Jonathan Smith Says Oregon State Exit Was "Painful"
In an interview published Wednesday with The Oregonian's Bill Oram, Michigan State head football coach Jonathan Smith addressed his exit from the Oregon State program that he led for six seasons.
Smith described the exit as "painful" despite the speed and manner of Smith's actions departure irking many of the program's biggest fans.
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Here are a few of the key quotes from the article:
"It was painful to leave. Painful."
“But at the same time, I’m competitive. I wasn’t trying to just get out of Dodge. When you looked at Michigan State, it fit."
“I felt like this was a really good fit to compete at this level. Call it what it is, security of the conference thing. I had to make a tough, tough call.”
Smith left Oregon State for Michigan State in November after amassing an overall record of 34-35 with three straight bowl trips after the program missed the postseason seven years in a row. Smith was also a four-year starter at quarterback for Oregon State from 1997-2001.
The Beavers replaced Smith with defensive coordinator Trent Bray, who begins his first season as OSU's head coach on August 31 when they host Idaho State.
Joe Londergan joined the SI brand in 2023 with G5 Football Daily. With over 15 years of experience in covering and working directly in college and pro sports, Joe's expertise has been featured in Front Office Sports, SB Nation, and XRAY.FM. He is a member of both the Football Writers' Association of America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. Joe holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville and a master's degree in sports administration from Seattle University. Outside of his writing career, Joe enjoys golfing, although he admits that while he hits driver decently, his short game is a liability.