WMU's Lance Taylor Gives Praise to MSU's Jonathan Smith
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During his Monday press conference, Western Michigan head coach Lance Taylor was sure to make his respect and admiration for Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith's career to be known.
“Coach Smith has done an excellent job going into his second season," Taylor said to the media in Kalamazoo. "I think his work speaks for itself. His time at Oregon State, he was Pac-12 Coach of the Year (in 2022). I’ve gotten a chance to know coach Smith. He’s a great man, great coach, and I’m really excited about a great challenge, as we go into Week 1.”
Taylor is about to start his third season at the helm of the Broncos, while Smith is set to begin his second. WMU is 10-15 under Taylor's leadership but improved from 4-8 in 2023 to a bowl berth and a 6-7 record last fall. The Broncos also had a fourth-quarter lead against Big Ten foe Wisconsin in Week 1 last season, as well.
On Facing a Big In-State Opponent
Western Michigan has gone on the road and faced three different Big Ten opponents in Taylor's two prior seasons as head coach. The Broncos traveled to Iowa in 2023 and then Wisconsin and Ohio State in 2024, all of which WMU lost.
That makes Friday's game in East Lansing Taylor's first opportunity to try and take down one of the two big schools in the state. Western Michigan takes on the Michigan Wolverines next year, but that game will likely be across the Atlantic Ocean in Frankfurt, Germany. WMU does have another two future games scheduled in East Lansing, but those don't come until the 2028 and 2031 seasons.
“We’ve got so many guys from the state of Michigan, but also from the Midwest, who either grew up going to Michigan State games, watching Michigan State games," Taylor said. "This will be a great opportunity and a great challenge for us.
"They’re a very well-coached football team in all three phases. I know going into year two (under Smith), they’re really excited about what they have (on) offense, defense and special teams. Coach Smith has proven what he’s done in terms of turning around programs and going into the second year, what he did at Oregon State was really impressive.”
Previous Stops for Taylor
Before becoming the top guy at Western Michigan, Taylor has had a pretty impressive resume as an assistant. He began as a graduate assistant at Alabama, where he played wide receiver from 2000 to 2003, for the first two seasons of the Nick Saban era from 2007 to 2008.
After coaching in the NFL for a bit, Taylor popped back up as the running backs coach at Stanford, where he coached Christian McCaffrey and Bryce Love, who were both runners-up for the Heisman Trophy. He also coached wide receivers for the Carolina Panthers, running backs again at Notre Dame, and then was the offensive coordinator at Louisville before getting the WMU job.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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