Who is Jonathan Smith? Meet the Michigan State Football Coach

Jonathan Smith is the new head coach at Michigan State football.

The Spartans hired him in November from his alma mater, Oregon State, one day after the 2023 regular season ended.

MSU went 4-8 last season in a traumatic slide that saw coach Mel Tucker fired in September for off-field behavior and ended with the purging of most of its assistants, including interim head coach Harlon Barnett, after a season-ending 42-0 loss to Penn State.

Smith, 44, had been the Beavers’ coach since 2017, compiling a 34-35 record. Oregon State was 8-4 in 2023 under Smith, and was ranked all season, climbing as high as No. 10 before losing its final two games to top-10 teams in Washington and Oregon, both now current Big Ten opponents.

Michigan State opens the 2024 season on Friday, August 30 against Florida Atlantic.

Here’s what you need to know about Smith, who leads the Spartans’ football program.

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History of Jonathon Smith at Oregon State

Smith took over as Oregon State’s head coach after the 2017 regular season ended. The Beavers were coming off a 1-11 season under two head coaches, as Gary Andersen stepped down after six games. The school was a combined 7-29 in the three years prior to Smith and had not made a bowl appearance since 2013.

Smith led the Beavers to three consecutive bowl appearances for the first time since 2006-09.

Smith’s year-over-year record:

2018: 2-10
2019: 5-7
2020: 2-5
2021: 7-6
2022: 10-3
2023: 8-4

Oregon State went 2-10 in 2018 in Smith’s rookie season, with wins over Southern Utah and Colorado. It jumped to 5-7 in 2019, narrowly missing a bowl appearance. The Beavers hit a wall with a 2-5 record in the COVID-19-impacted 2020 season.

He finally broke through in 2021 with a winning record in Year 4, giving Oregon State its first winning season since 2013. They were 7-5 in the regular season before losing the LA Bowl to Utah State for a 7-6 record.

In 2022, Oregon State made another big jump, going 10-3. The Beavers lost their first two conference games to USC and Utah, but rallied to finish the season 7-1 over the final eight weeks, the school’s first double-digit win season in nearly two decades. In its final game of the season, Oregon State defeated top-10 rival Oregon 38-34, then defeated Florida 30-3 in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Smith won the 2022 Pac-12 Coach of the Year award after leading Oregon State to its first double-digit win season since 2006.

Oregon State didn’t have the same success in terms of record in 2023, but still achieved success by reaching a third consecutive bowl. The school has been ranked every week of the season, despite losses to Oregon, Washington, Washington State and Arizona. The Beavers finished 5-4 in the conference with wins over Utah and UCLA, who were ranked at the time.

The 2023 Beavers are averaging 33.8 points per game and allowing 21.5 points per game, both ranking in the top 40 in the country entering Saturday. The offense is averaging 426.9 yards per game with 246.1 passing yards and 180.8 rushing yards. The defense is allowing 340.3 yards per game and has been strong against the run, allowing 104.1 yards per game on the ground compared to 236.2 per game through the air.

Running back Damien Martinez is a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award, with 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns. Transfer quarterback DJ Uiagalelei threw for 2,638 yards and 21 touchdowns in his first year in the system.

Jonathan Smith coaching background

Smith’s career at Oregon State is the extent of his head coaching experience, but he has coached at the collegiate level every year since his playing career ended (more on that later). He has spent his entire coaching career at schools in the Northwest and will be heading to East Lansing for his first job east of the Mississippi.

He started as a graduate assistant at Oregon State in 2002, a year after he retired. He remained at Oregon State until 2003, then moved to Idaho to become the school’s quarterbacks coach.

He was Idaho’s quarterbacks coach from 2004-09. In his final year with the Vandals, he helped Idaho build a top-ranked offense that averaged 451.4 yards and 32.7 points per game. Following that season, he got his first chance as offensive coordinator at another Big Sky school, Montana.

He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Montana in 2010 and 2011. He helped lead the Grizzlies to the NCAA Division I semifinals in 2011 before returning to the FBS in 2012. Montana ranked No. 16 in the nation in scoring offense in both seasons there, averaging 31.7 points in 2010 and 33.9 in 2011.

He joined Chris Petersen’s staff at Boise State as quarterbacks coach for 2012-13 before following Petersen to Washington in 2014. Smith’s first game at Boise State was a loss to Michigan State at Spartan Stadium during an 11-2 season for the Broncos.

Smith saw his role expand at Washington, where he was promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He oversaw one of the best offensive seasons in Washington history as the Huskies reached the College Football Playoff in 2016-17, averaging 41.8 points per game and posting a 12-2 record.

He stayed at Washington for one more year before returning to his alma mater after Andersen stepped down as Oregon State’s head coach during the 2017 season.

Jonathan Smith’s college career at Oregon State

Before he helped turn things around as Oregon State’s coach, he had quarterbacked the only 11-win season in school history two decades earlier. Originally from Los Angeles, Smith didn’t garner much attention as a high school recruit and joined Oregon State as a walk-on. He played in Corvallis from 1998-2001, taking over as the starting quarterback as a redshirt freshman and then becoming a four-year starter.

As a junior in 2000, he helped lead Oregon State to a school-record 11-1 season under head coach Dennis Erickson. With Smith under center throwing to future NFL wide receivers Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh, Oregon State went 10-1 in the regular season to share the Pac-10 title, the school’s first conference title since 1964.

Oregon State closed the season by defeating Notre Dame 41–9 in the Fiesta Bowl. Smith earned the Offensive MVP for completing 16 of 24 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns, capping off the most successful season in school history. He finished his career with 9,680 passing yards and 55 touchdowns in four years, which were school records at the time.

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Jonathan Smith recruitment and transfer portal moves

Smith was one of the first coaches hired in the 2024 cycle, a benefit of Michigan State moving on from Tucker so early in the season. He began reshaping the roster through the transfer portal, with nearly half of last year’s team leaving for a new chance after a disastrous season.

Smith acquired 24 players through the free agency market to replace the departures, including quarterback Aidan Chiles, Spartans starting tight end Jack Velling and offensive lineman Tanner Miller, along with several members of his Oregon State coaching staff.

Quindarius Dunnigan and D’Quan Douse are two transfers at defensive tackle who could contribute immediately to the Spartans, replacing Derrick Harmon and Simeon Barrow Jr., who are currently with Oregon and Miami, respectively. Holy Cross transfer offensive lineman and Birmingham Brother Rice alum Luke Newman could also figure into the mix as MSU attempts to find a new starting five on the offensive line.

In high school recruiting, the Spartans’ 2024 class ranked 31st in the nation according to 247Sports’ composite rankings, led by four-star River Rouge wide receiver Nick Marsh, who remained committed to MSU despite the coaching change. The class includes 21 players — two four-star Marsh and offensive lineman Rustin Young — and 19 three-star recruits. MSU’s 24-man transfer class ranked 12th in the nation according to 247Sports.

Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press, covering the city’s four professional teams, the state’s top two universities and more. Follow Jared at X @jared_ramsey22 and email him at [email protected].