SOTC Update: Michigan State Spartans

Jonathan Smith is a program builder. Not a miracle worker. This was a brutal schedule and things are in place to improve in 2025. This is the State of the Chart update for the Michigan State Spartans.

Mar 01, 2025

State of the Chart™ Recap Edition

Live All-In Ranking: 68th
Offense: 103rd
Defense: 43rd
2024 Results: 5-7 (3-6 in Big Ten)

All of the information that follows is just the beginning and everything will be updated in our first edition of the State of the Chart™ digital magazine. Slated for a launch in July of 2025, learn more about this and shoot us your email to be kept up-to-speed on launch dates and receive sneak previews…

Our paid subscribers here at Substack will get the whole magazine at no cost. Consider supporting our work for just $5.99/month or $59.99 for an entire year.

|||||| STATE OF THE CHART™ SUMMARY

Jonathan Smith is a program builder. Nobody expected a full turnaround in one season in East Lansing. They did expect more competitiveness, and things unraveled a bit at the end of the season, but all told, this was expected. The offense really struggled and put a lot of pressure on the defense, but held up impressively. Quarterback Aidan Chiles dealt with some growing pains and made some costly mistakes, which come with youth. He has an entire season under his belt, and it was against a tough slate of competition. It was a growth year for him. He has a future star in wide receiver Nick Marsh, a true freshman who burst on the scene. Expect that to be a critical partnership in the future. The offensive line had some talent but was taken advantage of by some of our game's best defensive front sevens. The defense strategically didn’t bring much pressure but stayed back and kept things in front of them. The secondary was particularly impressive, given the circumstances. The roster churn is hitting them like any team, and they are doing well in the portal, bringing in some talent for needed spots. Things should improve with a much friendlier slate of action, and we can see the beginning of the complete turnaround for the Spartans in 2025.

|||||| HEAD COACH AND COACHING STAFF

Jonathan Smith’s ‘year zero’ didn’t really go all that well. The Spartans didn’t even qualify for a bowl game. He’s a program builder, not a program savior. He should be granted some time to get this turned around. The offense was really the downfall of the ‘24 season and that will need to catch up to a solid defense and get this on the level of the Oregon State team he left in 2023.

Coaching Staff Notes/Changes:

Smith brought most of his staff with him from Oregon State, but did steal his defensive coordinator from Minnesota’s staff — getting Joe Rossi last off-season. Rossi did a nice job with the unit and (thus far) is returning for a second season in East Lansing.
Rossi’s positional staff shifts around a little as cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin bolted for the UCLA staff where he’ll be the secondary coach and pass game coordinator for the Bruins. Rossi moves former secondary coach Blue Adams to focus on the cornerbacks and bring in James Adams from Wake Forest to handle the safeties.
Offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren came over with Smith from Oregon State, where he ran the offense and was the quarterbacks coach with Smith since 2018. We thought about putting the “warm seat” tag on him, but, he too, needs some time to get this under his full leadership. So, while it was not good in 2024 — we won’t overreact.
Lindgren brings in Jon Boyer to take the quarterbacks coach role from him. Boyer was left in Corvalis as a part of the Beavers staff, working as the tight ends coach. Now, he is reunited with his former bosses and moves to the quarterback role.

Note: This is a “dynamic” article; meaning we will update any information that comes in this “off-season” and post a note when impactful moves are made or news breaks.

|||||| 2024 SCHEDULE / RESULTS ANALYSIS

This was rough. The gauntlet of Ohio State, at Oregon, Iowa, at Michigan, Indiana in weeks 5-10 (with a bye sandwiched) is one of the toughest stretches we saw anybody endure in 2024. They ended up winning one of those, clipping Iowa coming off the bye. We’d like to give credit to Smith and company for having that extra week to prepare really allowed them to shine with their game plan. But, the next game after the bye, week 12 against Illinois, they were taken to the wood shed. Things did not finish well with that Illini loss, a 7-point win over a really bad Purdue team and then Rutgers blowing them out at home.

