Michigan State Depth Chart Preview: Aidan Chiles ushering in new era at QB

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The following is the seventh in a series of articles projecting Michigan State’s football depth chart, heading into the 2024 season. Our goal is to provide analysis on the latest developments at each position, and reacquaint the fanbase with names and faces on the roster heading into Jonathan Smith’s first season at Michigan State .

QUARTERBACK:

1. AIDAN CHILES (6-3, 213, Long Beach, Calif. | Oregon State transfer)

Chiles is the most ballyhooed member of the incoming transfer class, and one of the most celebrated transfers in program history, but his career is still getting started, with a lot to prove. The excitement around the sophomore centers around the position he plays and the potential he packs.

He served as the second-string quarterback at Oregon State last year, behind DJ Uiagalelei . He has never attempted more than 13 passes in a game. A lot of learning needs to be done, and some patience will be needed. But the physical tools are unmistakable and exciting.

“I think athletically, he’s gifted at throwing the ball, he can move his feet, but he has a deep passion for this game,” said Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith . “He likes studying it, and I think he’s got some instincts to play in the game.

“He’s still a youngster. He had some action last year, but we’re looking forward to seeing how him playing full-time, how he continues to grow and gives us a chance to score some points.”

Chiles appreciates the attention he has received, but has tried to keep things sane. When the student section chanted his name during a basketball game, he smiled and acknowledged the cheers but tried to simmer things down. “That wasn’t the time or place,” he said, out of respect for Michigan State basketball, not wanting to upstage the hardwood Spartans.

He said it was a new experience to have his face featured on the video scoreboard throughout the Spring Showcase scrimmage, something that he needs to become comfortable with, whether he likes it or not.

He likes it. But he’s aware that he’s not a finished product.

THE BOOK ON AIDAN CHILES

Aidan Chiles photo (By Nick King | USA Today Network).

At Oregon State, Chiles saw action in nine games, completing 68.6 percent of his passes (24-of-35) with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He gained 79 yards rushing on 17 carries with three touchdowns.

Smith often scripted Chiles to get at least one series of quality playing time per game, usually in the second quarter.

Smith has excellent speed and elusiveness. Oregon State put it to use last year with zone read option plays and other designed keepers.

He throws well on the run, especially when moving to the right.

Chiles’ most extensive action against a conference opponent came against Stanford on Nov. 11. He completed 5-of-8 passes for 75 yards, and rushed for 14 yards while quarterbacking seven possessions.

SpartanMag took a long look at all of Chiles’ completions in 2023, and many of his incompletions. Early in the 2023 season, he usually settled on his first read or took off with a keeper if the first read was covered. He played that way in the Michigan State Spring Showcase on April 20. He will need to develop his decision-making skills as his sophomore season unfolds. The new NCAA rule allowing in-helmet communication between a coach and the quarterback should help.

“Last year, he played one series a game and that was it,” Smith said. “The first time he went in, in a Pac-12 game, against Utah, it didn’t go great. And then the next week, he bounced back and played really well.”

Smith will look for resilience from Chiles.

“Understanding it’s not going to be perfect,” Smith said. “Next play, the idea of responding. Having a failure recovery system so when you have a setback, you’re ready to respond.

“He got some game experience (last year). That will be helpful. Now, in the same scheme, we’re hoping it really helps.”

Chiles had an excellent completion percentage last year, especially for a true freshman, but at times looked understandably like a first-year player.

He has good deep ball accuracy, as shown on a 52-yard deep shot (on third-and-16) at Arizona.

As the season progressed, he gradually showed more as a passer.

Chiles has excellent speed on scrambles and designed keepers. Last year, the Beavers could expose him to contact in the run game, because he was a second-stringer and a pretty good chain-mover with his feet. It will be interesting to see whether Smith and company will be as willing to do that this year with Chiles regarded as the presumptive starter, and depth at the position a bit sketchy once you get past second string.

Although zone read option plays theoretically put quarterbacks in harm’s way, Chiles was able to maneuver and slalom around without taking any serious shots last year. He’s elusive in addition to being quick and fast.

CHILES VS STANFORD

Chiles’ most extensive action in a Pac-12 game last year came in a 62-17 victory over Stanford in week 10. Chiles was 5-of-8 for 75 yards against the Cardinal, with 14 yards rushing and a TD.

