Cotton Bowl Media Day Coverage: Coordinators Press Conference
12/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State held its local Cotton Bowl Media Day on Wednesday inside the Izzo Family Media Center at the Spartan Stadium North End Zone Complex. MSU head coach Mark Dantonio, co-offensive coordinators Jim Bollman and Dave Warner, co-defensive coordinators Harlon Barnett and Mike Tressel, and several players answered questions about the upcoming matchup against No. 2 Alabama.
Michigan State (12-1, 7-1 Big Ten) was selected the third seed in the four-team College Football Playoff and will play second-seeded and SEC Champion Alabama (12-1, 7-1 SEC) in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Thursday, Dec. 31 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (8 p.m., ESPN).
Below is the complete transcript from the coordinators' press conference on Wednesday.
Offense: Jim Bollman and Dave Warner
Q. Gentlemen, when you review Alabama, the loss to Ole Miss, but the teams that have challenged them, two things in particular: No. 1 is the ability to throw down the field, to not let them use that front seven to stack the box. I'm curious, in your mind, obviously not going to reveal your game plan how important is it to throw down the field in this game and not let the front seven stack the box?
Dave Warner: I think it's very important, I think it's no different than most of our other games. I think we go into about every game realizing that some people, if we are not able to throw the ball, have to stack the box. If we're not successful at that, I think it makes for a long day.
So we feel going in that we need to throw the football down the field and we need to have success doing so.
Q. Can you talk about an under-the-radar guy like Trevon Pendleton and the impact he's had on his team with a couple big games, the under the radar stuff he does?
Dave Warner: He's a guy that he gets anywhere from 15 to 30 snaps a game depending on how things are going for us with the fullback in the game there. But he's a guy that we appreciate as a coaching staff because we understand the job he does, sort of the -- does the dirty work, like an offensive lineman almost sometimes, but unlike an offensive lineman, gets a little glory once in a while with big plays and has a knack for popping up with something like that at the right time. Maybe this will be another opportunity for him.
We understand his talent. He's a talented guy. I mean, he's more of a running back in high school than a fullback, but the ability is there. He understands his role and try to give him opportunities and might be one in this game coming up.
Q. Jim, I wanted to ask about Jack Allen; what about him makes him so effective in that position of center and also talk about his growth, he said his first year, he felt like he was out there trying to survive to where now he's calling on protections and making changes. Just talk about that growth from Jack.
Jim Bollman: In the realm of his position, he's really become a great overall football player. No. 1, he's really, really an exceptionally tough guy and great leader on our football team. It's great just to have him back in the huddle all the time from when we had to survive that spell without him there. He really takes the learning seriously as you alluded to, the run and pass part of things. There's a lot of running the show up there, communicating to everybody what to do.
And does a good job. There's not very many guys up front who are the kind of athlete that he is that can pull and run around and do all the different things that he can do.
Q. A lot of quarterbacks here and a couple guys in the NFL now, what separates Connor Cook, what does he do better than the other guys you've had?
Dave Warner: I think probably the thing that sticks out first and foremost is the accuracy. He's got a very good sense of timing, anticipating windows. I think he throws the ball down the field more than the quarterbacks we've had in the past, which might be good, might not be good.
Because of that, any of our vertical game or down the field throws, the only way he can be successful there is to anticipate windows, and he's been very good with that. And I think part of that is working with receivers. Certainly I think him and (Aaron Burbridge) got a great relationship this year, (Tony Lippett) previous, it goes on and on. Those guys have to be on the same page.
But his accuracy this year has stood out for me. There's been some games where he's put the ball on the money time after time after time, and if it's not a great pass and you're really surprised that he didn't put it on the money. It's one of those deals. That's been really impressive to me this year.
Q. Alabama's defensive linemen, are there teams you've faced in the last couple years that have had anything like them and how do you deal with the depth they are able to roll through?
Jim Bollman: Probably not the numbers of guys. You always play against an exceptional guy here or there but they have him across the board and then they have numbers, too. That's a real challenge and they do a great job of rolling them, so they seem like they are pretty fresh in there all the time.
But hey, that's one of the things that we have to get done. They play with great technique and, hey, it's a challenge, no question.
Q. In terms of their style, they do a lot of different things; who would you compare them to, that your guys have seen in the last couple years?
Jim Bollman: Well, you know, they play a lot of odd front with a true nose and we have played some teams like that, like Jack alluded to, Oregon and a few other teams that we've played. But they cause you to do some different things scheme-wise but the biggest thing is the technique. They do a good job and they are much more head up. Causes your footwork to be a little bit different and your hand work to be a little different. That's all part of it that you have to get ready for.
