OPENING STATEMENT...
“Saturday night stayed true to form after watching the tape, there is still a lot of things we have to do to improve. It’s always good to coach players after you have won a game and try to improve things rather than the other side of it. I think they are well informed about who we are playing this week. When you think of Michigan State, it’s one of those established programs. Coach (Mark) Dantonio has done a fabulous job. Its one of the better college teams in the country every year. They seem to find their ways; numerous years of being in the top 20 in college football. They have a certain DNA. It goes back to when coach (George) Perles was there and I can remember being a scout. 1990 we drafted Percy Snow - first-round linebacker out of Michigan State. Tough, fundamental football, sound football team. They find themselves very comfortable in uncomfortable situations. Last week was probably an uncomfortable situation for them at home playing a really good Utah State team that did a lot of good things to put points on the board. They are a team that doesn’t panic. Played well, made the plays to win a football game and that’s the critical part. They travel well. Generally, a good run offense and good defense travel well. It walks into any stadium on the road and plays. This is why they have been very consistent. The coach has done a fantastic job. He's been there for 12 years, I met him quite a few years back. One of the better college football coaches in the country. Their team takes on the personality of their coach. They are tough and disciplined. They don’t make a lot of mistakes and they are experienced group on defense. I guess the quarterback is a local kid. Athletic and can make some players outside of the pocket. Tough guy. When you think of that conference, they meet the bill of a team that plays in a tough and physical conference.”
ON N’KEAL HARRY’S BIG PLAY LATE IN THE SECOND HALF...
“I thought about that when we talked about that last week. ‘What are the things that concern you about opening day’s, is what?’ Missed tackles. Great run by him but missed tackles. That doesn’t surprise me with N’keal though. All of the work he puts in after practice and all the things he does in the weight room when no one is looking. Its important to him to play well. He loves the competition. He loves the spotlight. He doesn’t run to the shade. He likes the light on him and he likes to perform in big-time situations. The run was surprising. Yesterday, when we brought the team in we did the play of the day. You bring your team back and you show that and everybody was excited and I said, ‘not so fast.’ The interception by our defensive lineman was the play of the day. That was a pretty good run. He doesn’t get enough credit so I had to give him some love. N’keal was up there shaking his head ‘no coach.’ We expect you to do that. Having a defensive lineman dropping into the slant zone and intercepting it and running it for a touchdown is pretty impressive for a big guy.”
ON N’KEAL’S ABILITY TO MAKE DEFENDERS MISS...
“It's rare, but here again, he's a talented player. I saw that when he was in high school when I had him in the Under Armour game. He's different and you can tell he’s going to have the opportunity to extend his career beyond college. I think he’s working at it. He understands the importance of it and I think he wants to play on the next level and he will. Right now when we watch, you watch other players you get admired with other guys. They have a similar receiver in (Felton) Davis, number 18. Big strong physical guy - similar dimensions about 6’4, 218; same kind of traits. He can catch it with strong hands and 50-50 balls. It will be fun watching both of them and hopefully, we can slow there guy down. He’s a good player.”
ON BRIAN LEWERKE COMING TO PLAY IN HIS HOMETOWN...
“I think he’ll stay in the framework of the offense. One thing they do is they can pound the ball. They are a physical run team with two really good backs. They run better after contact and he's a quarterback that is in full control of the offense - he can make some plays with his legs. I think coming home is always exciting for you but he’s playing on a team where he has complementary players. He doesn’t have to put it all on him, he can give it to the runner, he has some receivers that can make some plays. I think he’s comfortable with who he is. He has played in enough football games. Coming home can be a burden to a young guy with all the requests; you guys will want to talk to him all week. This team is used to the spotlight - that’s normal to them. When you’re the quarterback and you’re in a winning program that comes along with that and that’s why they are so successful. They have an era about themselves. When they get off the bus regardless at home or on the road, there is a standard they are going to play to and they have done it.”
ON SECONDARY PLAY FROM SATURDAYS GAME...
