Where MSU's Chiles Ranks Among Conference QBs Heading into Camp

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Jul 27, 2025 9:19 PM ET

We're nearly a month away from the start of college football, and fall camp begins this week.

Final rankings and predictions are being made, and Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles may be starting to gain some respect.

Chiles is in a conference that has a plethora of talent at quarterback, which makes it difficult to rank.

But CBS Sports recently gave a crack at it as we get ready to turn the page from offseason speculation and hypotheticals to real football.

Chiles came in at 11, which Spartan fans may disagree with, but his potential is starting to be recognized.

"As a first-year starter playing for an unestablished program, things went about like we probably should have expected for Chiles last season," wrote CBS Sports David Cobb. "There were flashes of promise but also some facepalm moments during his redshirt freshman season.

"But Chiles is now in his third season with offensive-minded head coach Jonathan Smith and offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren after following them from Oregon State. The Spartans also have a nice group of pass-catchers in the fold, and the offensive line has nowhere to go but up. This should be a season of significant progression."

Chiles gets a lot of criticism for his 2024 season, but it was a major adjustment, and Smith understands that.

"I got a bunch of respect for him (Chiles) and credit for him because, yeah, he had some outstanding plays and some plays that were not good enough," Smith said at Big Ten Football Media Days Thursday. "It's our job as coaches to make sure we're surrounding him with, one, the line of scrimmage and those other 10 guys on that offense making sure we're putting him in the best positions to have success.

"I look at him statistically from the first half of the season to the second half. It was a whole lot better in the second half. He was improving. Some of that I respect I got for him because it wasn't always easy.

"Year 1, new staff, new scheme, new school for him. All of that, he was handling. The guy is a big-time teammate and competitor. I look forward to seeing him in Year 2.

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