Plusses and minuses from the Stanford game:

FIRST DRIVE:

– On a four-verticals deep shot, he made one read and threw incomplete to a WR who was rubbed out of bounds.

– On third-and-9 from his own 10-yard line: Made two reads in the face of a six-man rush and was sacked. He didn’t have any openings to throw, and no exit lanes for his feet.

SECOND DRIVE:

+ Completed a spot route to TE Jack Velling against cover-four zone.

THIRD DRIVE:

+ Zone read keeper for a gain of 30 to the 1-yard line.

FOURTH DRIVE:

– Incomplete pass to the RB on a wheel route on a third-and-eight. The RB and QB didn’t appear to be on the same page for this pass.

FIFTH DRIVE:

+ Complete pass on a “now” route to the short side vs off coverage for a gain of 13 on first-and-10.

– Incomplete slant to the outside receiver on a third-and-12. Chiles’ pass was thrown behind the receiver. The ball arrived a little earlier than the receiver expected. QB and WR didn’t seem to be on the same page.

SIXTH DRIVE:

– Incomplete on a deep go route on third-and-seven. Receiver was open by half a step but Chiles slightly overthrew him.

SEVENTH DRIVE:

+ 28-yard TD pass to TE Riley Sharp on a counter boot late release. Oregon State sent two verticals deep on a dagger concept, clearing out the safeties and then releasing the TE on a late leak. Oregon State also had a receiver one level deeper on an over route, giving Chiles choices. The route concept was quick, simple but also complex, and Chiles found the wise, open choice.

STRUGGLES VS UTAH

As for Chiles’ performance against Utah which Smith said “didn’t go great,” the freshman QB was sacked twice.

– On the first sack, Velling stayed in to pass protect as an offset fullback, and was beaten by a rusher, allowing the sack. Chiles tried to execute a counter boot with what appeared to be one deep read, but he was sacked before he could throw.

– On the second sack, on second-and-19, Oregon State sent four verticals deep. In the face of a four-man rush, Chiles had time to move in the pocket, buy some time and maybe escape. Instead, he made one read, tucked and kind of attempted a panic run, but was stopped for a loss.

++ As for positives against the Utes, Chiles hooked up with a WR on a 23-yard flag route. One read, good accuracy. It was among the best downfield throws he threw all season.

It was a second-and-12, with Oregon State leading No. 10 Utah 7-0 in the second quarter. Tense situation. Against tight man-to-man coverage, Chiles completed the pass to the receiver’s back shoulder. Real nice throw.

BOUNCE BACK VS CAL

Smith said Chiles “bounced back and played really well” against Cal, the week after the Utah lessons.

Chiles was 2-of-2 for 21 yards with a TD against the Bears.

+ Completed a slant for a gain of 10.

++ Threw an 11-yard TD to speedy Oregon State WR Silas Bolden on a corner route in the back of the end zone. Bolden lined up as an inside WR and got a slight rub from the outside WR’s stop route. This gave Bolden a half step opening. Chiles was on time and on target, making one read against a high-traffic, eight-man coverage scheme.

The score was 7-3 in the second quarter. The situation was third-and-five. Quality pass in tense circumstances.

PLUSSES VS UCLA AND ARIZONA

++ Against the Bruins, threw a 10-yard TD pass to TE Velling on third-and-goal flare route. Oregon State’s No. 1 WR (i.e. the widest receiver) ran a stutter-and-go. Two defenders miscommunicated and both went with the No. 1 WR, leaving the TE wide open in the flat.

Chiles appeared to do a good job of eyeing the safety and freezing him in place and maybe influencing the CB to incorrectly vacate the flat and go with the No. 1 WR.

Chiles has not yet shown a veteran ability to influence or freeze defensive backs with his eyes, but this play against the Bruins was one occasion when he did it.

++ Against Arizona, he connected with a WR on a 52-yard deep shot on third-and-16. Against off zone coverage, the WR ran a skinny post. Chiles made one read, had him open, let it rip and hit him accurately.

++ Against Colorado, Chiles had a 23-yard TD run. On second-and-10, he faced a five-man rush with five receivers out. It was man-to-man coverage, which is weak against QB keepers – especially with only six in coverage.

