Work Still to do, but MSU's Jonathan Smith Pleased With Defense's Progress

Michigan State introduced a whole new defensive scheme under defensive coordinator Joe Rossi this spring, and Coach Jonathan Smith is pleased with the progress on that side of the ball...

There was a ton of excitement around East Lansing last weekend when we got our first look at Michigan State football under new head coach Jonathan Smith at the "Spring Showcase" event.

Several offensive players made a big splash like quarterbacks Aidan Chiles and Tommy Schuster, wide receivers Montorie Foster and Nick Marsh, and running back Nate Carter. Defensively, new transfer portal defensive line additions Quindarius Dunningan (Middle Tennessee State) and D'Quan Douse (Georgia Tech) made their presence felt and announced themselves to the Spartan faithful.

Those performances were great to see, but it was also evident how much more work needs to be done to get MSU ready for the 2024 season. That's to be expected, as Smith and his coaching staff arrived in East Lansing just a few months ago and are installing brand-new schemes on both sides of the ball.

After the Spring Showcase event, Smith pointed out the areas he saw the most improvement from the Spartans this spring.

"I think we got some things established, all three phases, but really even just how we practice, how we communicate," Smith said after Saturday's event. "I think our growth defensively in communication from Practice 1 to Practice 15 is like night and day. Because, that's a huge part of it and that was an emphasis that Coach [Joe] Rossi has been hammering into those guys. They've gotten better on that communication side."

Smith was pleased with the effort he saw from MSU's defense, which had a handful of highlight plays, including six tackles for loss and an interception from defensive back Khary Crump. However, penalties hurt the defense throughout the day.

"I thought they played really hard," Smith said. "Again, limited on what calls we had out there. They made it physical, we had some tackles in the backfield, had the interception. Really, defensively, just analyzing the game, penalties really hurt them on [the offense] moving the ball. Over 15 practices, I'm pleased at how this defense has come along, the way they run to the ball, make it physical. They've had plenty of live tackling and they were holding their own against the offense."

MSU's defense gave up some explosive plays to the offense during Saturday's scrimmage session, but Smith reemphasized he has seen improvement in the Spartans' tackling.

"I thought our tackling, for the most part, when we tackled throughout the spring, was solid," Smith said. "You're always thinking about that and we've got some athletes out there that can make some plays."

Good, solid defense starts up front with the defensive line, and Michigan State has had a lot of turnover in 2024 in the trenches on that side of the ball. The Spartans added Douse at defensive tackle and Dunnigan at defensive end through the transfer portal but lost both of their starting tackles from 2023, Simeon Barrow and Derrick Harmon, to the transfer portal in the last two weeks. MSU then responded on Thursday night by adding Stephen F. Austin transfer DT Brandon Lane.

"I think that group was solid, the guys that were going during the spring was a solid group," Smith said of his D-line prior to the loss of Harmon and the addition of Lane. "We feel like we've got a few guys who can impact that game. Rosters are always going to be fluid, not just particularly that position so we'll see how the dust settles here in a week and a half. We're always going to be looking to add quality people to our roster, really at all positions."

Dunnigan probably had the biggest standout defensive performance for MSU during the final spring scrimmage. Playing limited snaps, the sixth-year senior had three total tackles including two tackles for loss and a sack.

"He showed up this spring, battled through a little bit of an injury early on and so his rep count wasn't huge early on, but when he's in there he's made some difference," Smith said of Dunnigan. "He's slippery. He's physical, but he's slippery and he plays with leverage all the time. That was a couple of huge plays today."

Now, as MSU approaches summer, the Spartans are tasked with continuing to add talented players to the roster and improve before the Smith era debuts in earnest this fall.

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