MSU Football's Jonathan Smith: Aiden Chiles has "advantage" in QB battle
Michigan State head football coach Jonathan Smith offered a refreshing amount of honesty when asked about the Spartans' quarterback battle on the eve of spring practice.
While Smith didn't outright name Oregon State transfer Aiden Chiles the Spartans' starter for 2024, he acknowledged the sophomore has an advantage over fellow transfer QB Tommy Schuster and incoming freshmen Alessio Milivojevic and Ryland Jessee.
"I'd describe it as an upset if he's not [the starter]," Smith said of Chiles. "Again, we're going to give an opportunity to those guys to get out there and compete and get reps and all those things."
Smith said Chiles' advantage comes from already having a year of experience within the offensive system Michigan State will run under offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren, who spent the prior six seasons at Oregon State with Smith.
"He knows the terminology already. I'm excited for him, being a first year last year to taking another step in Year 2," Smith said of Chiles. "The leadership will come through because of his understanding, comfort-level of the scheme, but also his experience. And, he understands it's not just about him — it's the guys around him and the other QBs in the room."
Smith was complimentary of the three other quarterbacks his staff recruited to Michigan State as well, noting their ambition to get up to speed within the offense.
"Those guys have been working really hard," Smith said. "They've been meeting, getting around Coach Lindgren, trying to learn as much as they can on this offense and stuff. So, I'm anxious to see them go tomorrow."
Schuster's four years of starting experience at North Dakota will be valuable for Michigan State, even if he does in fact wind up as the backup to Chiles. The graduate senior completed 67% of his throws while passing for 9,075 yards and 63 touchdowns across 45 games with the Fighting Hawks. Milivojevic and Jessee, a pair of three-star 2024 recruits, are just beginning their development but could be MSU's future at the position.
"I look at Tommy's experience and what he's done at another place for a long period of time, he's got some proven experience in doing it," Smith said. "And there's reasons why we recruited other kids, to give them the opportunity to become the guy."
With that said, there's little doubt Chiles is the frontrunner for Michigan State's starting job. The sophomore was the crown jewel of Smith's 2023 recruiting class at Oregon State and, on paper, he's also Michigan State's most gifted prospect as a former four-star and Top 150 recruit.
By Smith's account, Chiles has taken a humble approach to his role in Michigan State's quarterback room, and he's an easy guy for the rest of MSU's players to get along with.
"He's a great person," Smith said of Chiles. "Guys like to be around him, just enjoy his temperament. Football means a ton, but he doesn't take it too seriously. I think he's fitting in really well...I think about Aedan and his progression, where he's headed, [we] feel confident he can be a really good player."
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