Chiles read man-to-man and quickly made a good decision to tuck and run. He broke a shoestring tackle attempt at the 6-yard line and scored.

CHILES AT MICHIGAN STATE SPRING SHOWCASE

Aidan Chiles photo (By Nick King | USA Today Network).

SpartanMag unofficially had Chiles at 7-of-14 for 104 yards with 1 TD, and one rush for a gain of 17 (with no tackling) in the spring scrimmage on April 20.

Chiles series by series, plusses and minuses (with some receiver and defensive back analysis sewn in):

(Note: These are unofficial observations. There will be times when I give a player a minus when there are aspects of the play that I’m not aware of that might compel the coaching staff to give a plus grade for reasons that are over my head).

FIRST DRIVE :

+ Completion to Montorie Foster on a slant, caught at 12 yards, gain of 21, vs cover-three zone. Chiles’ pass was on time and accurate.

SECOND DRIVE:

– Incomplete pass intended for Montorie Foster on a short curl. Foster was working against Charles Brantley in man-to-man. The pass concept had a curl/flat to the right; Jaron Glover might have been the open choice. Chiles looked to the right initially and then came back to Foster to his left, so credit to Chiles for attempting to make multiple reads or at least give that impression, against a five man rush.

As for the pass, it looked like Chiles expected Foster to run a comeback to the sideline rather than curl to the inside.

– Incomplete pass intended for Glover on third-and-13 against two-deep/man-under. Glover was working against Brantley. Glover ran a dig; Brantley had it well-dovered.

Chiles threw it like he was expecting Glover to continue to the middle on the dig, but Glover stopped. Lack of chemistry between QB and WR, and a sign that summer reps were needed. (Brantley played inside technique with safety help to the middle). Brantley took away the dig, took away the middle, making it hard for Glover to get there and Glover kind of ended his route.

THIRD DRIVE :

= Completed pass to RB Nathan Carter to the flat for a gain of eight. Chance Rucker missed a tackle. ( Brandon Baldwin was functional in pass protection against Quindarius Dunnigan . Ashton Lepo was okay against Khris Bogle .)

– Incomplete pass high, intended for WR Aziah Johnson on a dig against cover-three.

– Incomplete pass, thrown away, out of bounds, on second-and-10. (Lepo was okay against Jordan Hall , with Hall as a rush end in two-minute defense; Cal Haladay and Wayne Matthews played inside backer on this play).

– Incomplete pass intended for Velling on a corner route to the field on third-and-10. Dillon Tatum was a flagged for pass interference while making early contact on Velling. Velling was open. Chiles kind of missed him.

++ Pass complete to Foster for 34 yards on a deep go route. Foster was working against Rucker’s press coverage. Good ball by Chiles.

+ 17-yard TD pass to Nate Carter on a stalk/flag/wheel type of route. It wasn’t a rounded wheel, not an out-and-up. It was more of a flag route, running toward the pylon, and then rounded later. This route signifies some of the subtle mind-bending traits within normally simple, conventional concepts that Smith and Brian Lindgren employ.

Carter looked like he was beginning to stalk block inside linebacker Wayne Matthews, gave him a stutter, then went into a wheel. The Lindgren/Smith offense takes advantage of a lot of brief, benign deception and late leaks. If the run game is operational and pass protection is good, and QB reads and accuracy are sharp, you can see why Demetrice Martin said defensive scheming against Oregon State was a headache when he coached for other Pac-12 programs.

FOURTH DRIVE:

– Incomplete pass for Glover on a dig route at 15 yards, off a play action and half roll. Glover was working against Brantley. The pass was a little high, thrown into a crowd, off of Glover’s hands.

= Short completion to Velling on a screen for no gain.

= Scramble keeper on third-and-10 for a gain of 12. Defense had a three-man rush with a two-LB spy. Cal Haladay let Chiles escape out. Haladay might have been late to recognize the scramble, but you can’t tackle the QB in a scrimmage so it’s unclear how much that factored into it. (Third-and-long might not be a bad scramble down for a Michigan State QB these days. Smith likes to go for it on fourth down. Oregon State was five-for-five on fourth down against Cal last  year, with two of those plays going for touchdowns).

