Jonathan Smith shares mantra he brings to Michigan State

Jonathan Smith’s era in East Lansing officially begins on Aug. 30 against Florida Atlantic, but the culture-building process began last November when he got the Michigan State head coaching job.

Given a full offseason to prepare for the new Big Ten Conference and adjust to Smith’s day-to-day operations, the first-year Spartans head coach feels good about where his team’s at heading into fall camp. He also revealed the mindset that his team is taking with this into the final stretch of preseason preparations.

“I’ve always learned a long time ago, low ego, high output,” Smith said at Big Ten Media Days. “How we approach it or how we play the game, how we prepare for it, even how you function as a staff, not keeping it just about yourself. This current roster, I am excited about in regards to I think we’ve got some talent, but we do have some guys that have a care factor for this game, not just about playing because there’s so much work that goes into it and the work needs to be done together.

“This is the ultimate team game. So trying to fill the locker room with guys that understand and want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, and I think we’ve got a lot of those guys.”

Formerly the head coach of Oregon State, Smith put that mindset at display at his former stop. For his efforts, he was named co-2022 Pac-12 Coach of the Year, leading the Beavers to be ranked as high as No. 11 in the College Football Playoff Rankings this season.

In three seasons, Smith led Oregon State to a 25-13 record, not to mention he also has experience coaching in the College Football Playoff during his time as Washington’s offensive coordinator in 2016.

He’s taking over a Michigan State team that finished the 2023 season with a 4-8 record and hasn’t been to a bowl game in two seasons. Tasked with bringing them back to prominence, the Spartans will have the endure the added challenge of winning in a new-look Big Ten Conference featuring the likes of Washington, UCLA, USC and Oregon.

After the Spartans take care of business against FAU, Michigan State will turn its attention toward Big Ten foe Maryland on Sept. 7. It will be the first true road game of the season for the Spartans, whose schedule also features matchups against Ohio State, Oregon and Michigan during the 2024 regular season.