Michigan State and Coach Jonathan Smith continue to inch closer to the season’s first kickoff, a home matchup against Florida Atlantic. It will officially mark the beginning of the Coach Smith era in East Lansing, an era which will be defined by his ability to help turn things around for Michigan State’s football program.

Coach Smith has taken over a proud football program that has fallen from the national stage it once stood on. After helping rebuild Oregon State’s program, he will attempt to do the same at Michigan State. It will undoubtedly be a more complex situation for Coach Smith and his coaching staff.

While there are many differences between the situations at Oregon State and Michigan State when he took over, there are also more than a few similarities. Both schools had losing records the two seasons before Coach Smith arrived. Oregon State went 1-11 the season before Coach Smith took over and 4-8 prior. Michigan State went 4-8 last season and 5-7 the season before that.

While at Oregon State, Coach Smith’s biggest in-state rival, Oregon, was and still is a college football powerhouse with a surplus of resources. The same can be said about Michigan State’s biggest in-state rival, who happens to be the defending National Champions. Both situations at rival schools have obviously impacted the respective rebuilds Coach Smith has spearheaded. Still, he has made it clear he will not be patient with Michigan State’s rebuilding process.

“All of us [on the coaching staff] are competitive, so we don’t have a long patience for playing quality football,” Coach Smith said at Big Ten Media Days. “At the same time, I think you’re always building. You’re starting somewhere, you’re going to create a foundation, and then you’re building off of that. So I’m looking forward to that approach of we built something before.

“[We are] not going to panic on the first adversity we see, understanding that, yeah, sometimes there is a process to it, but not going to say that we have patience for [it.] We want to be in a constant state of improvement and build it the right way.”

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A teenager put his life on the line Tuesday to save a driver who plunged into a Michigan lake.

John Agnello, 15, was fishing with his mother near the Lake Saint Clair marina when he watched the car soar into the water.

“I just see a car just go flying in the air. It was about 15 yards into the water, already that far,” Agnello told WLIX 10.

The quick-thinking teen and another man jumped into the water and made a beeline for the car — which was rapidly sinking below the surface and trapping the woman inside.

The water pressure on the car door kept the duo from opening it.

Instead, they were able to instruct her to lower her windows before they dropped below the surface, leaving just enough time for them to pull her out.

After Agnello and the other unidentified hero brought the woman to shore, the determined teen climbed into the submerged car to make sure no one else was trapped inside.

“The only part that kind of scared me was I was under the water inside the car because I was feeling around in there. It kind of got hard to get out, but everything was fine,” Agnello recalled.

Fortunately, the car was empty.

Police said the driver was taken to a local hospital.

What caused the crash is still under investigation, St. Clair Shores police said.

As for Agnello, he is trying not to let his heroism go to his head.

“I think that’s just how my family raised me, just to take action and all that stuff,” he said.

With fall camp set to kick off next week, head coach Sherrone Moore indicated that a sophomore defender is currently leading one of the most critical position battles heading into 2024. Speaking with reporters at Big Ten Media Days this week, Moore shared his thoughts about the Michigan secondary. Along with feeling great about the depth, he also singled out sophomore Jyaire Hill as the current leader to start at the cornerback spot opposite Will Johnson.

“Feel great about the depth,” Moore said on the secondary during Big Ten Media Days. “Obviously, you’ve got Will Johnson who is the best corner in college football. Opposite of him it could be a number of guys. The guy right now looks like Jyaire Hill, but Aamir Hall, Ricky Johnson has come in, Myles Pollard is making a push to get better. We’re excited about all those corners, we’ve got a lot of depth there.”

Considering how often his name was mentioned throughout spring ball, It’s not all that surprising that Hill is currently leading in that battle. At 6-2, 185 pounds, the scrappy sophomore has the size, speed, and mentality that are required to excel at the position. Having only appeared in four games as a true freshman in 2023, the biggest knock against Hill right now is his lack of experience. The good news is that the young corner has spent a year in the program learning from the top cornerback in all of college football.

Although Hill is the current leader, it’s worth noting that Amir Hall – the FCS All-American corner from Albany – is set to enter the battle when camp kicks off next week. Hall, who’s entering his fourth season of collegiate football, has the same characteristics that make Hill such an appealing option at the position – but he also provides the experience.

Elsewhere in the secondary, there will be other critical position battles during fall camp. Not only does Michigan return veteran talent like Makari Paige and Quinten Johnson, but the Wolverines also added two transfer portal safeties in Jaden Mangham (Michigan State) and Wes Walker (Lousiville).

“Safety you’ve got Makari Paige obviously, unfortunate with Rod [Moore] and the injury there but feel like we’ve got some guys who have come in and can really help,” Moore said. “Having Quinten Johnson back is huge, Zeke Berry has really, really taken the steps necessary. Had a great, great spring. and excited to see him. We’ve got two transfers in the secondary with the safeties with Jaden [Mangham] and Wes Walker. We’ve got a lot of competition. As we say, the depth chart is ever-flowing. We never stop. We’ll continue to see who wins the job.”

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