SHOCKING: Michigan Quarterback makes decision to leave.
Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles looks to pass during the the team’s first spring practice on March 19, 2024 in East Lansing, Mich.Photo provided by Michigan State athletics
Following strong play in a backup role as a true freshman at Oregon State last season, Aidan Chiles entered the portal and was one of the top transfer quarterbacks on the market.
The Southern California native quickly made the transition from the Pacific Northwest to East Lansing for one reason.
“It was a very easy decision for me,” Chiles said Tuesday after spring practice. “It was my coach.”
Jonathan Smith left Oregon State, his alma mater, after six seasons to take over the Spartans in November. A couple weeks after he arrived in East Lansing, Chiles announced he would also make the move from Corvallis.
Michigan State is coming off back-to-back losing seasons and last year was especially ugly as coach Mel Tucker was fired for cause in September and the team endured a six-game losing streak while also being hammered by the top competition. Smith’s hire gives the Spartans a rising, offensive-minded coach who went from walk-on to star quarterback for the Beavers, along with some positive buzz to a program desperately in need of it. Adding Chiles creates more hope for a team that languished offensively in three of Tucker’s four seasons and lacked consistent quarterback play.
“I feel it. These guys wouldn’t have stayed if they didn’t feel it,” Chiles said of the returners on the roster. “I’m happy with the guys we have and I think we’re going to do big things this upcoming fall.”
Chiles, 6-foot-3 and 213 pounds, headlines a complete overhaul at quarterback for Michigan State after all three scholarship players at the position last season transferred out. He’s joined by Tommy Schuster, a graduate transfer from North Dakota, and a pair of 2024 three-star signees in Alessio Milivojevic and Ryland Jessee. Chiles is also the obvious favorite to take over as the starter and Smith last week said it would be “an upset” if that isn’t the case.
“I really don’t think about it too much,” Chiles said of his place on the depth chart. “I came here to compete, I came here to play football and I came to play on the biggest stage.”
“It was very important,” Chiles said of the experience. I’m glad I did it but I’m also glad that I didn’t start as a true freshman simply because if I didn’t have D.J. there, the growing pains would’ve been way worse than what they were. Now, me adapting to what I had to adapt to, I’m glad I had D.J. there leading me and guiding me so that I could be ready for this right now on this stage.”
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