REPORT: Michigan State's Outlook Within the Big Ten
Michigan State and Coach Jonathan Smith are entering the first season of what they hope will be a relatively quick rebuilding of the school’s football program.
As Coach Smith and his coaching staff begin what will likely be an uphill battle, ESPN Staff Writer Bill Connelly took the time to rank Michigan State’s outlook for the upcoming season within the Big Ten.
Connelly gave a fair assessment, listing Michigan State under the “Just Looking for a Path to 6-6” category. Considering how talented the Big Ten is as a whole and the difficulties Coach Smith will have in their first season at Michigan State, it is fair to say Michigan State will have to dig deep to reach the six-win mark and secure a bowl bid in Coach Smith’s first season in East Lansing.
“Jonathan Smith pulled off an epic rebuild at Oregon State,” Connelly said. “He's taking on another one in East Lansing, and it might take him a little while to get things going. Only five regulars and three starters return from an offense that collapsed to 122nd in offensive SP+; the defense was decent, but only seven of 15 players with 200 snaps return there, too.”
Connelly noted the talent Michigan State has on defense this season after finishing with one of the better transfer portal classes in the country. Connelly believes Michigan State’s defense is ahead of its offense as they prepare to play one of the most challenging schedules in the country.
“The defense was further along than the offense, but it still says something that Smith felt the need to bring in 15 transfers for proven coordinator Joe Rossi,” Connelly said. “The line gets a complete makeover, but Smith found a potential gem in Middle Tennessee end Quindarius Dunnigan (8.5 TFLs, 11 run stops), and sophomore holdover Jalen Thompson was good in a small sample. The linebacking corps could get a boost from ODU linebacker Wayne Matthews III (10.5 TFLs, 21 run stops), too, and the combination of UCF safety Nikai Martinez and Arizona State corner Ed Woods with returning safety Angelo Grose and corners Chance Rucker and Dillon Tatum could give the Spartans a particularly disruptive secondary.
“It's harder to find room for immediate optimism on offense because of just how dire things got last season, but I like the moves Smith made. He added both a veteran quarterback in North Dakota's Tommy Schuster (one of my favorite FCS QBs the past few years) and a blue-chip sophomore in Oregon State's Aidan Chiles. To the skill corps, he added 1,100-yard rusher Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams (UMass) and tight end Jack Velling (Oregon State) and held on to leading receiver Montorie Foster Jr. There's potential there, but only one of seven linemen with at least 200 snaps returns, and Smith signed only three transfer linemen. Depth up front is beyond tenuous.”
While Chiles is undoubtedly talented, Connelly believes his inexperience is worth monitoring. The quarterback saw few plays at quarterback while at Oregon State. However, Connelly noted that Chiles performed well when he did get playing time.
“One of Smith's more highly touted OSU signees, Chiles saw only 94 snaps while backing up D.J. Uiagalelei last season, but he was outstanding,” Connelly said. “He completed 24 of 35 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns and, outside of four sacks (admittedly far too many for 42 dropbacks), rushed 13 times for 107 yards. If he doesn't run himself into too many sacks, he could single-handedly drag the MSU offense toward competence.”
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EZEKIEL TREZEVANT
Ezekiel is a former Sports Editor from the Western Herald and former Atlanta Falcons beat writer.