Michigan State aiming for turnaround in Smith's 2nd season with returning QB Chiles and trio of WRs

NBC Sports

a day ago

Michigan State's football program is desperately seeking a successful season. Aidan Chiles seems to give the Spartans a shot.
The dual-threat quarterback is back after an uneven season as the starter and said he likes what he sees from his teammates.
'A lot of good energy,' he said. 'It's a different environment for sure. New guys that fit the program and fit the culture.'
Michigan State was 5-7 last year in coach Jonathan Smith's debut season leading a program with only one winning record in a seven-season stretch. Smith, a former Oregon State coach, appeared to have a relatively successful offseason by retaining 70-plus players who decided to stay instead of transferring.
'Everyone chooses what roster they're on,' he said. 'For them to choose us, it's a real thing because they got options to go to other places.'
Smith's seat
Smith is not on the hot seat with decision-makers at Michigan State, but he's working for an athletic director who did not hire him. When the school pulled athletic director J Batt away from Georgia Tech, he acknowledged his top priority is to support the football program.
Batt previously hired Brent Key to lead the Yellow Jackets and he helped them have consecutive winning seasons for the first time in a decade.
Former Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller, who hired Smith, lost his job last May.
Team strengths
Nick Marsh had 41 receptions for 649 yards last year, both records for a Michigan State freshman, and the team landed two receivers in the transfer portal talented enough to be on the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award.
Omari Kelly, who played at Middle Tennessee State and Auburn, former Kent State standout Chrishon McCray and Marsh make wide receiver the team's strongest position group.
The Spartans should also be solid at linebacker with Jordan Hall and Darius Snow leading the way in the middle of the defense.
Question marks
The Spartans will improve their chances of surpassing modest expectations if they establish a running game, rush the passer much better than last year and find a reliable kicker.
Michigan State averaged just 1.58 sacks last season, ranking No. 103 in major college football.
'We felt like that was somewhere we needed to pick it up,' said edge rusher Jalen Thompson, who didn't have a sack in 12 games last year. 'As a defense, we have been holding on to that and focusing on how we can get better.'
Call it a comeback
Michigan State defensive back Armorion Smith is expected to get a chance to play a key role in the secondary. Smith's mother died a little more than a year ago, leaving him as the head of household for five younger siblings and he became the legal guarding for four siblings last September.
The schedule
The Spartans open the season with a Friday night game Aug. 29 at home against Western Michigan. The toughest stretch is playing rival and 14th-ranked Michigan at home Oct. 25, a week after traveling to play No. 20 Indiana.
Michigan State, though, gets a break by not having No. 3 Ohio State, No. 7 Oregon and No. 12 Illinois on the schedule. The Spartans close the regular season inside Ford Field in Detroit against Maryland on Nov. 29, when their students are on Thanksgiving break.