Michigan State QB battle: Jonathan Smith will let starting job ‘play out’ over week

The quarterback position has become a major question at Michigan State after head coach Jonathan Smith made the switch from Aidan Chiles to Alessio Milivojevic for the Minnesota game. Now, it appears to be an open QB battle.

That battle is ongoing, coming out of the bye week and into the Penn State game for Michigan State. Now, Smith says he plans on letting the job play itself out in practice over the next week.

“Similarly, we’re gonna let that continue to go through the week,” Jonathan Smith said. “Again, both of those guys’ skillsets present some positive things. So, we’re going to let that play out again this week.”

Smith would also be asked about a possible two-quarterback system moving into the final weeks of the season. That’s not something he would entirely rule out for his Michigan State offense. However, he did note that letting one quarterback get into a rhythm is sometimes the best option.

“I think that’s not outside the consideration,” Smith said. “Because, you know, because Aidan’s skillset in a package and Alessio’s in a package, that’s not outside our thinking. We haven’t decided on that. I do like the idea of a guy getting the chance to go out there and find some rhythm, and sometimes that takes multiple series in a row, but it’s all on the table right now.”

Michigan State entered the season with Aidan Chiles cemented as its starting quarterback. He had followed Jonathan Smith from Oregon State and started games last season for the Spartans. In nine games this season, he’s completing 63.1 percent of his passes for 1,392 yards and 10 touchdowns to three interceptions. He’s also rushed for 227 yards and another six scores. Michigan State is 3-5 in games he started.

As for Alessio Milivojevic, he came to Michigan State as a three-star recruit in the Class of 2024. His only start was the overtime loss to Minnesota, though he’s appeared in six total games. In that time, he has 592 yards and four touchdowns to an interception. He also has 19 rushing yards for a touchdown.

Michigan State’s next game will be at home on Saturday, November 15th. There, they’ll host the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Jonathan Smith assesses his job as a head coach

It’s been a difficult first couple of seasons for Jonathan Smith at Michigan State. Recently, with some time to reflect, he admitted that it hasn’t been good enough.

“Look, not good enough,” Jonathan Smith said. “You look at the win-loss record, we’re trying to win more than we lose, and we’re not doing that.”

In his less than two full seasons at Michigan State, Smith has an 8-13 record. That’s just 3-12 in Big Ten play. The hope is to add their first Big Ten win this season against Penn State.