= Completed a throwback pass to RB Joe Martinez for a short gain. LB Wayne Matthews with a good read, reaction and a solid hit from zone coverage.

FIFTH DRIVE:

+ Completed pass to Foster on a slant. Foster lined up as the No. 2 receiver, vs. slot LB Darius Snow. Snow’s loss of quickness was evident on this play. Chiles saw quarters coverage, made one read and zipped his best throw of the day.

Middle linebacker Jordan Turner read the QB, dove for a deflection, came up a few inches short.

Chiles executed a quick release, with zip, and accuracy. Probably his best pass play of the day to that point in terms of crossing routes.

+/- Incomplete pass to Glover, who failed to catch a fade on second-and-goal at the 1-yard line. The o-line was blocking for an outside zone. Whether or not Chiles had an RPO option to hand off to the RB is unclear. Glover was working against Rucker’s press coverage. Glover was open by half a step or less. Chiles delivered a well-thrown ball, but it went through Glover’s hands.

THE TAKEAWAY: Chiles exudes talent, and has come to Michigan State with a lot of fanfare and optimism. But he was still just a true freshman last fall at Corvalis and into the spring in East Lansing. There are a lot of teaching moments that he needs to experience. Chiles, the coaches and fans will need to be patient.

Smith on Chiles’ performance in the spring’s second closed scrimmage, in comparison to the first scrimmage:

“Solid,” Smith said in April. “Pretty similar in regards to his production and decision-making. He had a couple of runs that were probably explosive plays if we had live tackling.”

There’s no doubt that teammates are excited about Chiles’ potential.

“We have a lot of new guys, a lot of new guys that can make plays,” said Michigan State safety Dillon Tatum. “I feel like we have a really good quarterback who can run, pass and make good decisions. I think it’s going to be really good, especially now that we can … pass.”

2. TOMMY SCHUSTER (6-0, 200, Macomb Township, Mich. | North Dakota transfer)

In December, there was a strong chance that Michigan State would head into the 2024 season with Chiles and nothing but rookie teen-agers behind him at the QB position. But Michigan State found a workable insurance match in Schuster, a sixth-year transfer from the University of North Dakota.

Schuster played five seasons at North Dakota and set school records in passing yards (9,075), completions, touchdowns (63) and total offense. He started 42 games at North Dakota.

He completed 67 percent of his passes at North Dakota.

He comes back to his home state, where even the MAC schools passed on him after he led Chippewa Valley High School to a Division 1 state championship. He was a 14-of-14 for 209 yards in the 2018 state championship game, setting a state record.

He’s short, at 6-feet tall. He has middling foot quickness. His arm strength is just okay. But his QB brain seems to be outstanding, and his accuracy is good. That’s been enough to become a plus player at the high school and FCS levels. And that makes him an excellent back-up, at the least, for 2024.

Coaches were pleased to bring him to Michigan State. And judging by the eyebrow raises and voice inflections when Smith talks about Schuster, the veteran newcomer is playing to excellent reviews.

“Touchdown Tommy?” Smith said, when asked about Schuster at Big Ten Media Days on Tuesday. “This guy had a big-time spring. He made some impressive plays, not just throwing the ball, but composure in the pocket, understanding the scheme, very limited mistakes. He did a really nice job.”

Prior to the Spring Showcase, Smith complemented Schuster for his performance in the first two scrimmages in April.

“He’s been locked in.” Smith said. “He was approximately 9-of-10 in the second scrimmage.”

SCHUSTER AT MICHIGAN STATE SPRING SHOWCASE

Tommy Schuster photo. (By Nick King | USA Today Network).

SpartanMag unofficially had Schuster at 6-of-8 for 134 yards with 1 TD and one rush (sack) for -5 yards.

Schuster’s performance was consistent with the compliments he’s been receiving from Smith, and congruent with his steady productivity at North Dakota.

Schuster sees the whole field, and he looks off safeties while waiting for the proper instant to pull the trigger. He shows a strong grasp of pre-snap reads. When his back foot hits the ground on his dropback, the ball is usually coming out, if something is reasonably open. He’s quick with reads, decisive and accurate, with good touch.

When things are covered, or his alleys are obstructed due to his height, he has a decent ability to create on the run. Sometimes he lofts strange little floaters while on the run.

