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EAST LANSING – Jonathan Smith and his Michigan State football program will be “breaking bread together” a day before Easter.
As a way to celebrate the end of spring practices. And as a communal gathering for the Spartans and their families who will get to watch them don the pads and work out one more time before the offseason arrives.
“We will get some work done on Saturday,” Smith said Thursday after the penultimate of 15 practices. “A little bit of scrimmage in, a little bit of practice in. But I really feel good about the work that we've gotten done over the last five weeks. Guys have stayed into it and continue to work.”
When they reconvene full-go later this summer, the target date of the Aug. 30 season-opener against Western Michigan at Spartan Stadium will be in sight and the roster should be nearly, if not completely, set for the start of Smith’s second season at the helm. Coming off a 5-7 debut in 2024, the 46-year-old Smith and his staff are feeling more comfortable after a cross-country move from Oregon State and believe the program is heading in the right direction and farther along than they were at this time in their first spring.
“I think you have a ton of guys that have gone through the season, want something different for this season, and they're working towards it,” secondary coach Blue Adams said Thursday. “You have guys that are embracing the process. And so the feel is different that way. You got guys that are competing, you got guys that are coaching – and I'm talking player-to-player. …
“It's really good to kind of go through that process, reevaluate yourself and then attack it again.”
MORE: Michigan State football adds extra eyes to coaching staff with NCAA rules change
The Spartans lost three players to the portal when it opened Wednesday, with defensive end Anthony Thomas the only one who was on scholarship along with two walk-ons. He arrived as a multischool transfer before last season.
Like most programs that undergo coaching changes, particularly since the transfer portal era began in 2018, MSU’s roster looks markedly different than the one Smith inherited when he was hired at the end of the 2023 season to replace the fired Mel Tucker. But Smith, a former Oregon State quarterback, also retained a number of key players who are now veteran leaders such as linebackers Jordan Hall and Darius Snow; defensive backs Malik Spencer and Dillon Tatum; defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren; offensive lineman Stanton Ramil; and wide receiver Alante Brown.
Some of their peer-to-peer preaching has been about what it means to be a Spartan to the newcomers who have arrived either via the portal or in Smith’s first two recruiting classes. And welcoming them to the bigger family.
“We're trying to be the best football team we can be. And people see the vision,” VanSumeren said Thursday. “And for the guys that stayed, in college football these days, guys are hopping around at a bunch of schools. You gotta have pride in your school. I have pride in the university and the people here, pride in the degree, stuff like that. And especially for the new guys, I've been trying to teach them stuff, just about the place in general.”
Smith said the plan for Saturday’s final practice will be about a 50-play scrimmage portion, down from the 90-95 snaps MSU took during last weekend’s second scrimmage of the spring.
“You're always feeling like you always want to improve. And that's what spring ball is,” he said. “Some of these guys that were maybe 2s and 3s last year, have they taken a step enough in their game to be in the two-deep travel roster and feel awesome about putting them on the field? And we've made progress there.
“We do feel good that we have a chance to be better. Now, no guarantees of that, and there's still work to be done. But we feel as a staff – we were just talking about the other day – Year 1 to Year 2, there's a lot of areas we've made some serious progress.”
Though there is not a public spring game as in previous years, following a growing trend nationally, Smith added that MSU will revive the Meet the Spartans event that became a staple of the Mark Dantonio era and went away during the pandemic. It is scheduled for Aug. 21, with more details coming this summer.
VanSumeren said the level of trust he’s built with Smith and his staff is one of the biggest things that has grown from a year ago at this time to the culmination of this spring heading into this fall.
“We're in the building with these guys every day,” he said. “It's like when you go to work, you have your co-workers, you have your boss. You know them as time goes on. … Speaking for me, I stayed because I see the vision with coach Smith, that he has. I think he has done a phenomenal job just getting the guys to buy in to the process.
“That's the biggest thing. If you're not bought in, you're not gonna win games. And that's what we're trying to do, we're trying to win football games.”