||||||| POSITION GROUP CHECK-INS

OFFENSE: The offense really underperformed and held this team back and they aren’t really looking for excuses, but this was a tough slate. They played the 14th most difficult schedule. The biggest culprit was the running game that managed just 115.3 yards per game (3.51 yards per carry). The passing game was better with quarterback Aidan Chiles, who was brought over with this regime from Oregon State to lead this offense. While better, they certainly lacked explosiveness with just 24 plays over 30 yards, ranking 112th in FBS. The offensive line was overwhelmed, despite posting a decent talent rating by our numbers. They just didn’t finish drives. Without that explosion in the offense, one must cash in on their opportunities in the red zone. This group scored touchdowns on just 49% of those limited chances (ranked 124th in FBS). Chiles returns and if this offense is going to take a step forward, it all starts up front. They need to have better line play to establish a run game for Chiles to take more advantage of opportunities to stretch the field. They need some fresh blood at the wide receiver position to provide that deep threat and then they need to execute. An easier schedule would also aide in all of this.

||| QB

Aidan Chiles was the golden child at Oregon State and this coaching staff was able to bring him here to lead the offense. He was okay under some rough circumstances. He’ll need to cut back on the mistakes and utilize that athleticism a bit more. It will help if the running game can pick it up and allow for more deep throws. The talent is there, he just needs a little help and experience. It’s coming.

||| RB

Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams came in from UMass and teamed up with Nate Carter as the top two here. They stuck to the running game despite little success against some of the best front seven’s in the game. Both top backs are leaving, Carter is leaving a year early for the NFL. They bring in Elijah Tau-Tolliver from FCS Cal-Poly and he’ll compete for touches. As of now, it’s not clear who will emerge and there is another portal window that they may grab another body or two.

||| WR

There was a severe lack of a deep threat in this group. Jaron Glover was supposed to be that guy, but he managed just 15 catches. Nick Marsh burst on the scene as a true freshman and is the future star here. He is not re-joined by many teammates as leading receiver (by catches), Montorie Foster Jr. is out of eligibility and four more transfer out. So, a rebuild here is not a bad thing. Chrishon McCray (Kent State) and Omari Kelly (Middle Tennessee via Auburn) highlight the transfer additions — but they will need to show they can do it in the Big Ten. With Marsh leading, expect this to get a lot better in ‘25. It needs to.

||| TE

Jack Velling came over from the Beavers and is a reliable target for Chiles. He caught 36 passes for over 400 yards and just one touchdown. If he can become more of a threat in the red zone, it will do wonders for this offense. He has one more year and is returning. Brennan Parachek and Michael Masunas held backup roles and will do so again in ‘25.

||| OL

This group was much maligned and blamed for the struggles on offense. The right side really struggled and you can’t do much against top-level competition they face with just two plus interior linemen — namely LG Luke Newman and C Tanner Miller. They lose those two and RG Brandon Baldwin. This is being addressed in the portal and the big ‘get’ is Matt Gulbin coming in from Wake Forest. He’ll start at one of the guard spots. Luka Vincic took a year but is now heading over from Oregon State and is likely to take over for Miller at center. There is still other work that needs to be done here.

DEFENSE: This unit was good enough to keep this from becoming an embarrassment. They didn’t put up eye-popping surface numbers, but how could they? They offense was not sustaining drives and making it tough on this group. They didn’t record a lot of sacks, partially because of the scheme they chose to employ — but they did do alright stuffing plays in the backfield. They allowed just 7.3 yards per attempt for opposing passers and 206.9 yards per game (ranked 46th in FBS). That secondary was impressive given the challenges faced. They kept the big plays to a minimum by keeping the plays in front of them — another contributing factor to less pressure on the quarterback. If they could have done a bit better getting off the field in third down, this could have been next level. An impressive job done here by defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, who came in from Minnesota.

||| DL

This was a solid group, led by Ben Roberts and Khris Bogle. Jalen Thompson chipped in nicely as a sophomore and the rest of this rotation went 12-deep, meaning they got a lot involved. Bogle and D’Quan Douse are the two most impactful that have run out of eligibility. Roberts and Thompson return and they bring in two impact transfers in EDGE David Santiago (Air Force) and Grady Kelly (Florida State). This group has a good chance to be improved in ‘25.

