Michigan State HC Jonathan Smith Says Roster ‘Learned A Ton’ During His First Season

Michigan State HC Jonathan Smith Says Roster ‘Learned A Ton’ During His First Season originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

An old idiom espouses the idea that patience is a virtue – and perhaps no one will come to embody that statement quite like Michigan State football head coach Jonathan Smith. The Spartans are a program with a history of success yearning for a return to the spotlight, and the pressure is on Smith to get them there.

His first season with the program resulted in an improvement from the previous season, where former coach Mel Tucker was shown the door following a massive scandal. But the team’s 5-7 record in 2024 wasn’t quite up to the program’s historical standards, and the season marked the first time the Spartans have missed the postseason in three consecutive seasons since the stretch between 2004-2006 under John L. Smith’s leadership. 

But while speaking at Big Ten Media Days on Thursday, Jonathan Smith indicated that he believes the team’s experiences in his first year with the program have laid a foundation for future success – even though the Spartans are pegged to finish near the bottom of the league once again.

“There’s been a lot of work done, you know, headed into year two. We learned a ton in year one,” Smith said.

But all of the lessons learned would mean nothing if Smith hadn’t been able to retain and develop the players – and coaches – who had to do that learning. The Spartans are bringing back a majority of the locker room from the 2024 season, including starting quarterback Aidan Chiles. And according to Smith, that has played a role in continuing to build upon the foundation laid last year.

“I thought it was really important, our retention that we were able to have with our roster and our coaching staff to be able to grow and improve off the first season,” he said. “Over 70 players will be with us on the roster again, and that was a vital part. There’s been a ton of work going on this summer. And those guys' bodies continue, bigger, faster, stronger, more explosive.”

Smith thinks that type of retention and development is going to be very important for the program entering the 2025 season, as he believes he has the challenge of coaching in the top conference in the sport – but that’s a challenge he feels that he and the Spartans are ready to tackle this fall.

“That’s going to be vitally important, because let's face it – the Big Ten, in my opinion, is the best conference in America,” Smith said. “We accept that challenge of playing in the best conference in America.”

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 24, 2025, where it first appeared.