Michigan State football in 2024 “will be a very different story” than 2023

Confidence isn’t something you can teach. It’s something you feel, whether it’s because of the people around you or simply because of a positive change in a given situation. The 2023 Michigan State football team lacked confidence – and for good reason.

The Spartans had to deal with their head coach losing his job due to an embarrassing off-the-field incident and fought an uphill battle all season against some elite teams like Penn State, Michigan and Ohio State.

On top of that, they kept losing close games, like to Rutgers, Iowa and Minnesota, which really dashed their bowl hopes.

However, with this new team, things seem to be changing. Jonathan Smith has assembled a really strong coaching staff and the current players are on board. One of those players is veteran PWO lineman Jake Merritt, who actually envisioned himself playing with the starters during the Spring Showcase. He believes in his new team and has spoken highly of them.

In an interview with Emmett Matasovsky of Spartan Shadows, he vowed that this season would be much different than the last. It feels like the team has confidence again.

“When I came here as a freshman, our freshman class was pretty tight. But that wasn’t the case across the team. This team is a little different. It’s been a blast. It’s a blast. I’m lucky and we’re all lucky to have the guys around us that we have. I’m telling you, next year is going to be a lot different than last year.”

– Jake Merritt, Michigan State OL

It’s easy to buy back into the program when the players are committed and believe in each other and the new coaching staff. Hearing Merritt say that “this team is a little different” is refreshing because it felt like the culture under Mel Tucker got stale at the end and when he was fired, all was lost.

So buy stock now because players are convinced that this team is different and that “a whole different story” will take place in 2024.