MSU's Chiles Needs to Take a Big Step Forward
The Michigan State Spartans football team has a ton to improve on from the 2024 season. Not only does head coach Jonathan Smith need to make a strong second impression to the Spartan Nation, but so does the quarterback who followed him to Michigan State, Aidan Chiles.
Chiles' first season with the Spartans was also his first season as a starting quarterback. Having recorded 24 completions in 35 attempts that went for 309 passing yards in the small sample size with the Oregon State Beavers, his first season with MSU saw its fair share of ups and downs.
Smith believes in Chiles, and it was seen in the number of times he had him manage the offense. In 192 completions last season, the MSU quarterback recorded 2,415 passing yards and notched 13 touchdowns. However, there are big areas in Chiles' game that the program will look to improve.
One of the biggest statistics that jumps off the page in terms of what Chiles needs to improve on is the number of interceptions he's thrown. With more time on the field comes more opportunities to make a mistake, and for Chiles, those mistakes came in the 11 interceptions he allowed.
With a completion rate below 60%, MSU's quarterback will also look to show more efficiency when moving the football. In his defense, the offensive line last season for the Spartans didn't do the best job at protecting their quarterback, seeing that Chiles was sacked 30 times.
However, seeing the speed that Chiles possesses, he needs to find ways to utilize that asset to get himself out of difficult situations. Already working on his skills this offseason, as he revealed in a recent Instagram post, the second season for Chiles as the starting quarterback needs to have those mechanics improve if he wishes to play in the National Football League.
Steps in the right direction would land Chiles more passing yards, a better completion rate, more rushing yards, taking more care of the football and limiting sacks. Given that both Smith and Chiles are looking to shine in East Lansing, the two can do so by showcasing improvements early in the upcoming 2025 campaign.
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Dominic Minchella holds a communications degree from Eastern Michigan University. He is a former MLB writer and joins our team ad an NFL/College team reporter on Sports Illustrated