He spent most of the Spring Showcase working with second-string receivers, against second-string defenders.

The unofficial scorecard:

+ Completed pass to Jaelen Smith at 5 yards on an out route for a gain of 10 against off man-to-man to the field. (Missed tackle by CB Ade Willie).

+ Completed pass to TE Ademola Faleye for 15 yards. It was a play action pass, then a half roll to the right. Schuster had two intermediate levels to choose from – RB Brandon Tullis on a little flat route, and Faleye beyond him on an over route. Falaye was in man-to-man against rush end Jalen Thompson . It was a tough cover for Thompson as part of his new role. Faleye got a step on him and Schuster recognized the matchup advantage.

= Completed pass to TE Michael Masunas on a short curl for a gain of about eight on third-and-11. Freshman safety Jaylen Thompson read it and was pretty quick with his break and the tackle.

SECOND QUARTER SCHUSTER :

+ Play action pass complete to WR Nick Marsh for a gain of 17. Marsh ran an inside stem, then a square-in. It was basically a dig with a subtle semi double move sewn in, the likes of which are common on Oregon State film but will be new at Michigan State. The double moves sometimes aren’t exagerated but just kind of herky-jerky. Michigan State will have some knuckleball aspects to its pass game.

Schuster was on time and on target with the ball against freshman Justin Denson .

At pre-snap, Schuster stared down the middle, never looked at Marsh prior to the snap but saw him and read the coverage to that side in his peripheral vision.

+/- Incomplete pass intended for WR Jaelen Smith, but Smith dropped it. Schuster threw to Smith on a comeback route vs quarters press. Schuster looked left and then came back to his right and delivered a catchable ball.

+ Complete pass to Marsh on a dig route for a gain of 13, caught at 11 yards. Nice, non-vanilla concept here. Schuster pump-faked to a WR to one side, and held his look over there to get the post safety to drift to that side, and then Schuster came back to Marsh on the other side vs Ade Willie on the dig.

– Incomplete pass, while working ones vs ones. Pump, got some pressure, threw it away. Pass in the direction of Velling, who was well-covered by Wayne Matthews as part of quarters coverage.

Schuster looked for Montorie Foster deep vs quarters, but Chance Rucker carried him deep and had Malik Spencer there with him as well. Schuster tried to bait Rucker with the pump but Rucker didn’t bite.

THIRD QUARTER SCHUSTER:

+ Completed a 75-yard TD pass to Marsh on the first play of the second half. Against cover-three zone, true freshman Jaylen Thompson was the deep middle safety and was influenced into a mistake.

Marsh and Jaelen Smith both sprinted to the cover-three seams with aggressive route expression. Then, they each broke off their routes simultaneously.

The simultaneous timing of those receivers, making their breaks at the top of their routes, seems like a simple concept, but it’s not all that common these days. Oregon State showed it a lot last year, and now we’re seeing it at Michigan State.

If the WRs and QB are on the same page, these swift simultaneous breaks can be hard for a defense to match. Sometimes those breaks are at different downfield levels, due to the shallow-level receiver being a bit later in getting into his route, by design.

On this play, Smith threatened the seam deep but then broke it off inside on a dig route. At the same moment, Marsh made a deep break for the post. Deep middle safety Jaylen Thompson was put in a bind to read both breaks at the same time.

Thompson opted to bite down on the Smith dig route. That opened space for Marsh over the top on the post cut at the same moment. Thompson didn’t stay as deep as the deepest. And he only had a fraction of a second to recognize which of the two were going to be the deepest.

Outside zone run blocking served as deceptive pass protection on this deep shot. Schuster executed a play fake and half boot to the right. It was a deep shot all the way, but pass rush was held up by the threat of zone run blocking rather than conventional pocket pass protection.

The play resulted in what might have looked like a garden variety deep post. But the details under the hood were simple, yet complex – and (most importantly) executed with 11 minds on the same page.

Former Spartan Bai Jobe (now at Kansas) applied late pressure as a stunting spy. After the game, Coach Smith said if it had been a live-tackling situation, Schuster would have taken a good hit and insinuated he might not have gotten the pass off.

FOURTH QUARTER SCHUSTER :

– Play action throwback screen to Faleye was incomplete, covered by Haladay.