||| LB

Cal Haladay and Jordan Turner combined to become a really solid combo here at linebacker. Turner was particularly impactful in run defense. Both graduate and now it’s Wayne Matthews III and Darius Snow’s turn to step into bigger roles — both showed well in about 1/4 snaps behind the starters. They are joined by BYU transfer Aisea Moa, who will certainly see the field and impact things. It’s never great to lose your top two, but there is enough here to keep it solid.

||| DB

This was the most impressive unit on defense. Led by S Nikai Martinez and CBs Ed Woods and Charles Brantley, they handled everything thrown their way (literally). They do lose Woods (graduation) and Brantley (transfer to Miami) and that hurts. Martinez will return and they will need UConn transfer Malcolm Bell to play a key role right away. Others will be asked to step up and Justin Denson Jr. is a name to know as he showed well in limited action as a true freshman.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Jonathan Kim was really good and cashed in on 21 of 22 field goal attempts, including 3/4 from beyond 50+ yards. Somehow he missed two PATs (?). He graduates and they will need to replace him. Ryan Eckley was a good punter as well and he will return for ‘25. Primary punt returner WR Montorie Foster Jr. has graduated and they will need to find somebody to handle these as he didn’t really share those duties. Overall, this was a good group and replacing Kim is going to be critical.

Reader feedback is requested and encouraged! Who knows these teams better than their passionate fan bases? We don’t pretend to know it all and would love your feedback. We will update/edit based (and credit) for anything that is brought to our attention. Let’s do this together…

|||||| TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER

Nice work being done in the portal here thus far. Sure, the losses of CB Charles Brantley (Miami) and DL Avery Dunn hurt, but the additions are outweighing the losses with EDGE David Santiago coming in from Air Force, OL Matt Gulbin providing a much needed front-line starter on the offensive line and a pair of big-upside wide receivers in Chrishon McCray (Kent State) and Omari Kelly (Middle Tennessee via Auburn). Smith knows he needs to get more talent in here to deal with the big boys in the Big Ten and the building of the roster must come through the portal in some form or fashion.

Below is a screen shot of the full, live Transfer Portal Tracker over at CFBDepth.com. Click the image or the button below to view it in its entirety…

Live Michigan State Portal Tracker >

|||||| 2025 RECRUITING CLASS

Smith and his crew built up Oregon State with similarly ranked recruiting classes. This one is coming in mid-50’s right now and while that may be concerning, it really shouldn’t be. They focus on finding players who will outperform their consensus ratings and develop into contributors. They only have one 4-star coming in and that’s running back Jace Clarizio, an in-state get who they fully expect to jump into the mix quickly. High 3-stars include some defensive players, both in-state and hitting up Texas, Maryland and California.

Here is a snapshot of the 2025 Recruiting Class+ with a link to the live page with updates throughout the cycle:

2025 Michigan State Recruiting Class+ >

|||||| 2025 SCHEDULE LOOK AHEAD

This is definitely easier than a year ago. Ohio State and Oregon fall off the schedule and they get Michigan and Penn State at home. Road trips include a long one to Souther Cal in week four, Lincoln (Nebraska), Bloomington (Indiana), Minneapolis (Minnesota) and Iowa City (Iowa). Not all that bad. That home game against Boston College in week two is going to be critical to get this to a 7-8 win season in Smith’s second at the helm. They also need to have a little more luck and bounces go their way.

There is a lot of movement and decisions to be made throughout the off-season, including more portal moves, winter workouts and spring ball. Get all caught up with the full-on State of the Chart Magazine coming in July. If you missed the ad before, get more information and give us your e-mail to stay in the loop on everything SOTC!

State of the Chart Magazine >

We hope you enjoyed this content. Please subscribe, re-stack, share, and spread the word of this little endeavor. This fuels our work each and every day and keeps us going. Thank you.

Share CFBDepth’s Substack

Big Ten Conference
2/19: Ohio State Buckeyes
2/20: Michigan Wolverines
2/21: Penn State Nittany Lions
2/22: Indiana Hoosiers
2/23: Wisconsin Badgers
2/24: Northwestern Wildcats
2/25: Oregon Ducks
2/26: Nebraska Cornhuskers
2/27: Minnesota Golden Gophers
2/28: Iowa Hawkeyes

CFBDepth’s Substack