EAST LANSING — After a few morning snow flurries gave way, the clouds broke long enough for the Jonathan Smith era of Michigan State football to begin with some sunshine.
A cold afternoon with some rays of hope.
The Spartans broke in four new quarterbacks, including projected starter Aidan Chiles, and scrimmaged for nearly an hour on Saturday afternoon at Spartan Stadium. As expected, there were signs of promise and potential in Smith’s debut as head coach — along with the hallmarks of a program in the midst of a coaching change and transition between systems.
“After going through spring ball and the spring game, it really just shows with how much we’ve improved since day one,” said Chiles, a sophomore transfer who followed Smith from Oregon State. “Really, it’s a new system for everybody. So us being able to gather and really put everything together as one, it really showed me something. And I felt proud of us today.”
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Smith promised actual football and delivered with plenty of hard hitting and tackling, even though quarterbacks were not live. It gave a glimpse into what to expect come August, when preseason camp makes everything real heading toward the Aug. 31 opener at home against Florida Atlantic.
Here are some observations of how the Spartans looked in their offense-versus-defense scrimmage and what’s next.
The Chiles era started off about as good as it could have.
He took the snap from the familiar hands of center Tanner Miller, another Oregon State transfer, and delivered a play-action fake to running back Nate Carter that froze the defense for a split second. It gave Chiles enough time to deliver a rope of a throw to senior wideout Montorie Foster on a slant that went for 22 yards. On the next play, Carter raced 48 yards through a gaping hole in the middle of the defense for a touchdown.
It was not as easy for Chiles on the second possession, a three-and-out with a blown-up run play for a 3-yard loss and two throws that missed their targets, wide of Foster and then over the head of Jaron Glover on third-and-13. But Chiles made up for it on a hurry-up drive before the end of the first half, moving the offense 80 yards in a little over a minute. It included a pinpoint deep ball down the right sideline for 35 yards to Foster, who got away with a push-off on cornerback Chance Rucker to make the catch. Then Chiles dropped a feathery-touch toss to Carter on a wheel route over linebacker Wayne Matthews III for a 17-yard score.
After halftime, Chiles got one more possession and showed off his legs with a 17-yard scramble on third-and-10, eluding backfield pressure from defensive tackle Derrick Harmon by changing directions with a spin and darting up the left sideline. The drive stalled at the 1-yard line of the defense as running backs Brandon Tullis, a freshman, and walk-on Joseph Martinez got stuffed and Chiles’ corner throw to Glover sailed high over his head in the left corner. It resulted in a field goal.
Chiles finished 7-for-14 for 106 yards with the TD.
“I thought he threw it accurately and moved his feet well,” Smith said of Chiles. “I think it helped that he got a little bit of run game going, Nate had a nice carry. … He looked comfortable and guys made some plays for him in the pass game, which was great to see.”
North Dakota transfer Tommy Schuster also looked poised, polished and efficient running Smith’s offense with the second unit, completing his first six passes in three possessions for 135 yards. That included a 75-yard deep ball to Nick Marsh on the first play of the second half which was a bit underthrown and knocked down by the wind, but the freshman receiver adjusted to it and ran away from two defenders for the final 40-plus yards.
Freshmen Alessio Milivojevic and Ryland Jessee each got chances with the third unit, and walk-on Andrew Schorfhaar also got a series.
Carter’s speed on the second-play touchdown run was a refreshing sight for a team starving for production from a run game that posted the worst season in school history last year. The senior also showed he can be a weapon in the downfield passing attack, something he hopes will lead to a big season.
“I just love how this offense helps me to explore more of my abilities,” said Carter, who had three carries for 49 yards and two catches for 26 yards. “I’m very versatile, not only running the ball but also me affecting the passing game and multiple areas of the offense. The fact that coach Smith brought offense in here that’s a pro-style offense helps me to improve my game, which I think will not only let me but also this offense in general and the team and be stronger.”
Behind him, freshman Tullis — who had been committed to play for Smith at Oregon State — got the second-team reps and ran hard through contact and showed burst on a 16-yard run in the third quarter behind the first-team offensive line. Tullis had 48 yards on six carries, including a 15-yarder on his first touch.
