Michigan State is one of six Big Ten Football programs returning a starting quarterback in 2025. Both head coach Jonathan Smith and sophomore QB Aidan Chiles are entering their second Spartan season after finishing 14th in the Big Ten (5-7, 3-6) last year.
For Smith, it’s about finding a balance between urgency to improve, poise and understanding, especially when it comes to Chiles.
“I think you have to be in a nonstop state of improvement,” Smith said Thursday at Big Ten Football Media Days in Las Vegas. “In particular to Aidan, I got a bunch of respect for him and credit for him because, yeah, he had some outstanding plays and some plays that were not good enough. It's our job as coaches to make sure we're surrounding him with one, the line of scrimmage, and those other ten guys on that offense making sure we're putting him in the best positions to have success.”
With his rookie season now under his belt, Smith thinks Chiles could be more successful this fall.
“I look at him statistically from the first half of the season to the second half. It was a whole lot better in the second half. He was improving,” Smith said. “Some of that I respect I got for him because it wasn't always easy. Year one... new staff, new scheme, new school for him. All of that, he was handling. The guy is a big-time teammate and competitor. I look forward to seeing him in year two.”
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