Michigan State University Athletics
Preseason Camp Update No. 2
8/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 13, 2008
First Scrimmage Recap
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State football team held its first scrimmage of preseason camp Sunday afternoon at Spartan Stadium. Based on a modified scoring system, the offense came away with an 88-71 victory over the defense. Brian Hoyer was 20-of-27 passing for 227 yards and two touchdowns, while B.J. Cunningham had six receptions for 99 yards and one score. Greg Jones led the defense with nine tackles, including 2.5 for losses of 11 yards. On Monday, head coach Mark Dantonio, defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi and several players met with the media to talk about the team's performance during the scrimmage.
Head Coach Mark Dantonio
On the first scrimmage...
We went about 130 plus plays, so everybody got reps. Our threes and our young players probably got 35 reps as a group. Our ones got about 50 and our twos about 50 also. I thought I saw some good things from our quarterbacks. They were pretty sharp. It was probably as good of a scrimmage as our quarterbacks have had, when you look at the scholarship guys. Hoyer was sharp, same with Cousins, very sharp. He caught the ball pretty well.
Defensively, we have to communicate. Attention to detail has to be better in the back end. We have some hurt guys right now, so we have to rectify that. They're little things. We just have to heal up a little bit. There were a lot of good things in practice yesterday. I thought the aggressiveness and attitude was good. We've got to eliminate big plays, but it's kind of tough, because on the other side of it you want to see big plays. I thought Cunningham had some nice plays out there. Tight ends caught the ball well. Backs got the ball well. I thought they executed well in the passing game. All in all, I think it was good scrimmage. We got a lot done, but there is a lot to correct also.
On concerns with the offense...
It's a jersey scrimmage. It was orchestrated on certain things. We put them in certain situations and they run those situations. It was pretty close until the end. You see enough good things on defense. We had some guys hurt and nicked up on defense, so we played in some different positions. We played some freshmen in the line back area as well. I don't think that's the case. I thought the quarterbacks were sharp and when your quarterbacks are making good decisions and getting the ball out hot, good things can happen to your offense.
On going live during practice...
We are going to go live everyday in practice a little bit. You talked about the defense being ahead of the offense, but the game is played in space a lot of the time. Sometimes you have to get your feet up underneath you and continue to work at it. It's leverage, it's those type of things on defense. Those things come with live reps. The only way you get them is going live. We'll scrimmage another big one this next weekend and tone it down and start to get ready for California that next week.
On finishing the games...
The first thing we have to do is get to the point where we are able to finish that game. Get to the point where we are in the game at the end and be able to play it. A lot of that, when you're on offense, is the quarterback making those decisions in pressure type situations and as I said, both Hoyer and Cousins were very, very sharp. I think that's a good thing. From a defensive standpoint, you get involved in pressuring and things of that nature. We're going slow with installation because we've got some young players playing with the twos. We don't have our whole package in, but we'll get it in by the end of this week.
On the running back position...
I thought that Andre Anderson played very well. Ashton Leggett had some runs. I don't think A.J. Jimmerson got as many carries for whatever reason. Those two guys did some good things. We held Javon Ringer around most of the practice, very limited reps with him. I think he needs to stay fresh. We know what he can do. From that standpoint, I feel good about the running back.
On competition with other positions...
I think that is still an ongoing process. I would say all those guys right now have not separated themselves from the others.
On pass protection...
Pass protection did a nice job. We did sack the quarterback some on defense which is a good thing. Pass protection is pretty firm.
On Adam Decker...
He played a lot. I think he played better the second half. The first half he needed to do some different things. I thought he was very solid. He was very controlling and he knows the defense. We're still trying to figure out what the best match-ups are in there. He has taken a definite step forward.
On what he likes about the team so far...
I like our attitude. I think we have good team chemistry right now. We are in the middle of two-a-days right now. It has been up and down and around a little bit because it gets long. They had a big practice yesterday and they came back. We'll see how they work this morning. I think the players have responded and their work ethic is good.
Brian has to continue to play better in the second half, but again, we try to make it as game-like as we can, coaches off the field and everything. They have to be able to stand out there on their own. So he made some mistakes, but that's expected.
On Keshawn Martin...
Keshawn and Fred Smith both had good days in the scrimmage. Fred caught some balls and I think Keshawn is very fluid and catches the ball very well.
Defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi
On the first scrimmage...
Several guys played well, but as a whole, we need to get better. Otis Wiley I thought played well. At linebacker, Greg Jones, Eric Gordon and Adam Decker all played well against the run, there's just some things we need to clean up in the passing game, but we'll get there.
On any young defensive players standing out...