+ Completion to TE Jack Nickel on a flat route for 12 yards. Pass nullified by pass interference rub by WR Alante Brown. Nickel has transferred to Alabama Birmingham.

= Incomplete pass, grounded purposefully. The screen pass was hurried by a middle blitz. RB Chris Williams tried to pick up the blitzer instead of getting out for a screen pass. Schuster was looking for Williams on the screen, but Williams never presented himself as a receiver so Schuster had to ground it.

THE SCHUSTER TAKEAWAY:

Best-case scenario for Michigan State would be that Chiles is good enough to win and sustain the starting job with no problem, and continues to improve as the season develops. Meanwhile, Schuster earns major trust as the back-up and perhaps even helps tutor Chiles on coverage reads and film study.

Schuster can play winning football at the Big Ten level, as long as he doesn’t have to do too much. Like most functional QBs, if he gets good o-line play, has a serviceable run game and the defense doesn’t constantly put him in a hole, Schuster can manage a game. His talents are limited, but his brain and accuracy are a plus.

I watched every offensive snap of his 2023 game for North Dakota against Boise State. Schuster was 17 of 29 for 142 yards in a 42-18 loss, and had some quality moments that will translate.

His best pass was a deep shot to his favorite receiver for about 40 yards down the left sideline. He felt a five-man rush coming, and kept his eyes on the middle of the field as long as possible while side-stepping a blitzer, and then heaving it deep. The safety arrived to help the CB, but was a step late, due to Schuster freezing him to the middle long enough to create a little bit of a window. The WR wasn’t open, but Schuster put the ball to a place where his guy could make an excellent grab.

Schuster was extremely accurate early in the game with swing passes to the flat, giving the RB an opportunity to make an easy catch in stride and get upfield through the catch, rather than making the RB extend his catch radius, slow his momentum and hurt the gain.

On the negative side, Schuster had two costly fumbles as a ball carrier. North Dakota was pretty competitive in this game, but those fumbles deflated North Dakota’s chances.

Smith likes to give second-string players a series or two of playing time in each game, especially young second-stringers. He played it that way with Chiles as a back-up QB last year. Will Smith do the same thing with a sixth-year, back-up QB this season, or will he want to soak Chiles with as many drives as possible? We’ll see in September.

3. ALESSIO MILIVOJEVIC (6-2, 216, Fr., Naperville, Ill.)

Michigan State flipped Milivojevic from his commitment to Ball State last December. He was a three-star recruit (87.3), ranked the No. 1 QB in Illinois and No. 19 overall in Illinois in the On3 Industry Rankings . He was ranked No. 747 in the nation.

He enrolled early at Michigan State and participated in spring practice.

Milivojevic was 3-of-4 for eight yards in the Spring Showcase while working with the threes against threes.

The scorecard:

Alessio Milivojevic photo. (By Nick King | USA Today Network).

+ Completed pass to walk-on to slot WR Jack Yanachik on a short out for a gain of six. Yanachik (6-3, 194, R-Fr., Warren De La Salle) made my list of eight players at the Spring Showcase who were better than I realized. The list: LG Kristian Phillips, LG Gavin Broscious, RT Charlton Luniewski, QB Tommy Schuster, DT D’Quan Douse, TE Ademola Faleye, RB Brandon Tullis and Yanachik. Yanachik was the only walk-on on my list.

= Completed a flare to RB Jalen Berger for a loss of 3. It looked like Milivojevic’s third read. Yanachik was open on a seven-yard curl and Milivojevic seemed to be looking in his direction but couldn’t find an avenue.

= Incomplete pass to WR Zach Gillespie. Play action roll. Milivojevic missed him by a little but Gillespie dropped the pass while diving. Not an accurate pass but should have been caught.

+ Complete pass to WR Grant Calcagno for a gain of four on a shallow cross which became a sit-down route vs zone.

4. RYLAND JESSE (6-4, 217, Fr., San Diego)

Jesse was a late flip from his commitment to Utah State. He enrolled early and participated in spring practice.

Jesse was a three-star recruit (84.3), ranked No. 1,503 in the nation and No. 112 in California in the On3 Industry Rankings.

In the Spring Showcase, he was 2-of-3 for 3 yards.

The scorecard:

Ryland Jessee photo. (By Nick King | USA Today Network).

