Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith Praises Aidan Chiles’ Improvement Entering 2025 originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Jonathan Smith finds himself in a position with Michigan State football entering the 2025 season where improvement upon his first season with the Spartans is expected. A lot of that begins with junior quarterback Aidan Chiles, and just how well he adjusts to his second season as a Power 4 starting quarterback.

Smith is a coach who has been faced with having to balance the need for immediate results and the need for player development before, and has danced a fine line doing so both at his previous stop at a lower-tier Pac-12 program in Oregon State, as well as during his first season with the Spartans. When asked on Thursday at Big Ten Media Days about balancing the need for urgency and the need for patience in regards to his presumed starting quarterback, he addressed what he has viewed as significant improvement from Chiles since the two first arrived in East Lansing.

“I’ve got a bunch of respect for him and credit for him,” Smith said during his main press conference at the event. “He had some outstanding plays and some plays where he wasn’t good enough…I look at him statistically from the first half of the season to the second half, it was a whole lot better in the second half. He was improving.”

Chiles finished his first season as a collegiate starter with a 59.4% completion percentage, completing 192-of-323 passes. He threw for 2,415 yards and 13 touchdowns, but also tossed 11 interceptions. 

However, as Smith noted, his final six appearances did look much better than his first six. Chiles did throw for 1,212 yards in the team’s first six games as opposed to 1,203 yards in the team’s final six games, but tossed eight touchdowns to just three interceptions and managed a 61.9% completion rate during that final stretch. Compare that to the opening stretch of the season, where he threw eight interceptions but just five touchdowns, and had a 56.5% completion percentage, and you can see where Chiles made strides as the season continued.

“He can create. He can make all the throws,” Smith said during a separate interview with Big Ten Network on Thursday.

“He can create. He can make all the throws. He’s competitive.”

Jonathan Smith talks @MSU_Football QB Aidan Chiles heading into the 2025 season 👇#B1GFootballpic.twitter.com/XsbMXAo6Kn

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) July 24, 2025

Smith was also open that he understands there were certainly going to be growing pains going from a backup Pac-12 quarterback to a starter in the Big Ten, especially during what was just Chiles’ second collegiate season.

“It wasn’t always easy, right? Year one, new staff, new scheme, new school for him, all of that he was handling,” Smith said.

Smith also took time to praise some of Chiles’ positive attributes as a player that aren’t as visible as his on-field talents, such as his leadership skills and his driven approach to the sport. Overall, Smith seemed impressed with Chiles’ development both in terms of his on-field skills and character traits ahead of the upcoming season.

“He’s a big-time teammate and competitor, and I’m looking forward to seeing him in year two,” Smith said.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 24, 2025, where it first appeared.