“They did a great job on the perimeter tackling and that’s critical. College football is about the perimeter game. These guys aren’t so much on the perimeter. They run up inside and beat you up but they have receivers that can catch the ball and hard to tackle. We are going to have to tackle really well, especially on the perimeter. These guys are big guys, they are not little. It's good when your corners can tackle. I always tell my corners if you can’t tackle, it’s hard to play for me. Don’t tell me about just being a cover guy. In college football, that’s what gets you beat when you can’t tackle perimeter because that’s where the big plays are. They are a little more traditional but they can open it up and throw the ball. They play with two tight ends and they create a couple of different formations but you have to tackle outside.”
ON GAME STATUS OF ZACH ROBERTSON AND JAY JAY WILSON FOR THIS WEEK...
“Jay Jay will be back this week. I don’t know where Zach is at but I think he is coming along.”
ON TRELON SMITHS GAME TIME STATUS...
“No, he will not be back. It was a coach's decision.”
ON SHOWING THE TEAM HOW TO HANDLE SUCCESS...
“I have always lived my life this way and when you have had a little success in your life, you stay humble but hungry. That’s my motto and my walking orders. It’s a mindset. You can't live off of what you did in the past or else you stay the same and someone passes you up. Success can be a disease if you allow it to overtake you. Before you know it and you think you have arrived, but you have never arrived. There is always something else you want and if you love the feeling of success, then what does it take to have some more success. I think successful teams understand that. We won a football game and that’s fantastic but now we have to try to win another one against a really good football team. This will be a good test for us.”
ON THE THINGS MICHIGAN STATE DOES WELL
“They understand who they are. They play complementary football. Their running game and time of possession allow their defense to not play a lot of snaps. Utah State hit a couple plays but they couldn’t run the ball for the most part. They are big and physical with linebackers inside and a good front. Secondary tackling is excellent. They don’t do a lot. They will bring pressure but they can go with a four-man rush. They have a couple cover schemes they like playing. They are a team who understands who they are so they don’t worry themselves about who you are. I think good teams understand that. Teams that have success, don’t worry about the opponent. This is who we are. We are going to play this type of defense. On offense, this is what we are going to do and generally, when you build your DNA that way, you are able to recruit players like that and it kind of works. When you have been there for 12 years then you establish who you are and they play in a conference where there are different teams in that conference but they are Michigan State. They have a brand in how they are going to play and they aren’t going to change that. This is why they are so consistent with winning a lot of games.”
ON MANNY MANAGING THE GAME
“He did fairly well. When you don’t turn the ball over - he threw the ball 24 times. He responded when he got hit and he made a nice play on the scramble where he rolled out and threw the touchdown pass. On the fourth and five, he hit the fade ball, which was a really nice throw. There was probably a couple that he wishes he could take back. Maybe if he could set his feet, he may have had better velocity on the football. The one thing about Manny, he is an established quarterback. He has a lot of experience. A bad series of plays doesn’t affect him going into the next series. He doesn’t feel like he has to do something now. He understands that this offense will give him an opportunity. We are fortunate enough to have some skill players if you get the ball in their hands. If you miss them it all the sudden it becomes a positive play. A three-yard play becomes an eight-yard play and you are back ahead of the chains. What we don’t want to do is get behind the chains offensively because when you do that people have the ability to bring pressure and that is what Michigan State does. They make you play behind the chains at times and then they come after you.”
ON PHYSICALITY OF THE DEFENSE...
“That was important and that is going to be really important this week because we have to match these guys intensity that walk in the ballyard on offense, defense, and special teams. I thought, for the most part, we tackled fairly well. I thought our defensive line did a nice job of establishing the line of scrimmage for us. We created a lot of negative plays but we are really going to have to tackle. They have good runners that can break tackles and as I talked about the receivers; they are strong and physical guys. This will be a good test for our defense.”
ON (JAY JAY) WILSONS IMPACT ON DEFENSE
“The rotation and the system we have. Danny (Gonzales) is trying to get a lot of guys in there to play. We have a young defense, as you guys know. He has a veteran presence to his self. The guys respect him and he is a tough football player. This is a game that he kind of likes because this is a big physical team, he’s a physical player. He has some athleticism that you can’t teach, its just his gift. It will be good to have him back playing.”
ON PLAYING AN EXPERIENCED TEAM...