Q. How far do you go back with Coach D?
Jim Bollman: With Coach D? To 1986, Youngstown State.
Q. Did you see any of this success for him back then? Could you have envisioned this?
Jim Bollman: No, we never said, talked about this is going to happen. But he was always an intense, fiery guy when I first met him, I can guarantee you that. He was ready to go every day, and was a fun guy to be with, that's for sure.
Q. Do you both talk about how he's changed over the years, or maybe he hasn't.
Jim Bollman: You know, for me, when I was with him, it was his second full-time job. He had only been a full-time coach one year before that. And he's certainly grown as a leader of men, people, and the whole organization and does a great job reaching out to people, reaching out to all of us.
And it's been great to see him grow in that way, and I haven't always been with him through all those years, but I've been with him from time to time and you see some of the changes from year-to-year, and it's fun to be -- it's absolutely a blessing for me to be here with him now, believe me.
Dave Warner: Probably along the same lines, he's grown as obviously a football coach but especially as a leader and he's taken it beyond the football field. It's not just a far as when he talks about building relationships and taking care of young men off the field, as well as on the field. That's legit. That's how he coaches. That's how he lives his life and I think that's very obvious. I think that leads to success on the football field. I think players understand who he really is and what's very important to him and that's the relationship ends of it. Again, I think players appreciate that and play well for him.
Q. Aaron Burbridge, Coach Warner, has made a great deal of progress, made big play after big play. Can you talk about his maturation as a player and his break out here has been spectacular?
Dave Warner: Yeah, we had high expectations of Aaron coming into the season, for sure, for him to be the go to guy. We had high expectations for him for a few years now. But this was his opportunity. I talked with him, I'm sure a lot of us on the offensive staff talked to him right after our bowl game last year that okay, he's the guy now that needs to really sort of be the go to guy, be the guy that was sort of our No. 1 receiver. And he understood that and he really took that and I think you know, he fought through a couple injuries in the spring, summer.
He's worked hard to be that guy, and I think, again, him and Connor have worked side-by-side. Communication, first of all, on the football field, and second of all, film study and communicating and getting himself on the same page and that's what's critical to a receiver, quarterback relationship is being on the same page and I think they have gotten to that.
So he's taken advantage of the opportunity, bottom line, and he has not surprised any of us, but this has really been his opportunity and he's taken advantage of it.
Q. Question for both of you, start with Coach Bolls. When you were hired, Mark Dantonio said he liked bringing in a coach that has been in a National Championship Game that could bring that experience to his staff. That reason was one of the reasons he said he brought you and so what you have you brought to the staff as far as having been there and done that that you can relate and for Coach Warner, could you talk about his impact?
Jim Bollman: You don't often think about those times you've been in those games. I've been in some, as I alluded to before, blessed situations of being in some big football games. And year after year after year and it's been that way since I've been here. Really when you stop and think about it that way, it's incredible, the big games that we've had, the big games we've had this year.
Some of that is you don't change at all. Some of that is you better stay even keel for, No. 1, yourself; if you can get so emotionally involved -- all of you guys are talking about what it's like to play in Ohio State. If you let that go totally out of whack, you don't do your job very well, I don't know that you coach your players as well. And I think there has to be a steadiness involved in that.
But the bar has to be very high all the time, all the time. And that's just the way it is if you're going to be any good. And there has to be a consistency. If you're going to be any good, especially for us on offense, you cannot be up-and-down. There's always an element of that but you're trying to eliminate that and you're trying to do that, I guess you would say, in your life as you're getting ready for these games.
Dave Warner: From my end, or more specifically from our end offensively, as offensive staff, I think Coach Dantonio sat down with me when he made the move and Coach Bolls came in and what's happened over the three years that Coach has been here is exactly, like a lot of things, exactly what Coach D envisioned, exactly what he told me when he sat down with me, and said here is my thoughts, here is my plan and it's worked out to a T.
Coach Bolls came in, and we worked -- we've always been an offensive staff that works very well together and everybody continues and that's continued and Coach Bolls has brought new ideas, new techniques, whether it be techniques, new ideas in the run game and the pass game, and you know, you go back to when all this went down, we talked about, you know, things aren't broken offensively. But we certainly needed to tweak things and add things and Coach has brought some of those ideas in.
Again, it's been a combination of everybody on the staff, but certainly Bolls has brought some of those things with him. Been a big part of us going from 2012 and the first couple games of 2013, if you remember those fun times, of getting things rolling offensively, and really turning what was sort of an offense that was struggling a little bit to get it going the way it is the last two years.