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football: Jonathan Smith sees growth in spring practice
Continue reading...
As a way to celebrate the end of spring practices. And as a communal gathering for the Spartans and their families who will get to watch them don the pads and work out one more time before the offseason arrives.
“We will get some work done on Saturday,” Smith said Thursday after the penultimate of 15 practices. “A little bit of scrimmage in, a little bit of practice in. But I really feel good about the work that we've gotten done over the last five weeks. Guys have stayed into it and continue to work.”
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When they reconvene full-go later this summer, the target date of the Aug. 30 season-opener against Western Michigan at Spartan Stadium will be in sight and the roster should be nearly, if not completely, set for the start of Smith’s second season at the helm. Coming off a 5-7 debut in 2024, the 46-year-old Smith and his staff are feeling more comfortable after a cross-country move from Oregon State and believe the program is heading in the right direction and farther along than they were at this time in their first spring.
“I think you have a ton of guys that have gone through the season, want something different for this season, and they're working towards it,” secondary coach Blue Adams said Thursday. “You have guys that are embracing the process. And so the feel is different that way. You got guys that are competing, you got guys that are coaching – and I'm talking player-to-player. …
“It's really good to kind of go through that process, reevaluate yourself and then attack it again.”
MORE: Michigan State football adds extra eyes to coaching staff with NCAA rules change
The Spartans lost three players to the portal when it opened Wednesday, with defensive end Anthony Thomas the only one who was on scholarship along with two walk-ons. He arrived as a multischool transfer before last season.
Like most programs that undergo coaching changes, particularly since the transfer portal era began in 2018, MSU’s roster looks markedly different than the one Smith inherited when he was hired at the end of the 2023 season to replace the fired Mel Tucker. But Smith, a former Oregon State quarterback, also retained a number of key players who are now veteran leaders such as linebackers Jordan Hall and Darius Snow; defensive backs Malik Spencer and Dillon Tatum; defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren; offensive lineman Stanton Ramil; and wide receiver Alante Brown.
You must be registered for see images attach
Some of their peer-to-peer preaching has been about what it means to be a Spartan to the newcomers who have arrived either via the portal or in Smith’s first two recruiting classes. And welcoming them to the bigger family.
“We're trying to be the best football team we can be. And people see the vision,” VanSumeren said Thursday. “And for the guys that stayed, in college football these days, guys are hopping around at a bunch of schools. You gotta have pride in your school. I have pride in the university and the people here, pride in the degree, stuff like that. And especially for the new guys, I've been trying to teach them stuff, just about the place in general.”
Smith said the plan for Saturday’s final practice will be about a 50-play scrimmage portion, down from the 90-95 snaps MSU took during last weekend’s second scrimmage of the spring.
“You're always feeling like you always want to improve. And that's what spring ball is,” he said. “Some of these guys that were maybe 2s and 3s last year, have they taken a step enough in their game to be in the two-deep travel roster and feel awesome about putting them on the field? And we've made progress there.
“We do feel good that we have a chance to be better. Now, no guarantees of that, and there's still work to be done. But we feel as a staff – we were just talking about the other day – Year 1 to Year 2, there's a lot of areas we've made some serious progress.”
Though there is not a public spring game as in previous years, following a growing trend nationally, Smith added that MSU will revive the Meet the Spartans event that became a staple of the Mark Dantonio era and went away during the pandemic. It is scheduled for Aug. 21, with more details coming this summer.
VanSumeren said the level of trust he’s built with Smith and his staff is one of the biggest things that has grown from a year ago at this time to the culmination of this spring heading into this fall.
“We're in the building with these guys every day,” he said. “It's like when you go to work, you have your co-workers, you have your boss. You know them as time goes on. … Speaking for me, I stayed because I see the vision with coach Smith, that he has. I think he has done a phenomenal job just getting the guys to buy in to the process.
“That's the biggest thing. If you're not bought in, you're not gonna win games. And that's what we're trying to do, we're trying to win football games.”
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football: Jonathan Smith sees growth in spring practice
Continue reading...
