Valero Alamo Bowl Media Center: MSU Press Conference - Offense
12/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 30, 2009
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SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Michigan State offensive coordinator Don Treadwell, senior wide receiver Blair White, senior center Joel Nitchman and sophomore quarterback Kirk Cousins held a 30-minute press conference Wednesday at the Marriott Riverwalk to preview the upcoming Valero Alamo Bowl on Jan. 2. Listen to the audio in the Spartan Sports Podcast.
Offensive coordinator Don Treadwell
Opening statement...
"First of all, on behalf of Michigan State, we're certainly very excited to be here in the Alamo Bowl. It's been tremendously exciting. For us, we have brought some young men over here this morning from the offense that we would consider impact players. From the big picture, there's been tremendous hospitality here at the Alamo Bowl. We are so excited and thrilled to be here, we've enjoyed ourselves. We haven't had to get up and shovel any snow or anything like that, which is a big positive, and I think these guys up here would tell you that we've been eating pretty well.
"On behalf of this game, we certainly look to this game with a tremendous worthy opponent. Texas Tech defensively does a tremendous job of flying to the football. This is a team where not just one or two guys stand out, they as a unit do a tremendous job of moving and getting to the football. They defeat blocks up front. I know our o-linemen will have a great challenge up front in that regard. They're very athletic. On the back end, their linebackers and defensive backs run very well. So this is a unit (compared to Big Ten teams) like Iowa, where they're not going to try and fool you schematically in what they do, but they're going to do the same thing play after play and do it very well. To a degree, that's what this team does. They get into some base things. They're not going to try and necessarily fool you where they're going to be. They're going to give you a heck of a time trying to do what you want to do based on them knowing their assignments and being very sound in it."
On trying to be balanced on offense...
"Just in the big picture, certainly each game we go into, for the most part, our thoughts have always been toward being very balanced. From the get go, that's one of the things our head coach always likes to stress. With Coach Dantonio, you're going to work to become a balanced team, and a balanced team means you're going to be able to run the football. That in itself is a foundation of what we do.
"Certainly against a very explosive opponent, in terms of what they do on offense, I'm sure it would be to our advantage to certainly be a balanced team, to be able to run the football, take some time with the clock, and do what we do. Certainly that being the case also there's some things that we do and that Kirk does very well. If we are throwing the football, he'll throw where his reads take him and those types of things. We won't handcuff ourselves either, at the same point."
Sophomore quarterback Kirk Cousins
On the offense heading into the Alamo Bowl...
"We've had to mix it around with our personnel groupings and figure some things out there in the past month, so we have a pretty good feel for what we're going to be doing on Saturday. What we do have are some great receivers still. We have Blair (White) and we have Keshawn (Martin), and they have shown what they can do all season. That hasn't changed and it's not going to change on Saturday. We're very excited about getting them the football. We've talked all season about the four tight ends we have and we're going to use those guys as much as we can on Saturday night. We have a great gameplan in, a lot of offense in, so there's a lot there and we're excited about the opportunity to go showcase it."
On adjusting to Texas Tech's defense at the line of scrimmage...
"We're always trying to evaluate every snap what the defense is doing and getting the best play possible. At the same time, Coach Treadwell is going to put us in a great situation all game long, so we'll just roll with what gets called, and if I feel we need to get into a better play or what I'm coached to get out of, then we'll do that. We have our reads and we have our indicators that we'll look for, and we'll go from there."
On starting at quarterback in the bowl game...
"I'm very excited about this opportunity. We were talking this morning at the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) breakfast, and someone mentioned having an `attitude of gratitude.' And you need to look around sometimes and just realize the position you've been able to be in, and it's not because of anything I've done, it's because of the opportunity I've been given, and I'm very thankful for that. I'm living a dream. To be able to play in a bowl game like this and have an opportunity to play is very exciting. We just practiced at the Alamodome yesterday, and I found myself looking around the stadium and saying, `I'm not in high school anymore. This is pretty cool.' So I'm very excited. We really want to win this football game. We're going to rely on these guys here and a lot of other guys - it's going to be a full team effort to get the job done."
Senior wide receiver Blair White
On playing in his last game at MSU...
"Obviously, this is going to be my last game (at MSU). It's going to be pretty emotional. I think we've come a long way as a team. We might not have had the year we set our goals on, but we have a chance to win a bowl game. It's been a lot of fun for me (to be with) all the players and friends and coaches. I'm just excited to get out there one last time and compete. This is a great bowl game, and there should be a lot of people watching, so it should be fun."
On any added pressure this game...
"I see it as a challenge. We have these guys out, but Keshawn (Martin) and some other guys are going to be able to step in. Personally, if you want to call it pressure, you can go ahead and call it that, I'm just excited to go out there and make as many plays as I can...I just think we really want to get this win because there's been a lot of negatives, and we're just excited to get out on Saturday and bring back some positives for the program and get a win."
Senior center Joel Nitchman
On the freshman running backs (Edwin Baker and Larry Caper) and developing a chemistry with them as an offensive line...
"I think it's huge to have chemistry between ourselves (the offensive line) and the two running backs. First off, they're two talented, talented running backs, so they really make us look good at times. I think we first just have to be able to execute on our side. If they get a little bit of a seam, they'll take it and go far with it. Knowing what they like to do and the cuts they like to do, it doesn't exactly affect our blocks, but at the same time, it's nice to know where they're looking to go."
On any differences between prepping for this game and the last two bowl games...
"I don't know if there's too many differences overall. I definitely think it's nice to know what we're doing now. We're getting used to the bowl scene and I know that's something these coaches are going to keep moving forward with. I definitely think there's a maturity now. We really know how to handle ourselves well in these bowl games. We know how to prepare and give a good strong showing, so the more experience we get, the better we're going to be."
