Michigan State football head coach Jonathan Smith looks on during practice on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in East Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Biggest Benefits for MSU in Smith's Second Year

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Carter Landis | Last updated Aug 15, 2025 6:00 AM ET

The Michigan State Spartans are preparing for the 2025 season, as Jonathan Smith enters his second season leading the team.

Things started off promisingly for Smith and the Spartans in his first go-around, but they quickly collapsed towards the end of the season, prompting MSU to miss a bowl game for the third consecutive season.

After the final whistle against Rutgers last November, Smith got to work on fixing the roster. He knew the team needed to improve in several areas, so he hit the transfer portal hard and recruited well at the high school level.

Now, the Spartans are ready to make a statement to college football in Smith’s second season. What are the biggest tell-tale signs that the team will improve in 2025?

Let’s break down why we will see a better MSU squad.

A more comfortable Aidan Chiles

The Spartans’ season hinges on the development of their star quarterback.

Chiles made some incredible plays last season, along with some frustrating and head-scratching ones. He is a supremely talented football player, but he made far too many mental mistakes in his first year as a starter.

MSU put a better team around Chiles this offseason and reunited him with Jon Boyer, who worked with him at Oregon State. All these factors should lead to Chiles being more comfortable and confident, which will, in turn, result in more points on the board.

System familiarity

The Spartans’ offensive and defensive players are settling into their coordinators’ systems with a year under their belts.

MSU’s offense struggled to run the ball or protect Chiles, while the defense could not sack the quarterback. Both things should improve as players learn their roles and understand their assignments better.

Brian Lindgren and Joe Rossi are good coordinators, and they have talent in their respective units. We will see players look much more comfortable in their systems this season.

Understanding of rivalries

Spartan fans hope last year’s loss to Michigan truly crystallized Smith’s understanding of that rivalry.

The game plan to beating the Wolverines was simple, yet the Spartans did not execute. Many fans also thought Smith did not take the rivalry as seriously as an MSU head coach should.

Now that he has seen the reaction from fans and how angry his players got after the loss, Smith knows the game against Michigan means a little extra. Will he try to stoke the fires that week?

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