Michigan State football: Jonathan Smith has first BTN interview (Video)

New Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith has his first BTN interview on Monday afternoon. Watch it here.

We are now officially two days into the Jonathan Smith era of Michigan State football.

The former Oregon State head coach accepted the job at Michigan State on Saturday afternoon and it’s been a whirlwind since as he’s been speaking to the media, meeting with his team, hiring new coaches, and probably putting together a big board of recruits.

Fans haven’t gotten to hear a whole lot from Smith, however, as he hasn’t been publicly introduced with a press conference yet. But that’s going to change in the coming days. Plus, he’s only in day two of being in East Lansing with his family.

On Monday, however, he spoke with BTN for the first time and gave a great interview.

“I am very confident we can compete at the highest level. Michigan State has done it. It’s proven.”

—Jonathan Smith🔥

(via @BigTenNetwork) pic.twitter.com/DmF6b4Vrdx

— SpartanMag.com (@TheSpartanMag) November 27, 2023

It’s cool to hear his vision for the program.

Some things that stood out to me from the interview were the fact that he said he’s going to prioritize high school recruiting over the portal (which should be the case) and that he’s going to work hard to build trust with the team. These guys don’t know him yet and he doesn’t know them. Smith is willing to put in the work to make sure everyone is on the same page and sees his vision.

Smith had his first team meeting on Monday afternoon and while it seems to have gone well, a couple of players have already entered the transfer portal. Michigan State lost both Spencer Brown and Darius Snow on Monday.

This was a cool eight-minute interview with the new head coach and you can tell he’s excited and “honored” to be here.

Let’s hope he can do what he did at his alma mater and turn the program around in a hurry.