Grading Michigan State Football's Offense for Next Season

New Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith has had to revamp the entire offense. Bringing in new players, as well as a new coaching staff, this offense should look much different compared to former coach Mel Tucker's offense.

Coach Smith brought in many players from Oregon State, as well as players from other programs. It might take a while for this offense to gel together and to become special. However, this should be expected with many players trying to learn a new offensive scheme.

Let's take a look at the current depth chart for the new offense and grade the position groups.

Quarterback

Projected starter - Aidan Chiles

Projected backup - Tommy Schuster

Grade: B+

Compared to last year, the quarterback position should be a lot more bearable to watch. Last year was hard to watch, as there wasn't much production happening, whether it was Noah Kim, Katin Houser, or even Sam Leavitt under center. Now, with Aidan Chiles, there should be stability at the quarterback position.

Coach Smith said this past spring that it would be an “upset” if Chiles wasn't the starter on Day 1. This just shows how much confidence Smith has in Chiles to produce on a level Michigan State hasn't seen in quite a while. This grade isn't an "A" because Chiles is still young and is only a sophomore who hasn't gotten any starts in his career.

Running Back

Projected starter - Nathan Carter

Projected backup - Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams

Grade: A

Nathan Carter is coming back to Michigan State after rushing for almost 800 yards on 185 attempts last season. Carter will look to have a better season next year with a better offensive coaching staff. Adams is also a quality No. 2, as he rushed for almost 1200 yards on 236 attempts last season and also had 12 touchdowns.

This has always been the best position group on the offensive side of the ball.

Wide Receiver

Projected starters - Jaron Glover, Montorie Foster, Alante Brown

Projected backups - Antonio Gates Jr, Nick Marsh, Aziah Johnson

Grade: D+

There is no true No. 1 or even No. 2 receiver on this team which is a problem to have when you have a young quarterback. There's no Jadyn Reed or Jalen Nailor to win 50-50 balls or have multiple 100-yard games. The leading receiver was Montorie Foster with 576 yards last season.

Nick Marsh has the potential to be a true No. 1 receiver, but he is still a freshman and will need time to grow.

Tight End

Projected starter - Jack Velling

Projected backup - Brennan Parachek

Grade: B

Jack Velling is a great starting tight end to have for Chiles. He knows the Smith system and is a good security blanket to have in case the receivers can't get open. Velling only had 29 receptions and 438 receiving yards last season but scored eight touchdowns and should get a lot more of an opportunity at Michigan State.

Offensive Line

Projected starters - Brandon Baldwin, Luke Newman, Tanner Miller, Kristian Phillips, Ashton Lepo

Grade: C-

This is a new offensive line group as most of the starters from last season entered the portal. Newman came from Holy Cross, and Miller was at Oregon State with Smith. Phillips and Lepo saw some playing time but never played starting snaps on the offensive line.

It's going to be a learning year for Smith and the offense, as they try to figure out the position groups and see how the younger guys challenge to be starters.

The main question is how Chiles progresses during the season. There shouldn't be expectations of him winning the Heisman or being the best quarterback in the Big Ten. Rather, let's see him compete and prove he has the ability to be the starter for the next couple of years.

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