Jonathan Smith shares unique way of making Michigan State a "player-led team"

Some of the best Michigan State sports teams of all time are those that are led by their players. Many of the Big Ten Championship winning teams under Mark Dantonio were led by their players taking ownership of the team and holding everyone responsible. Tom Izzo is also famous for doing this with the Michigan State basketball program as well.

And now it appears that Jonathan Smith is utilizing the same strategy, but he is doing so in a way that I have never seen before.

"We're gonna be player-led, let these guys go. Me running first? I'm the slowest one running out there, and so I don't think that helps."

- Jonathan Smith

In the above detail Smith is detailing how he isn't leading the team out of the tunnel when they run onto the field right before the game starts. Smith is making a little bit of a joke out of it, but I think this is a very calculated decision.

When every other college football team runs onto the field you will see their head coach at the front leading the way, you however won't see that with Michigan State. Instead you will find MSU's captains and leaders at the front of the line. Smith also shared that he is letting his players lead the team during their walk to Spartan Stadium hours before the game as well.

So instead of Smith hyping the team up right before the game, he's allowing whoever decides to step up on the team to do so. Yes Smith is just involved in the game as any player on the team, but it's the players on the team that are going to battle on the field with each other. So this opportunity to encourage each other right before taking the field to me is the perfect time for Smith to let his team lead the way.

I also assume that Smith's made some other minor changes behind the scenes to make his team more player-led as well, now let's just hope this leads to more victories on the field.