With the departure of Jonathan Smith, there are a lot of expected transfers that should affect Michigan State in the coming weeks. One of those expected transfers is Aidan Chiles.
The junior quarterback, originally from Oregon State, followed his head coach to East Lansing when he took the Michigan State job ahead of the 2024 season. Chiles was coming off a solid freshman season for a good Oregon State team in which he came off the bench for some special packages behind starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.
Chiles was ranked the No. 1 quarterback in the transfer portal, and Smith was able to secure him as the program’s starter for the next couple of years.
That put Sam Leavitt and Katin Houser in an awkward place. They knew the rumors were swirling about Smith wanting to bring his quarterback with him, so they had to decide if they wanted to try and compete with the favorite who was already familiar with the coach and his system, or if they wanted to carve out a starting role in a more open race elsewhere.
They chose the latter.
Leavitt and House have had success elsewhere while Chiles has struggled a bit in the green and white. He was benched in the second half of the 2025 season for Alessio Milivojevic, and then ended the season on the injured list. He was still a great teammate and was supportive of his fellow quarterback who was now getting the attention, and it felt like a lock that he’d be the first player in the transfer player when Smith was fired.
That hasn’t been the case, yet he’s still expected to leave.
Michigan State’s former QB1 is sure to attract many programs
According to a new report from Chris Hummer of CBS Sports, Chiles is expected to be one of the top quarterbacks on the market when the portal opens.
Chiles has yet to even make a decision one way or another, but it sounds like he’s going to be one of the most sought-after quarterbacks in the portal, according to people Hummer spoke with in the industry. Even with the mediocre couple of seasons in East Lansing, Chiles is still looked at as one of the quarterbacks with the most potential. He just needs the coaching.
I don’t disagree with this evaluation. It’s no secret that Chiles is a talented football player, but he needs to go to a system that plays to his strengths. It felt like Michigan State’s offense never really did that under Brian Lindgren.
If Chiles stays under Pat Fitzgerald to create a quarterback competition with Milivojevic, I’d be happy with that, too. He can still make the decision to transfer after spring ball, but I would be shocked if he stuck around that long. Chiles is probably already fielding calls from other programs.