PHOTO: Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles celebrates in the Spartans’ win over Boston College.

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By TOM SHANAHAN

Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles’ first post-game critique last week was meeting with the media. This was moments after he lifted the Spartans past Boston College to a 42-40 overtime victory with a two-point conversion pass.

The next one was with head coach Jonathan Smith and his offensive staff. They reviewed film before moving on to preparing for the next game, Saturday afternoon against Youngstown State at Spartan Stadium.

But one more important critique awaited the junior second-year starter – a conversation with is mother, Nikki Chiles.

Her evaluations of Aidan’s post-game media interviews have been perhaps most responsible for his progress from a talented athlete playing quarterback to presenting himself to the public as a field general leading his teammates.

Nikki, a career educator as a teacher and principal in the Long Beach Unified School District, leaves the X’s and O’s critiques to the coaches, of course. She grades Aidan on his media interviews that a year ago were short on words, lacked a filter, and were too often misinterpreted by the media and fans. Aidan has combined her advice with the media training Michigan State provided for him.

“I watch all of his interviews,” Nikki said. “I told him, ‘You say what’s on your mind. Sometimes you have to stop and think.’”

Nikki used her own background as an elementary school principal dealing with the media and the public.

“When you’re a principal, you have to speak to a lot of people,” she said. “Somedays the media shows up at your school and sticks a microphone in your face. You can’t simply say what’s on your mind. Things happen every day at school. You have to be the one who says things to keep everybody calm.”

Among examples she cited to Aidan was telling a reporter he liked to color. Nikki said his picture coloring “is special – masterful,” but she added she told him his short answer sounded simplistic. He needed to explain coloring pictures is his release from the pressure that comes with playing quarterback in major college football.

Such progress was on display on the NBC prime-time broadcast when Kathryn Tappan interviewed him on the field. Chiles praised his team for its toughness, although he was the one who came back on the field for overtime after he hurt his leg on the Spartans’ last offensive play of regulation time.

Then Tappan, relying on something she learned about Chiles, asked him about a book he has been reading, “The Self-Imposed Athlete.”

“It keeps me calm,” Chiles said. “It keeps my head level. It’s as simple as that. I was young last year. I came out this year and matured a little bit. I read my book a little bit. That’s it. I’m staying grounded.”

Then he gave Tappan a hug.

“People have been asking me where they can buy that book,” said Nikki, crediting her son for finding the maturation tool on his own.

PHOTO: Nikki, Aidan and Adrian Chiles at Michigan State’s Spartan Academic Excellence Gala on April 14, 2025.

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It’s not that Chiles arrived at Michigan State needing to be grounded. It’s that he needed to explain himself in a way to reflect he was grounded.

Chiles’ father, Adrian, was a wide receiver at Langston University, an HBCU in Oklahoma, and is middle school physical education teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He has been a supportive role model for Aidan, but Nikki said he’s content to stay in the background of his son’s athletic career.

Adrian Chiles’ approach might have left a void of influence in earlier era of Father Knows Best, but in the 21^st century women play prominent roles in the job market evident to their sons and daughters. This mother-son connection arose from conversations at home after Nikki advanced in her career to become principal of an elementary school.

“We would talk about what happened during the day and how I dealt with it,” Nikki said. “One day he said to me, ‘You’re like a quarterback. You’ve got to call the plays. Sometimes you have to call an audible.”

When Nikki was working as a principal supervisor overseeing and advising principals at campuses throughout the district, Aidan updated his comment.

“He told me, ‘Now you’re like a coach.’”

She may not know football, but her son trusts her people skills.

Chiles has managed to leave behind his faux paus from a year ago. Last season opened with the Spartans playing Florida Atlantic at home. Aidan told the media prior to the game fans should bet the “over” point total. But Michigan State struggled to score in a 16-10 victory.

The result wasn’t met well on social media.

Nikki said she didn’t grasp what “over” meant, but her primary concern was if the comment came off sounding boastful. Her husband explained betting and points. He also provided her context that Aidan was expressing confidence in the team.

“I appreciate (Aidan) doesn’t boast about himself,” Nikki said. “He boasts about his team. Some athletes boast about themselves. He does not. My husband helped me come to that conclusion.”

The final faux pau was the season-ending demoralizing loss to Rutgers at Spartan Stadium, 41-14. Fans beat a path to the exits before the game ended a 5-7 season.

By then, Chiles had endured a season of social media critiques of his ups-and-downs. He also observed attitudes of some players he felt hurt the team’s chemistry. Those are fair levels of frustration, but he expressed himself tersely to the media: “I no longer care about the fans.”

That, of course, went over like a lead balloon. It was later clarified that he meant the team needed to come together, but he learned he needed to mend fences with his approach to interviews.

Another 2025 progress example was the week leading up to the Boston College game. He was asked about him seeking revenge for last year’s 23-19 loss at BC. Chiles missed open receivers and was intercepted three times, opening the door to the Eagles coming from behind to win the game.

But Chiles didn’t take the bait. He acknowledged he needed to play better, but he explained the game was about the team beating Boston College.

Nikki says she continues to watch his interviews with a discerning ear, but she admits she’s let up on the critiques through two games.

“He was only a sophomore last year,” she said. “I’ve been comparing interviews of other young men who are seniors or who were high-profile recruits in high school and were used to having a microphone stuck in their face. This was all new to Aidan, but he’s growing.”

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Tom Shanahan is an award-winning sportswriter with two books on college football integration, “RAYE OF LIGHT, Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, the Integration of College Football and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans,” and “THE RIGHT THING TO DO, The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s,” and a children’s book, “DUFFY’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.” Shanahan’s 2022 story on the 1962 Rose Bowl, Alabama and segregation was awarded first place for Enterprise from the Football Writers Association of America.

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I’ll put my facts on the true pioneers of college football integration versus Bear Bryant fairytales against anybody, anytime, anywhere. Watch here.

Click here for my story on the 1962 Rose Bowl and Segregation and Alabama.

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Click here to purchase The Right Thing To Do

THE RIGHT THING TO DO

The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s

Foreword by Ruffin McNeill

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Click here to purchase Raye of Light.

RAYE OF LIGHT

Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, the 1ntegration of College Football and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans

Foreword by Tony Dungy

DUFFY CHILDREN’S BOOK purchase links: Order from Barnes and Noble here and Amazon here.