In the transfer portal era, it’s easy to lose sight of the importance of certain rivalries. Jonathan Smith wasn’t about to let his team lose sight of the Michigan State vs Michigan rivalry’s importance, however.
The second-year head coach got to see firsthand just how intense the rivalry is, and he got an unpleasant introduction to the rivalry in 2024 with a loss in Ann Arbor. After the game, he admitted that he didn’t quite know how important it was until he was in it.
That had to change.
So in order to help fix that mindset, Smith brought in a former coach over the summer to speak to the team as well as two players on the roster who grew up in the state and know just how intense it is.
Aidan Chiles shared who spoke to the team about the importance of the rivalry this summer.
Aidan Chiles cited Sam Edwards, Alex VanSumeren, and Coach Ken Mannie as Spartans that spoke on the Michigan rivalry this summer.
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) October 21, 2025
Ken Mannie is an excellent coach to have come speak to the team about the rivalry, and I’d be shocked if Smith doesn’t have Mark Dantonio lined up at some point to speak to the guys about Saturday’s game. Mannie was the strength and conditioning coach at Michigan State for 25 years, and he got to see Dantonio embrace the hate and turn it into a lopsided rivalry.
Mannie knows what it’ll take to get the Spartans back in this rivalry that’s become all Michigan again over the past few years.
Alex VanSumeren grew up in Michigan and was even committed to the Wolverines before flipping to Michigan State when his brother transferred to the Spartans from the school down the road. He knows a thing or two about this rivalry from both sides, so that was a perfect team speaker choice.
Lastly, Sam Edwards, too, grew up in Michigan around both programs. He knows just how much both of these schools hate each other.
If the hate of Michigan wasn’t instilled in these guys after hearing from those three (and hopefully Dantonio), I don’t know if they’re at the right school.