“We are going to find out because they are playing against an experienced football team with a lot of experienced players. When the game is tight, they don’t panic and they keep their poise - they just figure it out. We will make a play. We are right where we are supposed to be and they were able to do it down the stretch. You see it in college football and you see teams with experience. Their demeanor doesn’t change. The moment doesn’t overwhelm them, they just keep playing. They don’t play out of there skin. Some guys try to play outside of the comfort zone and that’s when you mess up. You have to be who you are and embrace the moment and just play. It takes care of itself.”
ON TEAM’S ABILITY TO RUN THE FOOTBALL
“We ran it fairly well I thought. We attempted more runs than passes. We said that going in we would like to try and run the ball. Our rule is you throw to score and you run to win. We were able to do both. We ran it in spurts. Like I said, we sputtered some offensively and that’s going to happen this week against Michigan State. They are like the seventh-ranked defense. It’s not like you're just going to have your way with them because you’re not. There are going to be a lot of bad plays. We’ve got to realize that and not get flustered because this is who they are. You’re not going to be able to make errors. You’ve got to make the plays. You have to because they’re not going to give you second and third chances. I think we have to be well aware of that.”
ON CUTTING DOWN ON PENALTIES
“Michigan State had nine and that’s not them. Opening day is hard in college football. It’s harder than professional football because there are no practice games. A spring scrimmage is not a game. In professional football, you play four games. College football at first when you play live, it counts. I said it was going to happen. I’m not a negative guy. I’m a positive guy to be quite honest, but you just feel it’s going to happen because they haven’t been at that moment. There’s a different anxiety when you smell the popcorn and you see the people. It’s different and I say that as a player. I keep telling you guys, I see things through the players’ eyes. I’ve played for a long time and as a veteran guy, opening day is opening day. It was like, ‘here we go.’ But, you don’t know. You feel like you’re comfortable, but you’ve got to play well uncomfortable. Sometimes it takes you a little while to do that as a football player, or as an athlete. They might not show it or it might not look like that, but we’ve all got anxiety in our bellies. I never missed a game. I never missed a start. Every time I walked out there, I felt the same thing. I would be a veteran guy out there walking out and I’d go, ‘Oh man.’ It’s the best feeling in life because you’re tenors are up. Then you need to find the pace of the game and find out where your comfort zone is and we made some bone-headed plays. You’ve got to alleviate it. You can’t have 11 penalties in a game and expect to win. You would have no shot."
ON THE NUMBER OF TEXT MESSAGES HERM RECEIVED AFTER THE WIN
“I was back in here and then got home by around 12:30. Before I went to bed, my daughters were up and my wife was talking to me. I said to my wife, ‘Yea I’m not going to make it.’ So, I was back in here around four. I didn’t sleep. It took almost thirty minutes just replying back to all of the texts. I was saying to myself, ‘how do all these people know me? How did he get my number? It’s amazing how many people get my number. I haven’t spoken to this guy in two years. I’m pretty forthright. When people text me, I text them back. I’m not one of those people who just wait three days. I’ve got half of the worldwide leader. I was like, ‘Leave me alone now’ because they’re up back there and they kind of know I’m up because I get up at four o’clock in the morning. But it was fun and I heard from a lot of good friends. It was nice to hear their encouragement. It’s always nice to hear from friends you never hear from in a long time. It was fun. Now, we’ve got a big-time football team coming in here now with an established program. I think it’s good for all of us to play a game like this. I can’t say enough about our fans. The student body, they were all in now. They were good. I know we’re expecting a lot of people in our stadium for this week’s game. Hopefully, we can perform well for them. It was fun going out there and just watching the students participating. That’s what I love about college football. I was doing SEC games for a year at ESPN and went to the tailgates before the game. The atmosphere of college football is amazing. There’s nothing like that. It’s different. It’s different than pro football, there’s no doubt about it. The young people that come into the stadiums, they’re excited. We’ve got a great fan base and a great student body here that really follows sports here. I have gone to a bunch of sporting events here. You’ve seen me at softball games, swimming, or baseball. Anything that involves sports here, I’m a fan. I go and watch the student body and see how they react. I go to basketball games and it’s fun to watch them. They come up with more clever things. It's like, ‘How do they do that? Who thinks of things stuff like this?’ When I was this young, I didn’t think of things like this. Also, they have skits and things like that. It’s just fun to watch them. It’s great.”
ON MECHANICS OF COACHING OPERATION FOR THE FIRST TIMEOUT...
