Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles (2) talks to Western Michigan head coach Lance Taylor after 23-6 win at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Friday, August 29, 2025. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jump in Maturity for MSU QB is Clear

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Michael Woodworth | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 7:00 AM ET

Last season, Michigan State had a lot of players with inexperience, and it affected their play substantially, with lots of turnovers and mistakes throughout their games and season overall.

The first example of this would be MSU's first game against Florida Atlantic in Week 1, a 16-10 win for the Spartans. This game was extremely sloppy for MSU, as it found itself handing out turnovers to the Owls left and right. In that game, MSU quarterback Aidan Chiles, who was playing his first game as a full-time starter and with a new program, found himself never comfortable throwing the ball. The pass blocking aspect for this game was giving him struggles.

FAU isn't a Power Four school, but it gave MSU problems throughout the entire game. Chiles had limited time to throw, and many times this resulted in him making subpar decisions and putting his throws in jeopardy of being picked off; eventually, they were indeed picked off. Chiles ended up throwing a subpar completion percentage with 10-24 in the air, totaling 114 passing yards, along with his two interceptions.

This game showcased how inexperienced Chiles was and what he needed to grow on. Coach Jonathan Smith left that game with a win, but not a very good-looking one at that. Chiles was going to need to grow throughout the season and develop his football IQ and playmaking abilities along the way.

The immaturity caught up to him in the next week when they faced Boston College and lost. This was a devastating loss and one that really hurt their bowl game chances. In the Big Ten, the conference games are so competitive that it is essential to win all of your out-of-conference games. Throughout the second half of the season, Chiles, for the most part, cut down on his turnovers and bad decisions gradually as the season progressed, and it looked as if he would make a significant leap into the 2025 season.

Western Michigan

In the Spartans' game against Western Michigan. MSU fans and Aidan Chiles critics wanted to see if the quarterback would make that maturity leap over the offseason and become a reliable quarterback.

A takeaway from this game is that Chiles has made this growth and was making smart decisions with the ball. Chiles, on occasion, threw the ball away instead of trying to force something that had a high likelihood of being a turnover. That was a frequent occurrence last year as a Spartan. You can't judge a season or the future of it based on one game, but the improvements from the offseason are clear, and Chiles looks like he can be a threat for opposing defenses this season.