Michigan State is in the final week of spring ball with the 15th and final spring practice session set to take place inside Spartan Stadium on Saturday.
The Spartans will have a light practice on Thursday before the Spring Showcase over the weekend, which is free for fans to attend.
“I think we’re progressing,” head coach Jonathan Smith said on Tuesday. “I think we’re working hard. I think we got a ways to go — just like we anticipated in the spring, putting in new offense, defense, special teams. I do think our work ethic is there, but there’s a lot to continue to iron out, which was anticipated. We've got a big summer to do a lot of that and then into August camp.”
Smith announced a rough format of what to expect on Saturday.
“We’re gonna try to get about four quarters in, 10 minutes of running clock, offense vs. defense,” Smith said. “We’re going to let the defense start with a lead, point wise, and then play.”
The Spartans won’t split up into teams like a traditional spring game, but there will be 40 minutes of 11-on-11 scrimmaging to create a “game-like atmosphere” for most of the Spring Showcase.
“I’m excited about it, really for these guys,” Smith said. “They’re excited to run around and play in front of some people and kind of see what it looks like.”
This won’t be the first scrimmage for Michigan State this spring. In the first scrimmage on April 6, there were some ball security issues offensively that got shored up in the second scrimmage, which took place this past Saturday inside of Spartan Stadium.
“It was a good back and forth,” Smith said about the second scrimmage. “Defensively, for the first half of it, they played pretty well — not a lot of balls getting completed or points scored. Second half of it, offense did some things and ended up winning the thing in the red zone.”
One of bigger surprises for Smith has been the play of the special teams, more specifically punter Ryan Eckley and kicker Jonathan Kim. Of course, Eckley and Kim
“First thing that comes to mind, I think our specialists, the way spring has gone,” Smith said when asked which position group has surprised him most. “(Ryan) Eckley, I know I mentioned him earlier, this guy has been great. Jonathan Kim was 100 percent in field goals last Saturday. So, those two jump out.”
There are other position groups that Smith has seen improvements out of, especially the front-seven on defense and the wide receivers room on offense.
“The D-line continues to create some havoc,” Smith said. “I think we’ve got some depth and good players at inside linebacker — Cal (Haladay) has had a great camp, from (practice) one to 13. You can see that he’s experienced but learning the scheme. With Wayne (Matthews) and JT (Jordan Turner) in there, adding it with Jordan (Hall), that’s a deep group at inside linebacker.
“I’ve been pleased with the progression of receiver play. New scheme, learning everything from (practice) one to 13. A couple of plays getting made by (Antonio) Gates today. And Aidan (Chiles) is throwing it pretty well. And Tommy (Schuster), he’s been locked in. I think the guy was like nine of 10 during the scrimmage.”
There are still about four months until the 2024 season gets kicked off, but Smith thinks that his defensive line and quarterback play will be the strengths of his team.
One of the common themes that players have been harping on during the spring is Smith’s open-door policy. Players have the ability to chat with Smith (or their position coaches) at any time.
“I’ll credit these guys, they’ve been in these offices with their coaches a bunch, getting a little extra film or checking in, and anytime they’re walking around, I love to catch up with them," Smith explained.
For Smith, the importance of an open-door policy ties into building relationships and just learning more about each guy.
“I think you want to have an open door to really find out how they’re experiencing the program, checking in on life,” Smith said. “Again, we’re still somewhat new here to learn about these guys in the program and I’ve enjoyed it.”
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