Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith discusses the start of fall camp, preaches fundamentals
Michigan State football is back. The Spartans opened fall camp for the 2025 season with a practice on Tuesday morning in East Lansing. MSU head coach Jonathan Smith enters his second season at the helm of the program.
Following Tuesday’s practice, Smith discussed his team, what he saw on the first day of practice, what he has learned over the past year, team health and much more.
Smith also had a special visitor on Tuesday, as Michigan State head men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo was spotted at practice. Smith noted that Izzo is “all in” at every sport at MSU, and that Izzo “has been a great person to lean on” since Smith arrived on campus.
“It’s always good to get started,” Smith said about the first day of fall camp. “Practice one … we had good energy out there. A lot of work’s been put in this last summer, getting ready for, really, this day and this month. Really excited about the group. You can tell the work that’s been done — bigger, faster, stronger, guys moving around. Again, first day, (guys are) just in a helmet only, but I thought it was a really good start and guys have progressed.”
The focus on day one of practice is on fundamentals, according to Smith.
“Heavy amount on the fundamentals in day one,” Smith explained. “When we’re just in the helmet, we’re not doing a ton of team period, so it’s a heavy emphasis on fundamentals — your stance, your start, your footwork. Do a lot of formation recognition, especially on the defensive side, just making calls and those kind of things.”
More familiarity and lessons learned
As he begins his second campaign in East Lansing, Smith has learned many lessons since the start of his first fall camp ahead of the 2024 season last summer to now.
When asked about the difference between this time last year and today, Smith acknowledged that a lot has changed over the past 365 days or so.
“Well, quite a bit different just in how much lead time, you know, a year of experience,” Smith said when comparing the start of fall camp last year to the start of fall camp this year. “Even what we got done this summer — we did a heavy amount in June as well, getting with guys (in their) second year of the scheme (for) offense, defense and special teams. We actually did a little bit of prep last week in regards to getting with these guys. So it felt quite a bit different — a lot cleaner, just guys moving in the right spots, less mistakes, that kind of thing.”
Smith also explained that the team’s progress over the past year has been a group effort. It’s not just the coaching staff working with the players, but the strength and conditioning staff, nutrition staff, training staff, sports science staff and other departments have all played a part in transforming the players’ bodies and getting them ready for training camp.
“Definitely going through year one, you learn and then you try some new things,” Smith said. “We’re always trying to be on the cutting edge in regards to how we’re training. And it’s not just the two hours they’re spending in the weight room — nutrition’s a part of that, sports science is a part of that, our training room’s a part of that. I think we’ve just got an elite group (and) that all of those groups do a really good job.”
Michigan State’s 2025 roster includes around 70 players who returned from the 2024 squad, but also brings in around 25 transfers and an entire new class of true freshmen to make up the 121-player team this season.
Smith mentioned that there is certainly an “advantage” to retaining that many players from last year’s roster, which is becoming a much tougher task in this day and age due to NIL (name, image and likeness) and the transfer portal. Smith said that the staff is “really happy” that “70-some-odd guys” are still on the roster. While many of the transfers enrolled in January and went through spring ball with MSU already, Smith also explained that the Spartans are still getting their “first look” at several of the newcomers (both freshmen and transfers from the spring window) who joined the team this summer.
“You definitely feel a deeper bond, more comfortable, I’d say, just because you’ve had a longer experience with them,” Smith said about the players who are entering their second year under his tutelage. “I do sarcastically say that everybody’s choosing what roster they’ve been on. For them to choose us is a real thing because they’ve got options to go to other places. And this day and age in college football, you’re gonna have more movement than you would have, call it, four or five years ago. So, it’s an exciting time in regards to having, yeah, a good amount of guys back, but also diving into some pieces that we think are gonna really help us with our depth and competition.”
In this era of unlimited transfers and heavy player movement where it is now rare to see a player stick at one school for four or five years, Smith still believes in his staff’s developmental approach. While Smith is adamant that Michigan State will be “competitive” in the NIL space, he noted that is only one “piece of the pie” at MSU when it comes to recruiting and retaining players.
“We’ve got a big-time coaching staff,” Smith said. “These guys can teach and coach. So the longer the player is in the program, I’m confident they’re gonna improve.”
Depth, competition, leadership and team health
Speaking of that competition and improved depth Smith mentioned above, he believes the Spartans will be able to rotate a lot of bodies in at several different positional groups, including the offensive line, linebacker, the secondary and more. While there are some spots where the starters are pretty much set, many rotational roles are up for grabs.
“I think a year ago, probably more battles to start, this year we’ve got more battles for how much you’re gonna play,” Smith explained. “We might have the guys run out there first, but we want to be a place where we’re rotating. I think about the defensive side, I think we can play a lot of guys.”
Regarding the offensive line, after dealing with injuries there in 2024, Smith said that the depth is “critically important” at that position and that the Spartans “want to be able to play more than five guys” on the offensive line. He believes the team has enough capable players to be able to do that in 2025.
Three of of the offensive linemen who missed the majority (or all of) the 2024 season include interior players Kristian Phillips, Gavin Broscious and Cole Dellinger. Dellinger is yet to see game action in his Spartan career due to injuries. Phillips started the first game of the 2024 season versus Florida Atlantic before suffering a season-ending injury. Broscious played in three games total and started two games in 2024 following Phillips’ injury before enduring a season-ending injury himself. All three players were back on the practice field Tuesday. Smith noted that Phillips and Broscious “ran with the first and second groups today,” and said Dellinger was “around that” as well.
Smith also noted that the team is getting leadership from several of the returners on the squad, such as quarterback Aidan Chiles and wide receiver Nick Marsh, but he also called out transfer offensive linemen Matt Gulbin (center) and Luka Vincic (guard) as newcomers who have already taken on leadership roles. Both Gulbin (who transferred in from Wake Forest) and Vincic (who previously played under Smith at Oregon State) enrolled in January and participated in spring ball with the Spartans.
“We’re in double-digits in regards to leadership on this team,” Smith said about the number of players who have taken on roles as leaders.
When asked about the overall team health, Smith said the team is currently in a “solid” spot. He mentioned that nobody has suffered a season-ending injury as of yet. Smith said that the team is being “smart” with some guys dealing with ailments and those players are being “eased in.”
One other interesting note is that Smith singled out true freshman defensive tackle Derrick Simmons as a guy who “showed up” and impressed Tuesday.
Michigan State opens the 2025 season on Friday, Aug. 29 versus Western Michigan at Spartan Stadium (7 p.m. on FS1).