Camaraderie in the weeks leading up to the start of a new season is huge for any team. For Michigan State football and head coach Jonathan Smith, it's been more of an emphasis this preseason with off-field activities after practice.
The Spartans got treated to some shaved ice at the conclusion of week two of camp, and then on Tuesday evening, the team gathered around to watch their head coach try out a different sport.
A video emerged on social media on Tuesday night (thanks to AJ Dennis) of Smith donning goalie pads and lining up to stop some shots. If you know anything about Smith's demeanor, this was a little shocking to see, but it's nice to see that he can let loose to make his players happy.
Watch Smith try to stop a few shots on goal in a faux net after practice on Tuesday:
Jonathan Smith put on some goalie pads for the hockey team to score on him😭 https://t.co/2mg5DZwEY6 pic.twitter.com/WozhCwafFo
— Michigan State Content (@msucontent) August 13, 2025
Smith wasn't quite standing on his head, although he did stop the first shot as the team went crazy. He allowed a goal right by his foot on the second shot, and then it all came down to that tie-breaker on shot No. 3. Unfortunately, he reacted a little too slowly as he got five-holed.
While he put forth his best effort, you probably won't see Adam Nightingale reaching out to help the hockey program any time soon. Although more collabs like this need to happen.
Next time, we should have Smith head over to the Breslin Center and try his luck at a 3-point contest or really just anything to get the team fired up. You could see the players loved this, even if it lasted just a few seconds.
More inter-program collabs, please.