Michigan State football: Relax, Aidan Chiles will be just fine

The panic button has been smashed about Michigan State football QB1 Aidan Chiles by some fans, but let’s all relax. He’ll be fine.

As the final pass of the game sailed through the air from Aidan Chiles’ hand and into the waiting arms of a Boston College defender in the end zone, you could almost hear the collective sigh from the Michigan State football fanbase.

Chiles had been building momentum throughout the final drive with under a minute left and he had the Spartans in a good spot to potentially score the go-ahead (and potentially winning) touchdown. Instead of just tossing the ball out of bounds and getting to second down, Chiles felt some pressure and heaved the ball to the end zone, above his receiver’s hands, and into double coverage.

Game over.

Boston College stole a win from the Spartans, 23-19, and it felt like Michigan State was the better team for most of the game which made it that much more painful. Mistakes like three interceptions from Chiles as well as a fumbled kick return to begin the second half were the difference. And yet Michigan State still had the lead with two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Down arguably the top two targets of Chiles on the road in a monsoon, and Michigan State still should have beaten a solid Boston College team.

Yet somehow, fans are looking for someone to blame.

Sure, I took to Twitter to voice my frustration after the interception, calling Chiles’ play “baffling” and stating that he could be a superstar, but he makes some really wild decisions. If he didn’t have a turnover problem, he might be considered one of the bright young stars in the country.

But he does have a turnover problem — for now.

We have to realize that Chiles is a kid. He’s freshly 19 years old (as of a week ago) and just completed his fourth start as a college quarterback. He’s going to make some mistakes. There’s going to be growing pains. He will infuriate us before he has us all chanting his name.

Let him grow.

Yes, the growing pains were expected by most fans. But some expected him to be the savior right away. Sure, we all joked about him being the player to turn the program around, but we knew it would take time.

We have to realize he just went on the road for the second time in his QB1 career against a team that was ranked last week under the lights in a monsoon in their annual Red Bandana Game and still managed to account for almost 300 all-purpose yards and he was a dropped Nate Carter touchdown pass away from leading the Spartans to a huge win.

Plus, how many 19-year-olds are voted team captain by their teammates? He has earned their respect and trust and they’ve seen what he can do first hand, so trust the process.

Let’s all relax and just let Chiles grow. He’s going to be a special player in East Lansing if you can deal with the growing pains.

Michigan State football is going to be better because of him soon enough.