Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Brian Lindgren Press Conference Coverage
3/4/2024 4:43:00 PM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. – First-year Michigan State offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Brian Lindgren met with the media on Monday afternoon to talk about his offensive philosophy, the Spartan quarterback room, and what he's looking forward to when spring practice starts in two weeks.
The Spartans begin five weeks of spring practice on Tuesday, March 19.
Below are quotes from the media session:
Michigan State Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Brian Lindgren
On how he would describe his offense…
Modern pro-style. We want to be in multiple looks that we give defenses and keep concepts at a high level. We want to give the defense a lot of different looks personnel wise, formational with shift and motions. Then we want to run the ball, make it physical, pride ourselves on mirroring the run and the pass. Making them look the same to push the ball down the field and create explosive plays is a part of what we want to do.
On tight ends being built into the offense…
Yeah, definitely. At Oregon State we were fortunate enough to have some really talented tight ends. We built a lot of our stuff around 12 and 13 personnel sets. Always a fun thing when going into a new program is seeing what we got, personnel wise. That will be a big thing this spring of taking advantage of the personnel. No matter if that's more receiver base or tight end base. Ideally, we're pretty flexible in the different personnel looks.
On if he has a sense of the type of personnel has with the squad now without seeing them on the field…
Kind of. You talk to the coaches who were here in the past who worked with those guys, you watch the film obviously. You get a feel but I don't think until you get them out there, coach with them, work with them, you challenge them with some things in the scheme you'll know. I'm just anxious as I know a lot of our coaches are to work with these guys; do individual drills, challenge them a little bit to see what we got.
On if it's a different kind of spring when he's learning the team…
A little bit. You kind of stick with the core that we do. Expose them to a lot. Challenge them to a lot. See who are your playmakers. As we get more towards training camp in the fall, how we can tweak the offense to fit those guys and take advantage of their skillset. Some of that will be through the first three games and seeing which guys step up and make plays in competitive situation. I love what we do offensively, being flexible enough to play different talents.
On how much bringing in a quarterback who already knows the scheme helps the situation…
It's huge. Bringing Aidan [Chiles] over and already working with him for a year and having experience with him is huge. That's big for us. At the same time, we have four other guys who are totally new and we're catching those guys up. I think it's awesome to have a young guy who's experienced in the system, it puts him quite a bit ahead.
On how much time of possession is a factor in his offense…
I think it will naturally happen. The way we huddle and change the tempo through one-word calls. We want to run the football. So naturally the time of possession grows. At the same time, you look at teams that huddle and run the football, the more explosive you are the less time you get. We don't talk about that too much on offense. For us, it's successfully running the football, staying ahead of the sticks and staying ahead of schedule. At the same time, we want to be explosive and score as many points as we can. We'll see how that can balance out.
On the importance of complimentary football and playing off Joe Rossi…
I think it's understanding the field position. When maybe you want to be more aggressive in certain situations and going for it on fourth down. All that stuff factors in. Working with Coach Smith, a big piece of our success is playing complimentary ball and playing the field position.
On Aidan Chiles' tangibles outside of a physical aspect…
Aidan's got a really cool personality. It's something we're always looking for in recruiting a QB, is that moxy, that kind of 'it' factor that we talk about, to where he's got that confidence and swagger to the way that he plays. He [Chiles] does a really nice job of, if he does make a mistake, flushing that play and moving on to the next, and when he gets hot and getting going, he's one of the more talented guys I've been around. Infectious personality the way he carries himself on the field. Those are the things I get from him. All the big-time guys I been around with had those same traits.
On if two quarterbacks will be on the field at the same time…
Not ideally. I think that last year was a real unique circumstance. We had DJ [Ugiagalelei] who ended up winning the job, had a ton of experience. Then we had Aidan who we think is a special talent and we wanted to keep him coming along. We did give him a series each game and he just ran with it. I think ultimately you want to pick a guy, here's the guy, let him get in a rhythm of the game and let him know it's his.
