Chicago - In his new role as MSU's football ambassador, John L. Smith greeted a congregation of Big Ten officials Wednesday, acknowledging that many believe the program to be one of the conference's weakest members.

"I know a lot of people aren't expecting too much from us," he told dozens of reporters at the annual Big Ten football kick off in the Windy City. "Nobody is going to pick us to do anything. Nobody is going to look at any of our personnel because they're not going to be picked to be all-league or all-anything."

Smith said he believes low expectations will allow the Spartans to become an unsuspected threat come fall. Preseason prognostication among collegiate football publications, such as Athlon Sports, has MSU ranked no higher than ninth in the Big Ten - ahead of Indiana and Northwestern.

But rebuilding programs is what Smith has become known for. One of his greatest accomplishments came when Smith inherited a 1-10 Louisville team in 1998 and within a year produced a 7-5 season. Similar turnarounds came in earlier coaching jobs at Utah State and Idaho, where he also had winning seasons.

Now, Smith has acquired a 4-8 Spartan squad.

And with a wink from an eye, fire in his belly and drawl off his tongue, Smith remained optimistic and seemingly enjoyed his first major press conference debut as the Spartans' head coach.

"We're trying to change what we believe is our attitude," he said. "We're trying to change maybe some things that are not good habits.

"It's an awkward process."

Those habits coupled with lingering sentiments of last year's underachieving squad and off-field distractions, including the indefinite suspension of senior quarterback Jeff Smoker, who later admitted to a substance-abuse problem, have Smith convinced the Spartan program needs strong leadership from behind the clipboard.

"This is a total dictatorship," he said. "And players know that."

Purdue head coach Joe Tiller told The State News that he believes a change on the sidelines, such as the new Spartan coach, should help MSU exceed predictions.

"He's done it before and he's a great coach and he's got a great track record," he said.

Tiller said that record combined with Smith's personality should bring some excitement to East Lansing, despite dismal predictions.

"Sometimes that's what a program needs," he said. "We, as coaches, need to coach our personalities."

And Smith's personality has the head coach ready to prove all early estimates wrong.

"It's time to get going then and find out if we're any good and win some football games," Smith said. "Time for a few surprises."

Kevin Hardy can be reached at hardykev@msu.edu.