Where MSU's Aidan Chiles Thinks He's Grown the Most

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 12:00 AM ET

Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles is less than 48 hours away from beginning his junior season, and the microscope is going to be closely on him.

The second-year Spartan quarterback experienced some growing pains in his first year with the program, and with a full year of starting experience under his belt, fans are going to have less grace and higher expectations.

Fortunately for them, himself and his team, Chiles and the staff have taken the necessary steps to improve his game. And that doesn't just mean physically.

In fact, the area that Chiles feels he is most improved in is "the mental side."

"Just being able to get on the board, seeing defenses before I go out on the field and see them," Chiles said. "And a lot of that is thanks to coach (Jon) Boyer. Him coming in and just helping me in the time people don't see -- late nights and the early mornings when we come in and talk to each other just one on one and really just take a deep dive into what we're going to see this week or see any week, really. Just going to continue from there."

From what has been said by Chiles and the staff, it seems as though coach Boyer could be the quarterback's saving grace. He joined the staff as the team's quarterbacks coach this winter and had previously served under Jonathan Smith at Oregon State and was there during Chiles' freshman season.

Chiles even went as far as to say back in the spring that his initial reaction to the Boyer hire was that it "was the best thing to have ever happened to (him)" since joining the Spartans.

The veteran quarterback's maturity is a trait that has stood out as well, a quality that was highlighted by offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren early in fall camp.

Coach Smith has noticed a change in Chiles' command of the offense as well.

"I think there's been an approach to him (Chiles) this fall camp," Smith said last week. "Even back to spring ball, a little bit of ... the focus and really locking in on his responsibilities. I think in the scrimmages, he's taking care of the ball. That's been good to see in two scrimmages.

"Now, again, we aren't tackling yet and all that, but I've seen growth. You can feel some command out there. We have a scrimmage situation, down and distance, and the ball moves, that kind of thing. I mean, anticipating calls, coming out in the huddle, it's crisp, he gets to the line of scrimmage, and getting us in the right play, all of that has grown."

Michigan State has faith in Aidan Chiles, and based on his growth this offseason, the rest of the college football world should take notice.