On if he wants his players to have the same mindset as him when he was a player, or has times changed where its different…
Some of the old school mindset I think from a QB that was instilled in me was, toughness, competitiveness, that kind of deal. That's what we want the QB position to have, 'man this guy can take some shots.' He's the toughest, most competitive guy on the field. I do think the mental side has grown and is becoming a bigger piece of handling social media and exposure you're going to take when you have an off week. How can you respond to that. Being focus to the day-to-day. This is what my task is. Staying in the moment. If I throw an interception, how do I bounce back from that. Flush it and move on from it. That piece has become a lot bigger and is a huge part of the game. The mental edge of the game is how we get our guys a competitive advantage, especially in the quarterback position.
On if he sees Tanner Miller as a leader in the O-Line room and is he more of a center or a guard…
I think Tanner can do both. We're going to ask him to do some center. As far as a leader, he has some experience, he's coming in as a new guy. Anytime you got a guy who has experience playing at this level and has success who knows the system, yeah, we'll love for him to come in and take a leadership role. That's something he'll have to come in and earn. One of the things I love about Tanner is he can play both center and guard. We'll try him at center, we don't know where he'll end up landing, but he will take a lot of reps at center in the spring.
On the wide zone concepts, does he take a lot of looks at Kyle Shanahan's offense and what the 49ers do…
Yeah. Absolutely. When I say, modern pro-style, those guys have done a good job tweaking the system of what it was 15-20 years ago. They draw up different motions. In my mind those are the best offenses in the world as far as offensive football. We studied the 49ers and the Lions are tied to that tree who we'll study in the offseason.
On what attracted him to MSU…
I have been with Jonathan (Smith) for six years and I just really believe in the way that he runs a program and his philosophy of the way that he treats not only players but coaches. The quality of life as far as your family, the way he treats coaches and the way that we're going to work had but also have some time to spend with your family and understanding the importance of that. Believing in the way that he does things, I think that everything we do makes sense. I really believe that and it is easy to get behind. Coming to Michigan State, to me the history and the tradition of the program. Getting to play and compete in the Big Ten conference. I think having recruited quarterbacks against Michigan State I think it's a national brand. It really excites me that we can get some big time talent to work with offensively, and that's exciting. Like I said, the tradition, they have this place going, won 10 or 11 games, two or three years ago (11 wins in 2021). What they did though the last twenty years or so, a lot of success, a ton of wins, making it physical, it lines up with some of the things that we believe in so I am excited to be here.
On the importance of spring ball with new staff and players…
Every minute that we can spend with those guys. It is nice having four of the full-time coaches come over on offense that know the offense, so there is some comfort there. Just getting around these players as much as we can, meetings, walk throughs, taking advantage of every opportunity we can to get better will be huge for us.
On something everyone might not know about Coach Smith…
He's really competitive, one of the more competitive guys and I think sometimes, even in practice he is quiet, he is more reserved but you get around him for anything he is doing, whether you are playing golf, you're shooting hoops, you are doing anything like that, the guy is one of the more competitive guys that I have been around and it doesn't always come off like that because he is a very reserved, nice guy. He is one of the more competitive people I have been around.
On the quarterback room and recruiting when he first took the job…
I have never been in anything like that. I stepped off the plane, I think it was the Monday after the last game of the season, November (27), and all of those guys had gone into the portal, it was wild. My wife called me and was like, 'You have a great first day, no quarterbacks on the roster.' It was really challenging, just the time frame. We had two and a half weeks before the first signing day. To get Aidan (Chiles) was huge, but it also made it challenging at the same time. You're bringing someone from a program you were at, you recruited, who wants to come be a part of the program. When you have a young guy that you recruited that you are bringing in, it was really challenging talking to other transfers that way. Fortunately we were able to find Tommy (Schuster), a guy that, all-time leading passer in North Dakota and has played a lot of ball and gives some experience in the room. Then just two and a half weeks, throw together and find some freshmen. We like the guys that we brought in, obviously there was some familiarity recruiting Ryland (Jessee) from when we were at Oregon State but Alessio (Milivojevic)…we thought that he was a talented, under-reviewed guy and really excited about what he brings.