“It was okay. For the most part, there wasn’t a lot of chaos because it can get chaotic on the sidelines. I think a lot of it has to do with the communication part when we needed to talk to certain parties on the field because these coaches are experienced. I was in direct communication with all of the coordinators for the most part. I stayed out of their way when they were getting involved in the calling of it. I’m generally a guy who steps in when the offense is off and the defense is about to take the ball. I will talk to the offense and give them some ideas or suggestions. Same way with the defense. Danny (Gonzales) was on the field, so I can get to him easily. Coach (Shawn) Slocum was on the field. I thought, for the most part, they needed to know how I would react to the game and what the Head Coach would say. Every Head coach is different. I hope I kept my composure good enough for them because whatever you saw this Saturday, that’s pretty much who I am all the time. I don’t change a whole lot. I’m a thinker. I watch and I listen to my eyes. When I see things go array, I try to get to that unit and speak to them during the course of the game when I get a moment. I watch the game, situations, and players. There are certain demeanors of players in our locker room. When I watch them walk off the field, I kind of need to talk to that one and I need to tell him this. I just do it my own way. I don’t try to get any fanfare. I just find a way there eventually. It’s hard for me because there are so many players. There’s like 80 guys. I’m not used to this many guys. I would turn around and be like, ‘This is an army back here. Where were all of these guys at?’ I try to find them and shift my way through it. I always try to give them encouragement. That’s what you do as a head coach, you have to give them hope after every series. When things go good, there’s not a lot to say. When things don’t go the way you like, you try to get back to them with that unit. When that unit does a good job with certain things, you tap them on the helmet. That’s what you try to do as a head coach.”
ON TALKING TO THE OFFICIAL ABOUT N’KEAL HARRY’S PADS...
ON ISIAH FLOYD PERFORMANCE AND SEEING HIM IN MORE PLAY CALLS...
“I think that we have a unit of players that have some unique talents. He was one. I said when we decided to offer him a scholarship that he was a little bit of an exception to the rule as for as his DNA of his position he played because there is a certain height, weight, speed, and FBI intelligible that goes into how we recruit now. If you look at his body type, it wouldn’t fit the DNA and there’s always an exception to the rule and we said that when we decided to offer him a scholarship. I’m so glad he took it. I think you guys watched him and when I watched him at JC (junior college), I went, ‘I don’t care about DNA on this one. He’s a football player and he can help us.' He’s got some talent. I’m not surprised if you’re asking that. I’m not surprised. The guy who was training him in the offseason, I went to school with at Cal. He (Isiah Floyd) was keeping me abreast every week on how he was training and where he was at. I think he surprised a lot of our guys because a lot of guys thought he was a freshman. When he came in the offseason and he was running with the guys, by the second day, they figured out that this guy was a little bit different. He’s earned his way through hard work. He’s a hard-working guy and he likes playing football and I like guys that like playing football. He likes practicing football. We like to watch guys like that and there’s always this thing in life where when you’re not the biggest guy, you have to prove yourself. He’s always trying to prove yourself to me. I told him that he never has to prove himself to me. I said that needs to stop. I said to him that he is one of our guys; you’re here for a reason and you’re a good football player. I’m glad he’s on board.”
ON THE SPECIAL RUNNING BACK CORE...
“Eno (Benjamin) is quite the player as you guys witnessed. He’s tough, can run inside, outside, and he’s good after contact. He has great balance. He understands blocking schemes. He sits in the classroom with those offensive linemen when the run game is being put in. He’s sitting in the front row. It helps when you have a running back that knows how to press the whole because that helps the offensive line get to the second level and it brings the linebackers in the trash and when you get the linebackers caught in the trash, then all of a sudden, he can break away from that. Some running backs don’t press the heal of the offensive lineman when you’re entering at the entering point and that gives the linebackers the ability to scrape and go make plays. But, he presses the hole and he has a good enough vision and ability to escape it where he can hit a little crease and make a play. He catches the ball and is good in protection. Complete running backs have to be able to protect the quarterback as well. It’s not just running and catching the ball. When Michigan State bring pressure, he’s got to pick up a linebacker and these linebackers here are big, physical guys. For example, the kid from UTSA was a good linebacker and sometimes, you’ve got to block those guys. He does it all. He’s a complete running back.