Brynden Trawick was playing really good heading into the scrimmage. We have two corners, Johnny Adams and Trenton Robinson, who are both competitors. Johnny had the spring in which he had a chance to play. Trenton did not, but he's really playing well and having a good camp. The interception he had in the scrimmage was against the ones. It was a deep ball and he did a good job of going up and getting it. He plays fast and makes tackles.
On what he's looking for in the early scrimmages...
When it gets into a two minute situation or anything in the fourth quarter, whether it's a third down or two minute drill, we're looking at who's competing in that situation and who's finishing. Players make plays. We're trying to get our game better from first down all the way to third down, from first quarter to fourth quarter. It's not like, `oh, just play better in the fourth quarter.' We need to do it for all four quarters.
On Chris L. Rucker...
He's playing really well. He's a year more mature. He's a good athlete and he's playing physical. He's doing the little things right. People forget that he was just a true freshman last year. He's gotten a lot better through weight lifting and offseason conditioning. He's also picked up the technique where he left off in the spring.
On doing the little things right at camp...
We're doing OK at the little things, but not as well as I would like. We focus on the fundamentals and attention to detail. Right now, we're not getting the focus we want. But when you have a 150-play scrimmage and then you come out the next morning and practice, you realize they're tired. Mentally, physically, they're tired. We're trying to get them to be exhausted but still have them be mentally focused and paying attention to detail. We're just going to keep working and progressing toward that.
They know what we're teaching them, it's just that things happen fast out there. So they know what to do and they'll do it one play, but then they get tired and lose focus. You turn your head or think about the wrong thing for a second and you're beat. Defense is a reaction. It's part of the game. You better react and you better do the right thing.
Senior running back Javon Ringer
On the offensive game in the first scrimmage...
Our offense did great. Our offensive line really stepped up and that was really my main concern. I wasn't too concerned about everything else at that moment. I just wanted to focus on our offensive line, and they were doing tremendous. Our receivers, they played amazing; our d-line, they were really getting after us and the secondary played great. Overall, I felt we had a tremendous scrimmage.
On the back-up running backs...
They all did great. Definitely Andre (Anderson) had a lot of good runs and A.J. (Jimmerson) was doing his thing with the passing. Ashton (Leggett) was doing great too. Overall, they all did pretty well.
On this year compared to last...
We are definitely more experienced. We are a lot more comfortable with everything we are doing. Last year was our first time running with the system, so we were still adjusting, even throughout the season. We picked up on it pretty quickly, and now I feel like we all pretty much know what we are all doing. It's not so much a learning experience, like it was last year, but it's just making better what we already know.
Senior quarterback Brian Hoyer
On the performance of the receivers...
I thought they did a really good job in the first scrimmage. B.J. Cunningham, in a two-minute situation, had the game-winning catch even though the offense was already ahead. We still had to go down and score. He made a great catch in the end zone and there were several other catches he made. Mark Dell, both of the freshman guys, Keshawn Martin and Fred Smith both had touchdown catches. I don't think that is an area of concern for us.
On the offensive line...
I think our o-line did a tremendous job. Obviously I wasn't allowed to get hit, but I don't think there was a sack, maybe one or two here or there. I thought Rocco (Cironi) did a good job going against Trevor (Anderson), and just in general the o-line did a good job.
On the back-up quarterbacks...
I think they both are doing a good job, both Kirk and Keith. Obviously Keith can't play this year, but he is learning the system, he is learning the offense and all of the checks. Kirk is doing just as well, he has been in the system and knows what he is doing. He is very cerebral. He knows what's going on and he made some big plays.
Senior right guard Jesse Miller
On Javon Ringer...
What I like about Javon is that he's not taking a cocky role where it's he deserves, he deserves, he's out there as everybody together, this is for all of us. He tells the o-line that whatever he gets, he gets from us. I like how humble he is about it, when really he deserves a lot of credit, but he won't take it for anything, no matter how many times you push it on him.
On what's fun about being a lineman...
You learn to be happy by hitting someone hard. You learn to have fun when you quarterback doesn't get touched, or when your running backs go for long yards. Those are our stats pretty much, because we have none. As for our drills, they hurt. But that's what we have to do because it's not a natural position.
The games are definitely the reward. I remember freshman year as a redshirt - you practice, you practice, you practice. Next year, you practice, you practice, you practice. When you finally get in, you remember what you were doing it for. Saturday is really what you do it for. When you're young, you don't realize that. You do nothing but practice, you grind, and you get beat on pretty much. But once you get in the game, you remember what it's about.
Junior defensive end Trevor Anderson
On losing the scrimmage...
There comes a time when you get some pressures, some worries and some knock downs. We need to play better as a defense. We didn't play as solid as we should have. There are a lot of technical errors we need to work on and I feel that we are going to get those things tied up this week. We have to push through all the knick-knack bruises and injuries that everybody has. We have to get those green jerseys back before we go into regular season.