On what he liked about Alessio Milivojevic …
Arm talent and I think he was really productive. That's one of the things that's really big to me is that our guys look really good throwing it in the drills, but are they winning games and are they producing. His touchdown/interception ratio is off the charts and playing at the Catholic League in Chicago, won a lot of games and did some good things. He's got big time arm talent, he just needs to keep working on picking his feet up.
On family making the move…
Spring break fell last week, it was not like I was going to Florida or to the sun, but heading back to Oregon, we were able to get packed up. We got up here Thursday officially. Three kids, eighth grade boy, seventh grade daughter, third grade boy. We're in an Air B and B right now and we will be moving to our home towards the end of March. To get them out here is awesome. To get them out here and they're champs as far as leaving school in the middle of the semester. Coming out and starting new is never easy but it is awesome to get them out here full time. It is nice to kind of check that box. New sports teams, and daughter is in dance so she has to find a new dance studio. The wife is out doing all of that right now but it is great to have them out here, excited to be here.
On Jack Velling and his year last year…
Jack I think is a savvy player. He has a lot of physical talent and ability that way but I think those guys that put up good numbers in the tight end position are savvy in the way that they can create separation and understand zones, zone coverage, finding space in the zone coverage and different option routes and different things that we ask them to do. Jack's kind of got that savviness in the way that he plays. I look for his role to grow more, with his experience from last year and being able to do some more things with him. I think he has grown a little bit as a blocker, his first year coming in as a freshman, we needed to put him on some strength and we flexed him out. But when we put him on the line and asked him to do some stuff with the run game he was getting exposed a little bit. Last year, I think he took some steps that way and worked with our tight ends coach (Coach Brian Wozniak). In growing that position, he can really go in line, he can really flex out, he can do a lot of different things. I have been asking him to do a lot of different things and it will make us better.
On how much he needs to lean on the guys from the Midwest with recruiting and putting ties down…
Huge, as much as asking them questions, like you said at the conference and the way things run here, and also recruiting. With recruiting knowing here are the schools we need to hit, here's the produced players, travel questions, leaning heavily and it's good for a big chunk of our staff to have that Midwest, Big Ten experience. It's been fun for me, recruiting in a new part of the country and getting to know some of the coaches that way.
The last time he watched an MSU game…
I've watched a number through the years. We're always, Michigan State was always playing during the day and we would just be sitting in the hotel waiting to play the Pac 12 after dark (game). I've watched plenty of Michigan State games, I remember when Coach Saban was here.
On his familiarity with Aidan Chiles and how important it is…
It's huge, any time you have a guy that is familiar with the system and then kind of knows how you work and operate and call it on game day, expectations, for how you practice. It is great to have someone in the room who has been with you for that. He's almost a veteran guy that can bring the other four quarterbacks in as far as this is how we run this drill, this is the expectation in the offseason for how we do things and operate and how we do things in the weight room. I just think it's a big piece, going to a new program and how he carries himself with the other positions as well. Seeing him and how he operates.
On what he learned last season about Aidan Chiles…
He was young and he was the back up and came and played in some drives, but I love the way he carries himself with the confidence that he plays with. Kind of a free spirit, where if he has a bad play he can just move on to the next. He does that better than any young guy that I have been around. The confidence, the swagger, the ability to focus. He showed that in scrimmages early in the fall camp and we wondered, okay when the lights come on and the fans get out there, is all that stuff going to be able to transition. He was able to make checks and function in that environment and that was pretty cool to see from a young guy.
