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Michigan State Football's New Regime Will Look to Shock the World

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith and his staff will look to lead the Spartans to glory.

With the spring showcase wrapped up, Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith's first big step in East Lansing has been taken.

When Smith got to Michigan State after the 2023 season, he had a lot of weight on his shoulders with his predecessor leaving him with a struggling team with a lack of sturdy coaching and back-to-back losing seasons. The Spartans went a combined 9-15 in the last two years and have not won a bowl game since 2021 when Mel Tucker led the Spartans to a victory over Pitt in the Peach Bowl.

The entire quarterback room was gone when Smith inherited the program. He had nobody to lead his offense; it was the first big shock, with many to come. Michigan State has lost 22 players in the transfer portal as of right now, per 247Sports.

With an empty quarterback room and five months to go before spring ball started, former Oregon State quarterback Aidan Chiles entered his name in the transfer portal and packed up his things to head to East Lansing to play for his former Beavers head coach. Along with Chiles, offensive lineman Tanner Miller and tight end Jack Velling, transferred from Oregon State to play in the new Michigan State offense led by their coach, Smith.

Players aside, the Spartans have had an enormous coaching change with the amount of new coaches filling in for coaches from the last couple of seasons. Brian Lindgren, former offensive coordinator at Oregon State, was named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Michigan State. Former Oregon State secondary coach Blue Adams and their former defensive line coach Legi Suiaunoa are both Spartan coaches.

Some other coaches and faculty have come from Oregon State, but those are just a few.

Expectations are not high for MSU from those on the outside, but the Spartan family knows that they have what it takes, and with the new and improved staff, scheme and roster, they can look to turn the tide. The Spartans will have a full summer to build on the progress they made in spring ball and come back well-prepared for the 2024 season.

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