INSURANCE SIX SPORTS DESK. THE WAIT IS NEARLY OVER FOR MICHIGAN STATE FANS... AS JONATHAN SMITH IS LESS THAN AN HOUR AWAY FROM COACHING HIS FIRST GAME AS THE SPARTANS... HEAD FOOTBALL COACH... AND NOT TOO LONG AGO... SMITH AND THE TEAM... WENT THROUGH THE GAME DAY TRADITION... OF WALKING FROM THE KELLOGG CENTER... TO SPARTAN STADIUM... OUR TYLER DRIESENGA IS ON CAMPUS... TO COVER THE GAME TONIGHT AND HAS MORE ON ONE PLAYER... MAKING THEIR SPARTAN DEBUT YEAH IAN SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE ASKED AND WONDERED WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THIS SPARTAN TEAM IN YEAR ONE UNDER JONATHAN SMITH AND THE REALITY IS IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO KNOW WITH 61 NEW PLAYERS ON THE ROSTER. TONIGHT, THOUGH, WE TAKE THE FIRST STEP TOWARD FINDING OUT. ONE THING WE DO KNOW IS THAT COACH SMITH HAS A TIGHT END HE HAS ALL THE CONFIDENCE IN THE WORLD IN JACK VELLING. THE JUNIOR FOLLOWED SMITH OVER FROM OREGON STATE WHERE HE WAS THE BEAVERS THIRD LEADING RECEIVER LAST YEAR. HE ALSO LED THE TEAM IN RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS WITH EIGHT WHICH WAS THE HIGHEST MARK FOR ANY TIGHT END IN THE COUNTRY LAST SEASON. VELLING WAS BORN AND RAISED IN SEATTLE SO HE WAS A WEST COAST GUY THROUGH AND THROUGH AND HE EXPLAINED TO US WHAT IT IS ABOUT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS COACHING STAFF THAT CAUSED HIM TO FOLLOW THEM ACROSS THE COUNTRY HERE TO MICHIGAN STATE. IT'S GROWN A LOT SEEING THEIR TRUST IN ME HAS HELPED ME TRUST THEM EVEN MORE. BUT JUST THEM THROWING ME IN THERE FROM MY FRESHMAN YEAR AND LETTING ME LEARN AND TO WHERE I AM NOW, I'M THANKFUL TO THEM AND IT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT THEM." IN THAT CONVERSATION, VELLING ALSO RECALLED THE FIRST TIME HE MET COACH SMITH WHEN HE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL. HE SAYS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT DREW HIM IN WAS SMITH JUST SEEMED LIKE A REGULAR GUY NOT SOME BIG SHOT FOOTBALL COACH. CERTAINLY, WE'VE SEEN THAT SAME THING IN SMITH'S DEMEANOR THROUGH HIS PRESS CONFERENCES THIS FALL. AND WE'RE ABOUT SEE HOW THAT STEADINESS CARRIES OVER TO THE FIELD WHEN THE BRIGHT LIGHTS COME ON. REPORTING FROM SPARTAN STADIUM, I'M TYLER DRIESENGA, SIX SPORTS. THANK YOU TYLER... VELLING CHATTED WITH TYLER FOR THIS WEEK'S MSU FEDERAL CREDIT UNION COACHES SHOW... TO TALK MORE ABOUT COMING TO MICHIGAN STATE FROM OREGON STATE... YOU CAN CATCH ON SATURDAY AT 11 AM ON WLNS... AND 11-30 AM ON WLAJ... AND PREHAPS THE PLAYER ON MSU'S ROSTER... WHO HAS FANS MOST EXCITED... IS SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK AIDAN CHILES... WHO WILL MAKE IS FIRST COLLEGIATE START... TONIGHT AGAINST FLORIDA ATLANTIC... JONATHAN SMITH SAID ON MONDAY... HE BELIEVES CHILES IS DEFINITELY READY FOR THIS MOMENT AS THE STARTING QB... CHILES PLAYED IN NINE GAMES DURING HIS FRESHMAN SEASON AT OREGON STATE... AND THE SNAPS HE TOOK... WERE SCHEDULED SNAPS... MEANING THE COACHING STAFF... WHICH IS NOW IN EAST LANSING... HAS ALWAYS HAD TRUST IN THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE LAST YEAR, HE KNEW HE WAS GOING INTO GAMES AND SO JUST LIKE A STARTING QUARTERBACK, YOU KNOW, YOU GOING OUT THERE, HE'S JUST TAKING THE FIRST STEP I THINK HE'S DEFINITELY HAVE SOME NERVOUS EXCITEMENT JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ON THE FIELD IS GOING TO HAVE. HE'LL BE CONFIDENT IN THESE OPENING PLAYS BECAUSE HE'LL HE'LL WEIGH IN ON WHAT THOSE PLAYS ARE. AND THEN HE NEEDS TO JUST GO LET IT RIP HE'S BEST WHEN HE'S JUST HE'S RELAXED, HE'S HAVING FUN AND HE'S HE'S WE TALKED ABOUT PLAYING 1 SNAP AND CLEARING IT, WHETHER IT WAS A GOOD SNAP, THE SNAP BEFORE OR A BAD ONE AND KIND OF STACK AND PLAYS AND YEAH, I JUST SAID RELAX AND GO DO YOUR GO DO YOUR THING. HE'S HE'S HAD REPS AND HE'S BEEN IN