On how to challenge Aidan Chiles in year two…
I think guys make the biggest jump year one to year two and he's maturing and taking the next step in the game. As far as understanding the defenses and the way that he prepares during the week having to be the starter. I think he saw DJ and it was really good for him to be around DJ for a while and he was a pro in the way that he prepared during the week. That is going to be huge for him and what we challenge him to do. You're going in, if you're going in as the starter this is the stuff that I have to do Sunday to game time to put myself in a position to be successful.
If Aidan Chiles is already taking on this role…
Yeah, through some of the meetings, I think he's headed in the right direction. But it's something that as we get going, he is more of the veteran guy now, making it a habit.
On how to find and build leaders on the team…
I see some and I just have to be around them more before I name names. But there are some guys that have been around here and it's important to them. They're competitive guys to me right now, it's about the guys that go out and do the work. The guys that are working hard and being positive and encouraging teammates. I think there are a number of guys who have stood out that way and hopefully that continues to grow. I will have more specifics as we get going this spring and we are able to see them go through some rough times and see how they handle some adversity.
On Aidan Chiles choosing to come play for him…
It's huge, it meant a lot, I know it meant a lot to Jonathan…Getting to know (Aidan's) family, have a big deal of respect for his family and the way he was raised, the way he is. That is what drew us to him in the recruiting process, this is the guy that we want our program to be like, who we want to be around on a daily basis. A guy we can build a program around. It was cool, one of the reasons we were so attracted to him is we felt they were a pretty loyal family that way. It was really cool to see him stick with us and believe in things and the way Coach Smith runs the program and what we're doing offensively, it means a lot.
On the value of having a guy with the experience Tommy has…
Tommy's played a lot of ball and has been productive and the challenge to him is can you do it at this level. He's thrown for a bunch of yards, he's been on the road, he's had to handle on the road at Nebraska, on the road at Boise, some of these places where the environment is tougher. He has had to go and manage that and any time you can get that in your room is important.
The Spartans begin five weeks of spring practice on Tuesday, March 19.
Below are quotes from the media session:
Michigan State Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Brian Lindgren
On how he would describe his offense…
Modern pro-style. We want to be in multiple looks that we give defenses and keep concepts at a high level. We want to give the defense a lot of different looks personnel wise, formational with shift and motions. Then we want to run the ball, make it physical, pride ourselves on mirroring the run and the pass. Making them look the same to push the ball down the field and create explosive plays is a part of what we want to do.
On tight ends being built into the offense…
Yeah, definitely. At Oregon State we were fortunate enough to have some really talented tight ends. We built a lot of our stuff around 12 and 13 personnel sets. Always a fun thing when going into a new program is seeing what we got, personnel wise. That will be a big thing this spring of taking advantage of the personnel. No matter if that's more receiver base or tight end base. Ideally, we're pretty flexible in the different personnel looks.
On if he has a sense of the type of personnel has with the squad now without seeing them on the field…
Kind of. You talk to the coaches who were here in the past who worked with those guys, you watch the film obviously. You get a feel but I don't think until you get them out there, coach with them, work with them, you challenge them with some things in the scheme you'll know. I'm just anxious as I know a lot of our coaches are to work with these guys; do individual drills, challenge them a little bit to see what we got.
On if it's a different kind of spring when he's learning the team…
A little bit. You kind of stick with the core that we do. Expose them to a lot. Challenge them to a lot. See who are your playmakers. As we get more towards training camp in the fall, how we can tweak the offense to fit those guys and take advantage of their skillset. Some of that will be through the first three games and seeing which guys step up and make plays in competitive situation. I love what we do offensively, being flexible enough to play different talents.
On how much bringing in a quarterback who already knows the scheme helps the situation…
It's huge. Bringing Aidan [Chiles] over and already working with him for a year and having experience with him is huge. That's big for us. At the same time, we have four other guys who are totally new and we're catching those guys up. I think it's awesome to have a young guy who's experienced in the system, it puts him quite a bit ahead.
