Nick Saban believes in Aidan Chiles and you should, too

Former Michigan State and Alabama head coach Nick Saban has endorsed Aidan Chiles as the Spartans’ QB1 with some high praise.

Following a third straight loss and yet another critical Aidan Chiles turnover in the red zone, Michigan State football fans had to ask themselves: are these just growing pains or is there a bigger issue developing?

There are decent points to be made on both sides, but it feels like the “trust the process” crowd got a huge shot in the arm over the weekend.

Not only did Chiles look OK besides one turnover at the goal line against Oregon (the best or second-best team he’ll see all year), but he got the endorsement of one of the greatest coaches to ever man the sidelines: Nick Saban.

Nick Saban on Aidan Chiles:

“Tremendous ceiling. I think this guy has tremendous upside. He’s a good thrower, a good passer. Makes a lot of good throws, can beat people with his feet.” pic.twitter.com/fPCNN0PovT

— Michigan State Content (@msucontent) October 5, 2024

A College GameDay prompt was proposed to Saban with the sentence “The ceiling for Aidan Chiles is ___” and his response should give Michigan State fans plenty to be excited about.

“Tremendous,” Saban replied.

Saban also called him a dual-threat who is a good passer and he just needs to eliminate the bad plays. The greatest college football coach of all time said that Chiles is a really good player with tremendous upside who just needs to learn that he can throw the ball away or take sacks instead of forcing throws that usually lead to turnovers. And as someone who has defended Chiles all season even through the plethora of turnovers, he’s right.

Chiles has the talent that could make him one of the best quarterbacks in the country, but until he learns how to eliminate those mistakes or just limit them, it’ll always just be potential and not reality.

We’ve already seen Chiles eliminate the bad plays and poor decisions over the past couple of games against two of the best defenses in the country. He had one interception in the second half against Ohio State and one fumble against Oregon. He was a combined 23-for-36 for 321 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in those games while rushing for 20 yards. The growth has been promising.

Now it’s time to find that consistency and tap into that elite potential.