When the Michigan State Spartans return from their bye week against the Penn State Nittany Lions at 3:30 p.m. ET, it will be Alessio Milivojevic, not Aidan Chiles, under center as the starting quarterback. Here’s what you need to know about Milivojevic and the factors underlying the decision.
Michigan State Spartans Turn to Alessio Milivojevic in Week 12
College football insider Pete Thamel reported ahead of Michigan State’s mid-afternoon bout with Penn State that the Spartans had made the decision to continue assessing Milivojevic as the starting quarterback rather than returning to Chiles, following the decision to bench the former Oregon State QB against Minnesota.
Sources: Michigan State will start Alessio Milivojevic against Penn State today. It will the redshirt freshman’s second career start. pic.twitter.com/Lr9XBHG5VN
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 15, 2025
Milivojevic earned his first start in Week 10 against Minnesota, ending a two-year, 20-game stretch in which Chiles was the Spartans’ full-time starter at QB. Chiles — Jonathan Smith’s handpicked transfer target from Oregon State — went 8-12 over that span, throwing for 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Milivojevic was part of Smith’s first recruiting class at Michigan State in the 2024 offseason. He was a three-star recruit from Wheaton, Illinois, who played at St. Francis High School. There, he passed for 3,408 yards, 40 TDs, and just four INTs while leading St. Francis to the playoff semifinals as a senior.
Milivojevic had multiple other Power Four offers as a recruit, including offers from Ole Miss and Nebraska, but originally committed to Ball State in the early summer of 2023.
Ball State presented Milivojevic with the potential for early starting reps, but when Michigan State showed interest that following winter, Milivojevic flipped his commitment and joined the Spartans.
Milivojevic’s first career pass for the Spartans in 2024 — and his only pass of the 2024 season — was an interception. His first pass of the 2025 season was a pick-six. But he showed enough improvement in limited relief action for the Spartans during October to warrant earning the starting role from Week 10.
In his sole start, Milivojevic completed 71.4% of his 28 pass attempts, throwing for 311 yards with one touchdown pass. Although it was all for nothing in a sixth consecutive defeat, the 23-20 scoreline was the tightest loss of the year, and the young quarterback impressed enough to keep the job against Penn State.
So what’s next for Chiles? The junior passer had high expectations heading into 2025 and at first appeared to be meeting them; a clutch comeback victory against Boston College was the highlight of his year. But after the USC game, Chiles sharply regressed. His efficiency tanked, and on film, he never seemed to be comfortable or in-rhythm.
The Spartans’ offensive line hasn’t been stellar down the stretch, but Chiles himself has also backtracked in startling ways as an operator, and a change of scenery is undoubtedly the best thing for him moving forward.
As for which transfer destination best fits Chiles, that remains to be seen, and QB movement yet to come will help shape the market. Chiles has real NFL Draft potential and high-end physical talent, and has flashed promising operation in-structure, but he needs to go to a school where he has the proper support.
A Long Beach, California native, Chiles could eye a team in his home state, but UCLA and USC both appear set, at least for the time being. Chiles could also opt to fill the QB spot at a program in particular need for consistency, or take the reins from an outgoing senior.
Other relevant programs for Chiles’ transfer hopes might include Florida State, Syracuse, LSU, Vanderbilt, and Louisville.