On how much time of possession is a factor in his offense…
I think it will naturally happen. The way we huddle and change the tempo through one-word calls. We want to run the football. So naturally the time of possession grows. At the same time, you look at teams that huddle and run the football, the more explosive you are the less time you get. We don't talk about that too much on offense. For us, it's successfully running the football, staying ahead of the sticks and staying ahead of schedule. At the same time, we want to be explosive and score as many points as we can. We'll see how that can balance out.
On the importance of complimentary football and playing off Joe Rossi…
I think it's understanding the field position. When maybe you want to be more aggressive in certain situations and going for it on fourth down. All that stuff factors in. Working with Coach Smith, a big piece of our success is playing complimentary ball and playing the field position.
On Aidan Chiles' tangibles outside of a physical aspect…
Aidan's got a really cool personality. It's something we're always looking for in recruiting a QB, is that moxy, that kind of 'it' factor that we talk about, to where he's got that confidence and swagger to the way that he plays. He [Chiles] does a really nice job of, if he does make a mistake, flushing that play and moving on to the next, and when he gets hot and getting going, he's one of the more talented guys I've been around. Infectious personality the way he carries himself on the field. Those are the things I get from him. All the big-time guys I been around with had those same traits.
On if two quarterbacks will be on the field at the same time…
Not ideally. I think that last year was a real unique circumstance. We had DJ [Ugiagalelei] who ended up winning the job, had a ton of experience. Then we had Aidan who we think is a special talent and we wanted to keep him coming along. We did give him a series each game and he just ran with it. I think ultimately you want to pick a guy, here's the guy, let him get in a rhythm of the game and let him know it's his.
On if he wants his players to have the same mindset as him when he was a player, or has times changed where its different…
Some of the old school mindset I think from a QB that was instilled in me was, toughness, competitiveness, that kind of deal. That's what we want the QB position to have, 'man this guy can take some shots.' He's the toughest, most competitive guy on the field. I do think the mental side has grown and is becoming a bigger piece of handling social media and exposure you're going to take when you have an off week. How can you respond to that. Being focus to the day-to-day. This is what my task is. Staying in the moment. If I throw an interception, how do I bounce back from that. Flush it and move on from it. That piece has become a lot bigger and is a huge part of the game. The mental edge of the game is how we get our guys a competitive advantage, especially in the quarterback position.
On if he sees Tanner Miller as a leader in the O-Line room and is he more of a center or a guard…
I think Tanner can do both. We're going to ask him to do some center. As far as a leader, he has some experience, he's coming in as a new guy. Anytime you got a guy who has experience playing at this level and has success who knows the system, yeah, we'll love for him to come in and take a leadership role. That's something he'll have to come in and earn. One of the things I love about Tanner is he can play both center and guard. We'll try him at center, we don't know where he'll end up landing, but he will take a lot of reps at center in the spring.
On the wide zone concepts, does he take a lot of looks at Kyle Shanahan's offense and what the 49ers do…
Yeah. Absolutely. When I say, modern pro-style, those guys have done a good job tweaking the system of what it was 15-20 years ago. They draw up different motions. In my mind those are the best offenses in the world as far as offensive football. We studied the 49ers and the Lions are tied to that tree who we'll study in the offseason.
On what attracted him to MSU…
I have been with Jonathan (Smith) for six years and I just really believe in the way that he runs a program and his philosophy of the way that he treats not only players but coaches. The quality of life as far as your family, the way he treats coaches and the way that we're going to work had but also have some time to spend with your family and understanding the importance of that. Believing in the way that he does things, I think that everything we do makes sense. I really believe that and it is easy to get behind. Coming to Michigan State, to me the history and the tradition of the program. Getting to play and compete in the Big Ten conference. I think having recruited quarterbacks against Michigan State I think it's a national brand. It really excites me that we can get some big time talent to work with offensively, and that's exciting. Like I said, the tradition, they have this place going, won 10 or 11 games, two or three years ago (11 wins in 2021). What they did though the last twenty years or so, a lot of success, a ton of wins, making it physical, it lines up with some of the things that we believe in so I am excited to be here.
