Michigan State HC Jonathan Smith on key position battles: ‘This thing is competitive’
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State came out of Saturday’s scrimmage still fuzzy about the starting lineup at several positions. And that’s not a bad thing.
Despite having 43 new scholarship players on the roster, the Spartans have a solid number of proven college players, with competitions remaining tight at several positions.
Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith was asked after Monday’s practice how many players have secured starting jobs.
“I don’t know about an exact number,” he said. “We definitely have some guys (figured out) that are going to start, but not at every position. I mean this thing is competitive.”
Smith has mentioned inside linebacker, wide receiver and the defensive back positions as being tightly-contested positions throughout camp.
“We talked last night as a team: We want to be a squad that has multiple guys that can go in the game,” Smith said. “We want to be playing full speed with great effort. And once in a while you’re going to get gassed and feel confident with the next guy going in the game, and that’s what these next couple of weeks are about.”
TIGHT BATTLES AT INSIDE LINEBACKER AND WIDE RECEIVER
Antonio Gates Jr., during practice last week with wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins watching. (Photo by Nick King | USA Today Network).
At inside linebacker, Michigan State has Cal Haladay (35 career starts), Jordan Hall (six starts last year as a true freshman), Jordan Turner (18 starts at Wisconsin) and Wayne Matthews (who was third-team All-Sun Belt at Old Dominion last year) competing for two starting job.
“At inside linebacker, we have multiple guys in that room that can help us,” Smith said. “You don’t play seven at a time.”
At wide receiver, Montorie Foster is a returning starter at split end (X). Jaron Glover started four games at flanker (Z) last year as a redshirt-freshman and hauled in a nice catch along the sidelines from Aiden Chiles during Saturday’s scrimmage.
True freshman Nick Marsh, redshirt-sophomore Antonio Gates Jr. and redshirt senior Alante Brown are regarded as the top candidates for the third starting job, presumably in the slot – although Michigan State’s receivers are getting cross-trained at all three positions.
Brown started one game last year, but had 17 catches at Nebraska in 2022. Gates (five catches last year) seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough in the spring.
With Foster having missed a few days of practice due to an undisclosed injury which Smith said is “not long term,” Gates, Brown, Marsh and others have gotten more chances to run reps with the ones and twos.
“That’s been awesome for more receivers to get opportunities,” Smith said. “That position group has been pretty competitive.”
NO SHORTAGE OF EXPERIENCE IN DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD
In the defensive backfield, there are close battles at cornerback and safety.
Sophomore Chance Rucker (eight starts last year as a true freshman), redshirt-junior Charles Brantley (15 career starts) and transfer Ed Woods (12 career starts at Arizona State) are competing for starting jobs, while sophomore Jeremiah Hughes (LSU transfer), junior Lejond Cavazos (North Carolina transfer) and a slew of incoming freshmen are vying to earn trust. Rucker, Brantley and Woods are projected by SpartanMag as the leading contenders.
At safety, junior Malik Spencer (eight starts last year), junior Dillon Tatum (nine career starts at corner) and junior Nikai Martinez (12 starts last year at Central Florida) are vying for two starting jobs, although all three have the versatility to play nickel back against multi-WR teams and formations.
Angelo Grose has 35 career starts at safety and nickel. He played nickel in the Spring Showcase and is expected to be the primary candidate for that role.
Armorion Smith, who served as the first safety off the bench early last season before being lost for the year to an injury, is also a contender at the safety positions. He transferred from Cincinnati prior to last season.
“Those guys are pushing,” Smith said. “It’s been competitive. They are talking, pushing each other. Communication back there is vitally important. I do think they’re pretty unified.
“We’ve got a few guys who have been here a couple of years and have played. And we’ve got some others who are new but have played elsewhere, so it’s pretty competitive back there.”
Prep week for Michigan State’s season opener against Florida Atlantic is likely to begin late next week. So the Spartans have to start committing to a two-deep.
“In regards to the depth chart, guys are trying to earn spots, earn playing time, earn getting on the bus for travel squad,” Smith said. “So it’s a new week.
“We definitely want to create this depth and depth chart. And we want more and more guys earning the opportunity to be on the field so we can have a deep team.
So this is a huge week, moving forward. We will scrimmage again this Saturday. We’re getting to that point of camp where the body isn’t feeling great. We’ve got to keep pushing.”
NO WORD ON KICK RETURNERS
Smith and Keith Bohnapha, who oversees Michigan State’s return teams, have not divulged any names that are being considered for kickoff or punt return. MSU’s lone punt returner from last year, Tyrell Henry, transferred to Wisconsin.
Brown and Foster had limited experience on kickoff returns last year, with Brown suffering a devastating blow to the head in the 2023 opener against Central Florida. Despite the gruesome nature of the injury, Brown missed only one game last year.
Smith was asked if he would shy away from using starters or standout players in return roles. Smith didn’t give a direct answer.
“Whoever is going to return for us, we’ve got deep trust in them that they are going to field the ball and make great decisions with it,” Smith said. “We want to be dynamic. So we are going to put our dynamic good decision-maker back there.”
Michigan State’s offensive line is the area of the team in most need of marked improvement. It’s been that way since the spring, with four new starters. Two of those starters are Oregon State transfer Tanner Miller and Holy Cross transfer Luke Newman. That gives Michigan State three proven starters, joining returning left tackle Brandon Baldwin. But a lot of cohesion needs to take place.
“They’re progressing,” Smith said. “They are. Brandon and Stanton (Ramil) at left tackle are getting some quality work there. Luke Newman has come in and done a nice job at guard. That’s a nice addition we didn’t have in the spring. So they’re working.”
SpartanMag projects sophomore Kristian Phillips as the leading candidate to start at left guard, and sophomore Ashton Lepo as the leading candidate to start at right tackle.
“We kind of like where that group is,” Smith said. “A typical Jim Michalczik offensive line. We’ve got multiple guys playing multiple spots. They aren’t just staying at one spot. So we’re working through that to create some depth.”
Smith mentioned summer enrollee true freshman Rakeem Johnson as a player who has impressed during his short time on campus.
“Rakeem Johnson has had a bunch of good snaps,” Smith said. “Explosion, athleticism. And he has picked up the scheme. Jim is pushing him. He is playing a couple of spots. So understanding the playbook, then the communication it takes, let alone the technique and all that, he’s done an outstanding job.”
The post Michigan State HC Jonathan Smith on key position battles: ‘This thing is competitive’ appeared first on On3.
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