Jonathan Smith voices support for Alessio Milivojevic

Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith voiced some support for Alessio Milivojevic after a second career interception.

Michigan State football was minutes away from a shutout on Friday night, but an errant pass spoiled it. Alessio Milivojevic came into the game late, with the intent of getting a few game reps and his first career completion before the Spartans called it a night. Unfortunately, a route targeted for Alante Brown was perfectly read by former Spartan Tate Hallock, and the defensive back returned it for six.

Milivojevic has gotten praise this offseason for being a new quarterback and earning the backup spot, over the Spartans looking at the portal, but Friday became the quarterback’s second interception in as many pass attempts.

“He will be ready”

Immediately after the game, Jonathan Smith voiced support for Milivojevic, and he re-iterated that support on Monday when he spoke with the media. The former starting quarterback-turned-coach knows the difficulty of the backup’s role, and has full confidence in the Illinois native to have another chance.

“To sit there all day and then throw it on third down, that is not easy for Alessio Milivojevic,” Smith said. “His time is coming. When the situation comes, he will be ready.”

The quarterback entered the game following a sack-fumble by Aidan Chiles, with the starting quarterback being pulled in a 23-point lead and under four minutes on the clock. Milivojevic certainly knew he was likely to play on Friday, but the sudden pivot to him could have been a shock. Additionally, Milivojevic had two live plays before being thrust into his first ever collegiate third-and-medium situation.

The redshirt freshman spent 2024 as the third quarterback on the roster, traveling but not seeing a game rep until the season finale. With the Spartans down big, Smith elected to have his freshman get his first game action. On the quarterback’s second snap, a curl route was read for an interception.

Milivojevic has nowhere to go but up from here, and his teammates have had his back this entire offseason and will continue to voice support. As a senior in high school, he led St. Francis to the state playoffs while contributing nearly 50 touchdowns between the air and ground. With Aidan Chiles having one more year of eligibility after this, there will be plenty of time for Milivojevic to recapture that magic. He has a familiar face in high school teammate Zach Washington coming in with the 2026 recruiting class to help, too.