The 2024 football season is now upon us. Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith and the Spartans opened preseason camp on Tuesday, which marked the first time Smith was at the helm of the program for fall camp practices.

After going through spring practices, and leading the Spartans through a busy offseason that included many departures and additions to the roster, Smith got a chance to see his full 2024 squad on the practice field for the first time.

Smith liked what he saw from his team on day one of fall camp, but he knows it is just the beginning.

"Great to get started, day one," Smith said. "(It was) as expected, but good energy. The guys were flying around pretty good. Obviously, we're just in some helmets and spiders, but I was really pleased with what it looked like today.

“I thought it was crisp. You could tell we went through spring ball and they had a good summer. A lot of guys got bigger, faster and stronger, more comfortable in the scheme, and I thought that showed up in day one.”

Smith was hired as MSU's head football coach in late November of 2023. He previously spent six seasons as the head coach for his alma mater, Oregon State.

The opportunity he has at Michigan State is something that Smith looks forward to, and despite now being about eight months into the job, it is still something that excites him. However, he knows he can't do it alone.

"I think it's a new adventure and a new challenge and opportunity that I'm still excited about," Smith said as he begins his tenure at MSU. "I also recognize this opportunity ... this is a big operation. There's a lot of people involved, coaches and players. A big mantra, talking to the team last night, is 'all of us in this thing together.'"

As mentioned, Michigan State's roster looks significantly different than it did in 2023, with more than 40 players from last year transferring out of the program, while 25 new transfers have joined the Spartans since January, along with an entire class of true freshmen and walk-on additions as well.

Many of the newcomers arrived in the summer and did not get a chance to go through spring ball with Smith and the new coaching staff, so there is obviously still a lot of learning going on in the early stages of camp.

"There's some new faces, no question that there's teaching (going on)," Smith said. "They did get the advantage of some summer and they got some work there. (I) kind of described it to the team last night — a lot of teaching spring ball into the summer a little bit. This thing's gonna be pretty competitive for the depth chart, and we've got a lot of depth at positions."

Of course, one of those new faces that Michigan State fans are most excited to see in 2024 is sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles. Smith liked what he saw from Chiles on Tuesday and throughout the summer. The chemistry Chiles built with his teammates throughout the spring and summer should be advantageous for the Spartans.

"I thought he was pretty crisp today," Smith said about Chiles. "We got some nice completions down the field. But, yeah, it was a huge summer of building off of what they got done in the spring — timing and work and detail and all those pass concepts."

Smith also noted that sixth-year senior quarterback Tommy Schuster, who is expected to be Chiles' backup this season had a "nice day" on Tuesday. He expects Schuster to be "totally ready" if called upon and doesn't think the offense would change at all if the North Dakota transfer was in the game.

Smith mentioned that he is interested to see the competition of "every one" of the position groups, but he specifically singled out the inside linebackers, wide receivers and secondary rooms as being highly competitive. Smith believes competition is important for the entire roster.

"I think we're always pushing for some competition, and just because maybe guys are slotted currently at a spot, they know that others are chasing them down," Smith noted. "And then we know, this game, it's a long season, it's a physical game, everybody has gotta be ready to go."

The early goals of fall camp are of course to get the players acclimated with practice and install the schemes. Then from there, the goal is to see progression and improve each and every week heading into Michigan State's season-opening game versus Florida Atlantic at Spartan Stadium on Friday, Aug 30 (7 p.m. on Big Ten Network).

"We're trying to be in a constant state of improvement," Smith said. "In week one (of fall camp), we want to play at a high level and establish, but the installs keep piling on and we want to be improving on that. Details of techniques and scheme, all of that, we want to be (seeing) an improvement. So, we want to be looking way better in week four (of camp) than we are in week one."

-As for the running back rotation, Smith said that redshirt junior Nate Carter, UMass transfer and sixth-year senior Kay'ron Lynch-Adams, true freshmen Brandon Tullis and Makhi Frazier, and redshirt senior walk-on Joseph "Jojo" Martinez are getting "some turns," but unsurprisingly, Carter is "leading the race."

-Smith noted that while Holy Cross transfer and fifth-year senior Luke Newman played primarily tackle for the Crusaders, he will mostly focus on playing on the interior for the Spartans, as expected. Newman worked at both guard and center at Tuesday's practice. Smith also noted that offensive line coach/run game coordinator Jim Michalczik will have guys play multiple positions and the goal is to find the best five offensive linemen to put on the field.

-When asked about guys who have taken big steps in the wide receivers group, Smith mentioned redshirt sophomore Jaron Glover and true freshman Nick Marsh are standing out. Smith said he is "careful to point guys out after just one day," but noted that Glover and Smith had "nice summers."

-Some players who dealt with injures in 2023 and in the spring, including redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Gavin Broscious, sophomore tight end Brennan Parachek, redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren, redshirt freshman offensive lineman Stanton Ramil and redshirt freshman offensive lineman Cole Dellinger participated in Tuesday's practice.

-Offensive linemen Payton Stewart and Rustin Young appeared to be working off to the side without helmets on during Tuesday's practice. Both are true freshmen.

-Smith said that the staff likes to give a lot of reps to the newcomers on the team to see "where they're at."

-Sixth-year senior center Tanner Miller was already praised for his leadership and ability to teach others at Tuesday practice.

-The first team scrimmage is targeted for Saturday, Aug. 10.

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