MSU'S Armorion Smith on Dealing With Adversity, Being a Starter

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- It's tough to imagine what Michigan State defensive back Armorion Smith has to go through every single day.

Not only does he have to manage the tight schedule of a student-athlete at a Power Four football program, but he is also the legal guardian of four of his younger siblings. His mother, Gala Gilliam, died of breast cancer last year and Smith's father is not a part of his life.

Smith was very open and kind while he talked about how he deals with it all while speaking to the press on Wednesday. Video of everything he said can be found below.

Watch Armorion Smith here:

Below is also a partial transcript of Jonathan Smith's opening statement from his press conference on Monday.

Jonathan Smith

“OK, like a typical Monday, just kind of recapping a few things after digesting the film. Obviously, finishing the game we did, well fought.

“I thought it after the game and then watching the tape; great college football game, atmosphere, both teams making plays, responding, obviously came down to the wire.

“I feel like it could be a growth game for us to be able to finish the game we did against a quality opponent. I mean, that quarterback (Dylan Lonergan) was playing at a really high level.

“They happened to respond in the second overtime, away, all of that. So, we're trying to grow off of being able to finish that way. Because a lot of these games, they come down to the wire like that, and we've got to gain some confidence and continue to move forward from the game.

“Offensively, you know, felt a lot to like with Aidan (Chiles) in regards to his effort, quarterback play, decision making, even some of the small stuff that you don't totally see during the game. Checked the ball down, protections (weren't) clean a couple of times and got us out of that. It was pretty good.

“I thought multiple receivers were making some plays there.

“We've got to get better. Two-minute (drill) at the end of the game, got an opportunity with the ball on the 42, two timeouts, game's close to 50 seconds left. We go backwards there.

“We need to tighten up some of our hands in the run game. Holding calls in the red zone backed us up a couple of times. Short yardage, getting stopped. So, there's plenty to improve on.

Michigan State's Brady Pretzlaff, center, and the defense celebrate a broken up pass against Boston College during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“Defensively --- Boston College, Coach O'Brien, the quarterback, they made it hard schematically. Felt like after the game we needed to be able to make the quarterback more uncomfortable.

“He (Lonergan) did a great job getting the ball out pretty quickly. There wasn't a lot of times he was just sit there, patting the ball, patting the ball. This thing is coming out pretty quick.”

Michigan State's Armorion Smith celebrates after tackling Boston College's Lewis Bond during the first quarter on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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