On the importance of spring ball with new staff and players…
Every minute that we can spend with those guys. It is nice having four of the full-time coaches come over on offense that know the offense, so there is some comfort there. Just getting around these players as much as we can, meetings, walk throughs, taking advantage of every opportunity we can to get better will be huge for us.
On something everyone might not know about Coach Smith…
He's really competitive, one of the more competitive guys and I think sometimes, even in practice he is quiet, he is more reserved but you get around him for anything he is doing, whether you are playing golf, you're shooting hoops, you are doing anything like that, the guy is one of the more competitive guys that I have been around and it doesn't always come off like that because he is a very reserved, nice guy. He is one of the more competitive people I have been around.
On the quarterback room and recruiting when he first took the job…
I have never been in anything like that. I stepped off the plane, I think it was the Monday after the last game of the season, November (27), and all of those guys had gone into the portal, it was wild. My wife called me and was like, 'You have a great first day, no quarterbacks on the roster.' It was really challenging, just the time frame. We had two and a half weeks before the first signing day. To get Aidan (Chiles) was huge, but it also made it challenging at the same time. You're bringing someone from a program you were at, you recruited, who wants to come be a part of the program. When you have a young guy that you recruited that you are bringing in, it was really challenging talking to other transfers that way. Fortunately we were able to find Tommy (Schuster), a guy that, all-time leading passer in North Dakota and has played a lot of ball and gives some experience in the room. Then just two and a half weeks, throw together and find some freshmen. We like the guys that we brought in, obviously there was some familiarity recruiting Ryland (Jessee) from when we were at Oregon State but Alessio (Milivojevic)…we thought that he was a talented, under-reviewed guy and really excited about what he brings.
On what he liked about Alessio Milivojevic …
Arm talent and I think he was really productive. That's one of the things that's really big to me is that our guys look really good throwing it in the drills, but are they winning games and are they producing. His touchdown/interception ratio is off the charts and playing at the Catholic League in Chicago, won a lot of games and did some good things. He's got big time arm talent, he just needs to keep working on picking his feet up.
On family making the move…
Spring break fell last week, it was not like I was going to Florida or to the sun, but heading back to Oregon, we were able to get packed up. We got up here Thursday officially. Three kids, eighth grade boy, seventh grade daughter, third grade boy. We're in an Air B and B right now and we will be moving to our home towards the end of March. To get them out here is awesome. To get them out here and they're champs as far as leaving school in the middle of the semester. Coming out and starting new is never easy but it is awesome to get them out here full time. It is nice to kind of check that box. New sports teams, and daughter is in dance so she has to find a new dance studio. The wife is out doing all of that right now but it is great to have them out here, excited to be here.
On Jack Velling and his year last year…
Jack I think is a savvy player. He has a lot of physical talent and ability that way but I think those guys that put up good numbers in the tight end position are savvy in the way that they can create separation and understand zones, zone coverage, finding space in the zone coverage and different option routes and different things that we ask them to do. Jack's kind of got that savviness in the way that he plays. I look for his role to grow more, with his experience from last year and being able to do some more things with him. I think he has grown a little bit as a blocker, his first year coming in as a freshman, we needed to put him on some strength and we flexed him out. But when we put him on the line and asked him to do some stuff with the run game he was getting exposed a little bit. Last year, I think he took some steps that way and worked with our tight ends coach (Coach Brian Wozniak). In growing that position, he can really go in line, he can really flex out, he can do a lot of different things. I have been asking him to do a lot of different things and it will make us better.
