Michigan State safety Jaden Mangham talks spring practice: ‘The buy-in is very high’
East Lansing, Mich. – Three weeks into spring practice, Michigan State’s players have begun to find a groove. It took some time for the Spartans to get acclimated to a new coaching staff, scheme and practice routine when spring ball began in mid-March. But players like Jaden Mangham have expressed an excitement about practice in recent weeks.
“The buy-in is very high,” Mangham said. “All of the guys are excited to be here. Every single day, we always come in to get in more work, extra work. It’s been really good. We’ve all enjoyed it and we all just want to get better, keep improving upon our game.”
Michigan State still has a ways to go before it gets to an in-season level of play. But the Spartans are starting to play faster and more determined after learning the ropes at the beginning of spring ball.
“That first practice, it wasn’t up to standard,” Mangham said. “A lot of us weren’t getting to the ball, we were just sitting there. I’d definitely say, now, we’ve all been running, attacking the ball even if (the coach) stops, even if you’re all the way across the field, just running all the way across just to get a tag off. That’s going to help a lot in the game because it’s building endurance. If you can do that for 16 periods in practice, when you go into the game, you’ll be able to run for a while.”
Mangham has enjoyed learning under Michigan State’s new coaching staff. The staff’s honesty during initial player meetings in part convinced Mangham to stay in East Lansing. Now he’s seeing that honesty play out on the practice field.
“I like how they come out and coach us, just tell us the truth, what we do good and what we do bad,” Mangham said. “They show us what we need to fix more than showing you the good things because you need to know what you do wrong instead of what you do good so you can improve on that.”
Mangham spends most of practice working with his fellow defensive backs under new secondary coach Blue Adams.
Michigan State notably kept their secondary core intact this offseason. Mangham, Dillon Tatum, Malik Spencer and Chance Rucker all stayed away from the portal during the coaching change. Mangham hopes that the secondary’s returning chemistry will help lead to a better pass defense this season.
Their close-knit relationship has already shown itself this spring, according to Mangham.
“That chemistry between all of us, it made it a lot easier when we were learning the new playbook, learning the new philosophies and all that,” Mangham said. “(When you have) a whole new room, a lot of guys aren’t adjusted to each other. With us, we’re already adjusted to each other. We’ve played with each other. So it’s been easy. At the same time, it’s still hard, but it’s coming along nice.”
Michigan State’s defense has already received plenty of practice defending the pass this spring. Mangham said that head coach Jonathan Smith and offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren like to pass “a little more than your average Big Ten team.” So the Spartan defense has had to adjust a bit, just as the offense has had to learn from the defense.
“We’re definitely teaching each other a lot,” Mangham said. “In the Pac-12, they play a whole different style of offense. So with our Pac-12 coaches coming over, they’ve been teaching us the different concepts, all the stuff that they’re going to run against us. With us, we’ve just been teaching them the run game because with the Big Ten, it’s different from the Pac-12 when it comes to running. And also the rivalries. That school down the road, we’ve definitely been teaching them that it’s going to get crazy.”
Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles, who came over from Oregon State this offseason, has particularly impressed Mangham this spring.
“He’s crazy,” Mangham said of Chiles. “He’s definitely crazy. Aidan, all of the QBs, they’ve been performing really well. They’ve definitely been helping us get better every time they step out onto that field. They’re going out there to make plays, which they do. But at the same time, we have to stop them from doing that, and I’d definitely say that we’ve been doing that. Their play has been helping us out a lot.”
Mangham getting bigger, faster at Michigan State this spring
If all goes according to plan, Mangham would like to make a run at the NFL after the 2024 season. With the help of Michigan State’s new coaching staff, he knows what he has to do to get there.
“I’m definitely trying to make this a big year,” Mangham said. “I know what I have to improve on. Getting bigger, being smarter, playing faster, those are definitely things I have to work on. I know it’s not going to be easy, either. But if I could do those things, I’m definitely trying to make this that breakout year.”
Mangham added 12 pounds of muscle this winter. He’s up to 191 pounds now, but he wants to get up to 205 by the start of fall camp, knowing that he’ll lose 5-10 pounds during that training block. He wants to play at 195-200 pounds during the season.
“I feel good,” Mangham said. “I’m moving fluidly. I can still cover the field with those 12 pounds. So I’m going to keep adding and adding and getting stronger. Once I start to feel sluggish where I can’t hold anymore, that’s when I’ll start cutting and just working on my strength.”
That extra weight has likely come in handy, considering Adams has repped his defensive backs at multiple positions this spring. Mangham said he has spent time at free safety, strong safety and nickel back this spring, but expects to play most of his reps at free safety once the season starts.
“I’m definitely still in the deep third, but I’ve come down and been in a little bit more man and playing a little more inside the box,” Mangham said. “So they’ve changed the responsibilities there a little bit, and I like it.”
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