With the 2024 football season fast approaching, Michigan State had its first practice of fall camp on Tuesday.

There is optimism and excitement surrounding the Spartan football program under the helm of first-year head coach Jonathan Smith.

Sixth-year senior defensive tackle Maverick Hansen is one of the leaders and most experienced players returning for the 2024 season. Hansen decided to return for a sixth year in East Lansing when Smith expressed interest in keeping him.

“I didn’t have to transfer," Hansen said. "He (Smith) was interested in keeping me. I want to stay at my alma mater and give everything I have this one last year. I think we got the best staff in position and we’re going to take the right step forward."

Hansen is the only player on MSU’s roster who has played under former head coach Mark Dantonio, doing so as a true freshman in 2019 and redshirting that season.

Dantonio has now been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, and his teams often excelled at carrying the underdog role in big games, which is something that the sixth-year senior is embracing heading into the season.

“As a program, we’ve been the underdog in many years, even when Coach Dantonio was here," Hansen said. "They’ve always looked at us as the underdog. I really like that."