On how much he needs to lean on the guys from the Midwest with recruiting and putting ties down…
Huge, as much as asking them questions, like you said at the conference and the way things run here, and also recruiting. With recruiting knowing here are the schools we need to hit, here's the produced players, travel questions, leaning heavily and it's good for a big chunk of our staff to have that Midwest, Big Ten experience. It's been fun for me, recruiting in a new part of the country and getting to know some of the coaches that way.
The last time he watched an MSU game…
I've watched a number through the years. We're always, Michigan State was always playing during the day and we would just be sitting in the hotel waiting to play the Pac 12 after dark (game). I've watched plenty of Michigan State games, I remember when Coach Saban was here.
On his familiarity with Aidan Chiles and how important it is…
It's huge, any time you have a guy that is familiar with the system and then kind of knows how you work and operate and call it on game day, expectations, for how you practice. It is great to have someone in the room who has been with you for that. He's almost a veteran guy that can bring the other four quarterbacks in as far as this is how we run this drill, this is the expectation in the offseason for how we do things and operate and how we do things in the weight room. I just think it's a big piece, going to a new program and how he carries himself with the other positions as well. Seeing him and how he operates.
On what he learned last season about Aidan Chiles…
He was young and he was the back up and came and played in some drives, but I love the way he carries himself with the confidence that he plays with. Kind of a free spirit, where if he has a bad play he can just move on to the next. He does that better than any young guy that I have been around. The confidence, the swagger, the ability to focus. He showed that in scrimmages early in the fall camp and we wondered, okay when the lights come on and the fans get out there, is all that stuff going to be able to transition. He was able to make checks and function in that environment and that was pretty cool to see from a young guy.
On how to challenge Aidan Chiles in year two…
I think guys make the biggest jump year one to year two and he's maturing and taking the next step in the game. As far as understanding the defenses and the way that he prepares during the week having to be the starter. I think he saw DJ and it was really good for him to be around DJ for a while and he was a pro in the way that he prepared during the week. That is going to be huge for him and what we challenge him to do. You're going in, if you're going in as the starter this is the stuff that I have to do Sunday to game time to put myself in a position to be successful.
If Aidan Chiles is already taking on this role…
Yeah, through some of the meetings, I think he's headed in the right direction. But it's something that as we get going, he is more of the veteran guy now, making it a habit.
On how to find and build leaders on the team…
I see some and I just have to be around them more before I name names. But there are some guys that have been around here and it's important to them. They're competitive guys to me right now, it's about the guys that go out and do the work. The guys that are working hard and being positive and encouraging teammates. I think there are a number of guys who have stood out that way and hopefully that continues to grow. I will have more specifics as we get going this spring and we are able to see them go through some rough times and see how they handle some adversity.
On Aidan Chiles choosing to come play for him…
It's huge, it meant a lot, I know it meant a lot to Jonathan…Getting to know (Aidan's) family, have a big deal of respect for his family and the way he was raised, the way he is. That is what drew us to him in the recruiting process, this is the guy that we want our program to be like, who we want to be around on a daily basis. A guy we can build a program around. It was cool, one of the reasons we were so attracted to him is we felt they were a pretty loyal family that way. It was really cool to see him stick with us and believe in things and the way Coach Smith runs the program and what we're doing offensively, it means a lot.
On the value of having a guy with the experience Tommy has…
Tommy's played a lot of ball and has been productive and the challenge to him is can you do it at this level. He's thrown for a bunch of yards, he's been on the road, he's had to handle on the road at Nebraska, on the road at Boise, some of these places where the environment is tougher. He has had to go and manage that and any time you can get that in your room is important.
Jonathan Smith | Football Press Conference | Oct. 6, 2025
Monday, October 06
Jonathan Smith Post Game Comments | Nebraska
Sunday, October 05
Jonathan Smith | Football Press Conference | Sep. 29 2025
Monday, September 29
Jonathan Smith Postgame Comments | USC
Sunday, September 21