Michigan State football: 3 takeaways from 2024 Spring Showcase

Michigan State football was back in action for its annual Spring Showcase. Jonathan Smith’s first spring game is in the books.

Saturday was the beginning of the Jonathan Smith era for Michigan State football. Smith’s changes were evident before the team took the field: his open practice featured a game, something that Mel Tucker did not utilize during his “spring games”.

The annual Spring Showcase brought Spartan fans out to watch the team, including two projected stars: Aidan Chiles and Nick Marsh. Those two have brought considerable hype since they arrived at Michigan State. On Saturday, we saw them in uniform, and they did not disappoint.

What else did we learn?

1. Nick Marsh is as good as advertised

Nick Marsh might actually be better than advertised for the Spartans. During the “practice” portion of the showcase, Marsh provided the biggest highlight with a one-handed snag on a ball that was slightly out of reach from Tommy Schuster.

When the actual scrimmage began, fans had to wait for the second drive to see Marsh. He was working with the second team, and he was the star of the show. The River Rouge product had 30 yards in the first half, beating fellow early enrollee Justin Denson Jr. and Ade Willie in coverage.

When the second half began, the second team took the field first, and Marsh was on the field first. Safe to say, he made an impact. On the very first play from scrimmage, Marsh caught a beautiful pass in the middle of the field and outran Ade Willie for a 75-yard touchdown. I think it is safe to say Nick Marsh provided the wow factor. His (unofficial) Spartan Stadium debut did not disappoint.

2. Nick Marsh was not the only newcomer to impress for Michigan State football

While Marsh (quite literally) grabbed the headlines, Saturday also saw the unofficial debut of a few other Spartans.

Aidan Chiles was slinging the ball with good accuracy and excellent pocket presence and even flashed his mobility for a play. He was using an extremely limited playbook, as documented by Smith. However, the player, coach, and his teammates were pleased with the quarterback’s performance.

Chiles had considerable hype coming into the Michigan State football program, and he showed why.

A few other under-the-radar players Smith brought in also showed their talent. On the offensive side of the ball, early enrollee Brandon Tullis impressed in his reps as the Texan ran angry and ready to cut back on a dime. He ran for quite a few first downs on Saturday, including a near-20-yard run on his first touch as a Spartan.

Finally, transfer quarterback Tommy Schuster was slinging the ball. Until a throwaway in the final quarter of play, Schuster had yet to have an incomplete pass. Schuster started the practice portion cold, with multiple underthrows, but once he was playing against more than air, the quarterback heated up. The main gem was the 75-yard dime to Marsh that went around 30 yards in the air and split the safeties.

Defensively, two players Smith brought in from the transfer portal showed their value. Quindarius Dunnigan, an edge rusher from Middle Tennessee State, was disruptive. On Marsh’s 75-yard touchdown, Dunnigan nearly ended that play, as he was closing in on Schuster. Dunnigan also provided the first two-hand touch sack of the day against Schuster. This came against third-year walk-on Andy Hartman. One last gem of the day for Dunnigan was on Chiles’ second drive, as he blew up a play in the backfield when Nate Carter took a handoff. Dunnigan played with finesse and power, and Smith called him “slippery”.

The last player on defense to highlight was Georgia Tech transfer D’Quan Douse who projects as more of a defensive tackle. He was also extremely disruptive. Douse’s day started with a hands-to-the-face penalty, but he had a short memory of this penalty. He provided a few run stuffs and his highlight of the day came on a third-and-goal situation at the 1-yard-line. The former Yellow Jacket burst through the line and nearly grabbed the handoff instead of a bewildered JoJo Martinez, tackling the back for a loss of four yards.

3. Defense is a cause for concern, but I’m not panicking yet

In my article previewing the Showcase, I mentioned that I was watching the defense to see if there were any changes from last season. On the first drive, Nate Carter could have driven a truck through the hole that led him to a 49-yard score on the second play of the scrimmage. Until Dunnigan’s sack on the following drive, the defense was giving up first down after first down. The defense started with a 14-point advantage and ultimately lost. The new edge linebacker position under Joe Rossi did not make much of an impact. Khris Bogle, Bai Jobe, James Schott, and Jay Coyne were all held in check.

That said, there were a few positives.

There were multiple times when the defense was in the right spot. Dillon Tatum drew a pass interference from an early hit on Jack Velling to break up a pass. Khalil Majeed had a great run stuff in the second half. Justin Denson was all over Nick Marsh in coverage on the receiver’s first catch of the contest. Dunnigan and Douse each gave the defense a spark. Jordan Hall was able to sniff out a run and make the stop after the offensive line pushed the defensive line to him.

The defensive backfield had actual coverages this time, and that is on an admittedly simple playbook. Both the players and staff only had 14 practices to learn and work out the communication in this new system. Tatum and Smith each said that the team was “light years” ahead of where they were at the start of spring practice.

Final thoughts

This Michigan State football spring practice lived up to expectations, and it was nice to see a game with a (simple enough) scoring system. I’m excited for the season but do not think we will see a Kenneth Walker-style resurgent 11-win campaign.

The defense concerned me, but Aidan Chiles, Montorie Foster, Nate Carter, and Nick Marsh all shined on offense. Michigan State football has an offense with a pulse, finally?

I want to wrap this up with an injury report, for those who are wondering.

Here is a list of players who missed today with injury: Cole Dellinger, Stanton Ramil, Alex VanSumeren, Tyneil Hopper, Brennan Parachek (in a boot), Shawn Smith, Caleb Coley, Semar Melvin, and Jaden and Jaren Mangham all missed Saturday’s practice. Additionally, one of Khalil Majeed’s hands was taped into a club and Malcolm Jones left practice after 20 minutes with a trainer and I did not see him return.

Jake Merritt received second-team reps at left tackle today, and his father revealed that the tackle was working on an ankle sprain.

I’m so excited for the season, and also for July to come when we can play as these Spartans in the new EA Sports College Football video game. Dillon Tatum shared my excitement, as he was asked if he had opted into the video game in his press conference, where he confirmed that. He also ended that question and his presser by saying that he hopes he has a 99 tackle rating in the game.