Jalen Berger had an 11-yard run with a fumble out of bounds at the end on his first possession with the third-team offense, but he scored from 2 yards out with the second unit after a 6-yard plow of a run to set it up. Grad transfer Jaren Mangham did not play after going through positional drill work before the scrimmage. Davion Primm had one catch for minus-1 yard.
Marsh’s big day with the second unit is one thing Smith might have wanted to keep under wraps, but the talent was clear. The 6-foot-3, 208-pound early enrollee from River Rouge had two catches for 88 yards, dragging defenders on his 13-yard catch on an over-the-middle route in the first half. Both came from Schuster.
“He’s young, he’s a baller. And he draws a lot of his talent and everything,” Chiles said of Marsh. “It helps a lot. I did the same thing my freshman year, I thrived off of what I could do talent-wise and athletically.”
Foster showed the best connection with Chiles. The senior had three catches for 81 yards, with Foster’s third grab on a laser from the quarterback on a slant pattern that split two defenders and went for 24 yards.
Glover and redshirt freshman Aziah Johnson worked predominantly with the first-team offense along with Foster and Chiles. Marsh, senior Alante Brown and redshirt freshman Jaelen Smith took second-team reps with Schuster.
Jack Velling, expected to be the starting tight end after arriving from Oregon State, had one catch for no yards and got blasted by safety Dillon Tatum on a deep ball that resulted in a penalty. Michael Masunas and Ademola Faleye each had a catch with the second unit.
Smith said one of the keys going into the scrimmage was to keep things as vanilla as possible, particularly with new defensive coordinator Joe Rossi’s scheme.
“I think on both sides of it, we wanted to kind of (use) base package but not show too much, right?” he said. “This is all over you know TV and whatnot. … Over 15 practices. I’m pleased at how this defense has come along, the way they run to the ball and make it physical. They’ve had plenty of live tackling, and they were holding own against the offense.”
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Two big transfer additions in the middle, defensive tackles Quindarius Dunningan and D’Quan Douse, both looked stout at the point of attack. Dunnigan dropped Carter for a 3-yard loss on the second possession for the first-team offense and Douse stuffed Martinez near the goal line. Third-string defensive back Khary Crump had the lone interception.
After the shaky start on the first drive, the first-team defense settled in and made things tough on the offense.
“I think our growth defensively and communication from Practice 1 to 15 is like night and day, because that’s a huge part of it,” Smith said. “That was an emphasis. Coach Rossi has been hammering those guys, and they’ve gotten better on that communication side. I thought our tackling for the most part when we tackled throughout the spring was solid. You’re always thinking about that. And we got some athletes out there that can make some plays.”
Eight players remained on the sideline in their jerseys throughout the day, including returning starting safety Jaden Mangham. The others were defensive backs Caleb Coley and Shawn Smith; offensive linemen Cole Dellinger and Stanton Ramil; tight ends Brennan Parachek and Tyneil Hopper; and defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren.
Four, however, were not seen in uniform. That included offensive tackle Ethan Boyd, a starter toward the end of last season who entered the portal but withdrew in December. The others were highly touted defensive lineman Andrew Depaepe and defensive backs Semar Melvin and Armorion Smith.
With the portal window open until April 30, Smith understands there will be further attrition. He said he hopes to meet one-on-one with every player after they have individual meetings with their position coaches next week as finals week approaches.
“You just try to create an environment where these guys feel they get an opportunity and they’ve got a chance to develop and grow. I think we’ve established that for about four months,” Smith said of the potential for portal movement. “I think we got a lot of guys that are feeling optimistic about the approach. But again, in this landscape, everybody’s got their individual decisions. And vice versa. I look at it this way – in the next few months, we can add some really good players to our roster.”
Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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Matchup: Michigan State (4-8 in 2023) vs. Florida Atlantic (4-8 in 2023), season opener.
Kickoff: Aug. 31, time TBA; Spartan Stadium, East Lansing.
TV/radio: TV TBA; WJR-AM (760).
