EAST LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Heading into his second season at Michigan State, head coach Jonathan Smith spoke to the media in Las Vegas about the Spartans.

Smith said, “There’s a lot of work being done. Headed into year two, we learned a ton. In year one, the conference, the place the roster, I know there’s fluidity. The college landscape can be fluid. We continued to learn. I thought it was really important, our retention that we were able to have with our roster and our coaching staff to be able to grow and improve off the first season. I am so excited about the coordinators coming back, schematics being similar, to be able to grow and improve on that in year two.”

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MSU returns over 70 players from last year’s 5-7 team. Key players in Las Vegas were linebacker Jordan Hall, wide receiver Nick Marsh, and offensive lineman Stanton Ramil. Smith said on Hall, “You talk about influence in our locker room. He does a great job on and off the field. Had a solid fall for us, but I appreciate what he’s done from January until now. He had a great spring practice and is going to be a vital player for us this fall. He’s also a great student.”

The offense and quarterback Aidan Chiles became topics. Smith is very confident in Chiles, saying, “The guy is a big-time teammate and competitor. He can create. He can make all the throws. He’s competitive.”

The offensive line is one of the biggest areas that has grown from last year. When asked about his confidence in growth of a position, he said, “We want to create more competition in that room. We have four transfers that came in January that have had college snaps before. So that room in particular with the four adds competition. We’ve got some returning players at the offensive line and then continuing to take a step in their game.”

MSU was picked 13th in the preseason poll and starts its season on Friday, August 29, when it takes on Western Michigan in Spartan Stadium.