= Incomplete pass for TE Ademola Faleye. Off a counter boot roll, he threw a high but catchable ball to Faleye on an over route. It went through Faleye’s hands.

Faleye has improved his body, and looks more like a tight end with his route running. I haven’t had a chance to see him every day in practice, so I don’t know much about his hands, but that’s a catch he needs to make if he wants to earn trust and rise into the playing group.

= Completed pass to WR Zach Gillespie on a curl for a gain of five. The ball seemed to be a little late. But it was a solid throw to the wide side of the field against off coverage.

= Completed pass to RB Davion Primm in the flat as part of a snag concept. Jesse kind of floated the pass, and it was stopped for no gain. Primm has transferred to Morehead State.

THE FRESHMAN TAKEAWAY: I felt Milivojevic’s high school film was a bit better than Jesse’s and it appears that Milivojevic is a step ahead in the pecking order at this time. Both players are extremely young and limited. One or both could develop into functional QBs at some point, but Michigan State would prefer to go through the 2024 season without needing either of them on the field.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Safety Dillon Tatum is right when he says Michigan State has something it didn’t have last year in terms of a physically impressive passer. Chiles has tools and ability that I hadn’t seen from a freshman on campus in years, if ever. He’s no longer a freshman, and Michigan State needs him to play like a non-freshman quickly.

“His ability to create and be accurate with it will be a strength,” Smith said.

Chiles has the demeanor and talent to be the face of the program soon, if not immediately. But think back to Michigan State’s four most recent NFL quarterbacks – Connor Cook, Kirk Cousins, Brian Hoyer and Drew Stanton, and think about where they were as second-year college players. They didn’t look like NFL quarterbacks in year two. Neither did Jim Miller. And Tony Banks didn’t look like one as a junior, after transferring from junior college.

CBS’s Gary Danielson described Michigan State’s new approach as a “quarterback-friendly offense.” If the ground game gets established, Chiles will show the ability to plug the ball where it needs to go, and the passing skills to make the occasional eyebrow-raising throw, and the feet to turn bad situations good. But don’t expect All-Big Ten productivity and consistency in year one. Will he be quite a bit better in November than he is in September? That’s entirely possible, although playing in cold weather is on the long list of adjustments he will have to make in 2024.

Depth Chart Projection Series:

Left Tackle full story.

Right Tackle full story.

Left Guard full story.

Right Guard full story.

Center full story.

Tight end full story.

SpartanMag’s Projected Michigan State Depth Chart

LEFT TACKLE

1. Brandon Baldwin , 6-7, 327, Sr., Detroit
2. Stanton Ramil , 6-7, 312, R-Fr., Alabaster, Ala.
3. Mercer Luniewski , 6-6, 320, Fr., Cincinnati
4. Jacob Merritt , 6-6, 286, R-So., Northville, Mich.

RIGHT TACKLE

1. Ashton Lepo , 6-7, 296, R-Soph., Grand Haven, Mich.
2. Charlton Luniewski , 6-5, 289, Fr., Cincinnati
3. Andrew Dennis , 6-5, 295, Mt. Pleasant, Mich.

LEFT GUARD

1. Kristian Phillips , 6-4, 315, R-Soph., Conyers, Ga.
2. Gavin Broscious , 6-5, 288, R-Soph., Surprise, Ariz.

RIGHT GUARD

1. Luke Newman , 6-4, 310, Gr., Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
2. Dallas Fincher , 6-4, 315, Sr., East Kentwood, Mich.
3. Cooper Terpstra , 6-4, 308, R-Fr., Holland, Mich.

CENTER

1. Tanner Miller , 6-2, 297, Gr., Valencia, Calif.
2. Dallas Fincher , 6-4, 315, Sr., East Kentwood, Mich.
3. Cooper Terpstra , 6-4, 308, R-Fr., Holland, Mich.
4. Cole Dellinger , 6-4, 304, R-Fr., Clarkston, Mich.

TIGHT END

1. Jack Velling , 6-5, 246, Seattle, Wash
2. Brennan Parachek , 6-5, 254, Soph., Dexter
3. Michael Masunas , 6-5, 255, R-Soph., Tucson, Ariz.
4. Tyneil Hopper , 6-3, 257, Gr., Rosewell, Ga.

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