Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith believes his team is "leaps and bounds" better than it was last season at this time.

An old idiom espouses the idea that patience is a virtue – and perhaps no one will come to embody that statement quite like Michigan State football head coach Jonathan Smith. The Spartans are a program with a history of success yearning for a return to the spotlight,

Smith took over the Spartans after the disastrous end to the Mel Tucker era and the typical roster overhaul followed a change at the top. A 3-0 start last fall raised a few eyebrows but Michigan State dropped seven of the last nine games to finish with a losing record for the third straight year.