Jonathan Smith answers who makes uniform decisions for Michigan State

While he didn’t have an explicit answer ready, Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith joked that knows as head coach he’s responsible for all parts of the Spartans program, even the uniform combinations. And he certainly does have a say — and likely some veto power.

Speaking with reporters ahead of a road rivalry game at Michigan, Smith was asked about how the uniform combinations are selected and mostly plead ignorance. He does get input from players, though, and tries to take that into account, as well.

And mostly, Smith is probably not dedicating much time each week to the specific threads the Spartans wear, so long as they’re green and white.

“Well I guess because I got the title, I own every decision that is made,” Smith said with a smile. “But I do get a lot of advice from mix and match and our players have, a few of them have hit me up on what they prefer moving forward on some different combinations. So, not really answering your question, but at the bottom line I’ve got the title so I guess I make the call. 

The biggest area Michigan State currently has for variations on the uniform is the helmet. The current iterations of the Spartans’ football uniforms feature various combinations of green and white jerseys and pants, with a handful of more varied options up top.

On the helmet, Michigan State has the baseline Spartan logo — their regular helmet is that arrangement with a white logo on the green helmet. But MSU also has white helmets to wear and has featured a number of other logos, including a block S and the throwback “Gruff Sparty.” And Michigan State has also rolled out various one-offs or other alternates, including an all-black uniform for the rivalry against Michigan last year.

Smith addressed the challenge of prepping for multiple Michigan QBs

With Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore saying on Monday he wouldn’t name a starter, the Spartans will have to prep for one of Jack Tuttle, Alex Orji or Davis Warren. But Smith is confident they’ll be ready.

“You prepare what you see on tape and we’ve got tape of all their players that have played offensively,” Smith said.

So far, Michigan has played those three quarterbacks heavily.

Warren earned the starting job going into the season, starting the first three games before being benched. Warren’s bugaboo was turnovers, as he had six interceptions and two passing touchdowns during his time starting, and never showed an ability to execute down-the-field looks.

Then Michigan turned to Orji, and the junior with immense physical talents guided Michigan to a pair of wins with an extremely conservative passing attack and protecting the football while sprinkling in the quarterback run game.

However, Orji’s leash eventually ran out and the Michigan coaching staff turned to Tuttle, a veteran presence who showed some of the best passing flashes Michigan has seen this season but who has also not played in a win yet, including his lone start.

And all this leads to Smith reaching a separate, but related conclusion: The Spartans better be prepared to defend the run.

Despite the ails in the passing game, the Wolverines have managed to sustain a fairly solid run game from the previous Big Ten title teams, averaging 4.8 yards a carry and just a tick over 180 yards per game, and more than a touchdown a game on the ground.

“Again, it is about a run game because this run game of theirs is potent. It can be unique in some of their schemes, they do a nice job with that and so it’s a physical brand of football that we’ve gotta get ready for.”