V-Cast: Energy, excitement in the Michigan State program grows as opener with FAU nears
East Lansing, Mich. – The regular season is finally upon us, and Michigan State is looking to open the Jonathan Smith era with a win at Spartan Stadium on Friday Night against Florida Atlantic, which is now in its second year under former Ohio State coordinator Tom Herman, whose head coaching stops include Houston and Texas.
After Smith’s weekly press conference, SpartanMag staffers Jim Comparoni and Paul Konyndyk stepped outside Spartan Stadium to record their first regular-season V-Cast.
V-CAST TOPICS
KEYS TO THE OFFENSE: Transfer quarterback Aidan Chiles (Oregon State) played a minor role in nine games for Smith last season. Now, he steps into a starting role at Michigan State. And the plan going into to the season opener is that Chiles will start and get all the reps for Michigan State in a competitive game. If Friday’s opener were to be a blowout, back-up Tommy Schuster could potentially make his debut for the Spartans. As things currently stand, however, Chiles will not be sharing work with Schuster.
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CLOSE KNIT TEAM: It may seem counterintuitive for this Michigan State team, which has experienced so much roster turnover since Smith was hired as head coach, would be as close as it appears to be. Players have raved about the close-knit nature of their team from camp until now, and coaches have marveled at the chemistry within the Michigan State program given that 61 players on this team have yet to take a game rep as Spartans. Wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins, the lone holdover from Mel Tucker’s coaching staff, credits much of the improved chemistry to the family atmosphere within the Spartan program which Smith has encouraged.
O-LINE/D-LINE: The ceiling for this Michigan State ballclub will be determined to a large degree by the play of both the offensive and defensive lines. Smith indicated during his weekly press conference that the Spartans could play upwards of six interior defensive linemen against Florida Atlantic. If accurate, the Spartans have done a nice job of rebuilding their rotation on the interior d-line. Following the portal defections of Derrick Harmon and Simeon Barrow, the interior d-line was on shaky footing last spring. On the O-line, Michigan State appears to have a starting five of Brandon Baldwin, Luke Newman, Kristian Phillips, and Ashton Lepo, with Gavin Broscious likely providing depth as the No. 6 guy. With Baldwin and Lepo manning tackle spots, Stanton Ramil is likely the third tackle for the Spartans.
