas Fincher started the 2023 opener with Samac hurt.
Chiles’ development should be aided by a familiar face and hands. Tanner Miller also stuck with Smith and transferred from Oregon State, where he served as the Beavers’ backup center and worked extensively with Chiles on their No. 2 offensive unit. Luke Newman also arrived this summer and is expected to compete for one of the guard spots after transferring in from lower-division Holy Cross.
A number of young Tucker recruits also will push for time, including tackles Ashton Lepo and Stanton Ramil and guards Kristian Phillips and Gavin Broscious. But the depth up front is as tenuous as it is unproven.
Trench turnover, too
Smith and new defensive coordinator Joe Rossi looked to build from the interior along the defensive line when both Simeon Barrow and Derrick Harmon withdrew from the transfer portal in the winter and Maverick Hansen decided to return for his sixth season of eligibility.
Until both Barrow (Miami-Florida) and Harmon (Oregon) again entered the portal and left the program following spring practices, leaving a massive gap in the middle of a rebuilding defense.
Hansen is a proven and productive veteran who started four games last season and eight in his career. The Spartans filled their immediate needs via the portal, adding D’Quan Douse (Georgia Tech), Ru’Quan Buckley (Nebraska), Ben Roberts (Oregon) and Jalen Satchell (Old Dominion/Temple). One-time four-star prospect Alex VanSumeren, who has battled injuries in his two years since arriving at MSU, and converted offensive lineman Ben Nelson also add depth and youth.
New stars?
Some big-time play-makers remained and will be pivotal this fall.
Veteran Cal Haladay and second-year star-in-the-making Jordan Hall will be defensive anchors at linebacker. Dillon Tatum can play a number of positions in the secondary, and safety Malik Spencer could be the best potential pro prospect on the defense. Nathan Carter returns for his second year starting at running back, and athletic wideouts Montorie Foster Jr. and Jaron Glover should see more balls thrown their way.
But there are a number of emerging upstarts and newcomers worth keeping an eye on.
Freshman Nick Marsh impressed during the spring after enrolling in January, and he and third-year sophomore Antonio Gates Jr. are breakout candidates at wide receiver. Chance Rucker emerged at cornerback as a true freshman last season, and he will compete with oft-injured Charles Brantley and inbound Arizona State transfer Ed Woods for a starting job.
Another Oregon State transfer, Jack Velling, will replace departed starters Maliq Carr and Evan Morris at tight end and arrives as a potential Mackey Award candidate. Running back Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams will help Carter in the backfield, and the Massachusetts transfer has Big Ten experience from the early part of his career at Rutgers. And defensive end Quindarius Dunningan will get a chance to emerge as a pass-rush presence at defensive end after arriving from Middle Tennessee State, joining veteran Khris Bogle and up-and-coming youngsters Jalen Thompson and Ken Talley on the edge.
For openers: Owls
Matchup: Michigan State (4-8 in 2023) vs. Florida Atlantic (4-8 in 2023).
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Aug. 30; Spartan Stadium, East Lansing.
TV/radio: Big Ten Network; WJR-AM (760).
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football: 5 storylines to watch under Jonathan Smith