Q. Have you gone up against Nick Saban? And David, if you can reflect on the Capital One Bowl and does Alabama look the same --
Dave Warner: You're going to go there, really? (laughing)
Q. It happened, it's in the history books. Coach Bolls, have you gone up against Saban?
Jim Bollman: I don't think I have.
Q. What are the characteristics of a Nick Saban defense?
Jim Bollman: Well, again, I think there's a mark of consistency, like I was talking about, guys get lined up, they don't get fooled very often. They are good up front. They are very sound in what they are doing. And they are always going to do what they need to do. Every game's different.
That's why statistics sometimes can really be misleading where this team doesn't blitz very much, this team doesn't play this coverage very much. Well, you do what you need to do to win the game in that moment. Some of the same situations for us. We like to run the ball all the time and keep it mixed up, but sometimes you've got to throw it and there's other times the guys are on it; at the moment, what's happening. And I think the defense has shown that they have the capability to do what it takes at a particular instance.
Q. Where does this tight end group rank among group of tight ends that you've coached in the past and how are they able to collectively all stay involved in the offense?
Jim Bollman: Well, my years coaching tight ends is much fewer than coaching the offensive line. In that regard, certainly right up there at the top. They all have different roles and they all do a great job taking advantage of the role they are given. They have certainly grown in a lot of areas, they are very multiple guys and they do a lot of different things for us and they are capable of doing pretty much anything we ask them.
And they take a lot of pride in trying to be decent blockers. You know, we talk about the ball coming your way, that's fine and there are some things that you don't always have control over in the passing. You can run great routes and you can blitz but still, it doesn't mean you're going to get the ball. But you can always have a direct impact with the football team on how you're blocking. I think they understand that and they try to do a good job.
Paul Lang is a guy who has had a great, great, great senior year. He has really raised his own bar and done a super job for us.
Q. Before he worked with Nick Saban and afterwards, did you see any changes and any influence on the way Mark runs the program?
Jim Bollman: I think Mark is like any of us would like to be; that when you work with so many people as all of us have, you try to make some decisions or if you really like the way this particular person runs or acts or does this part of his job, and you like -- for lack of a better word, copy that aspect of things. And there's other ways, I don't want to do it like that.
Certainly, he's worked with some great folks along the way, and you can see tidbits of all those people in what he does. Probably going back to his position as South Carolina -- Coach Evans -- passed away last year. I can see all of the different aspects of them every day. I was with him when he was with Coach Saban and with Coach Tressel. He's done a great job of mixing and matching and makes for a great head coach.
Defense: Harlon Barnett and Mike Tressel
Q. For either of you, like to ask about Malik McDowell and his transition, seems to have become a better player and improved.
Mike Tressel: I'll tell you this: The consistency has stepped up, every single play going hard, he's improved. Last year there was glimpse of a great player. This year, I think every down, you need to be prepared for him to be in your backfield.
I know that our D-Line as a whole has really stepped up the intensity the past half of the season and that's Malik, that's Shilique, that's LT, that's the whole crew. But certainly Malik McDowell is a guy you need to keep out of your backfield.
Q. But what sets him apart?
Mike Tressel: He is different. The first thing that's obvious is his length, okay. There's huge advantages of having that wing span in terms of separation and disengaging from blocks. But what makes him special is a lot of times that length can be a detriment at times when you're playing inside and he has the ability to get low when needed. He has the ability to turn and torque his body to play in positions of leverage which a lot of times, guys don't have the ability to do, and Coach Burton is doing a great job working with him.
But also, that's a natural feel he has to be able to fight that pressure and feel where that pressure comes from.
Q. Mike, how much has Darien embraced the leadership role this year?
Mike Tressel: Yeah, he always been a leader. It started in his career -- always by example. He's always been one of the hardest workers. He's always been one of the first to show up. He's always been a guy that finishes through the line every single time. So the rest of the team sees that and has started out leadership by example. And once he starts playing more and once he starts making more plays, he feels more comfortable being vocal and on the field, he's had his best year.
So those natural leadership skills are really coming to the forefront because of what he's doing on the field and off.
Q. For either of you guys, I want to ask the defense, it seemed like the last few weeks, it's all started to come together for this unit and some guys talking about how it feels more like what they are used to, dominating Michigan State defense. What do you think the difference has been for these guys over the last few weeks of just getting healthy? Harlon Barnett: I think health has a lot to do with it, and getting adjusted to new coordinators, even though the system was the same and all those type of things. But they have to get adjusted to Mike and I doing it, as well, and I think they have. I think they have. Along with getting healthy, that was a big deal.
We have lost some guys that we feel like could have been major contributors for us through the season and all those type of things but one thing we never do was not talk about it and next man up mentality. We said last summer, a championship team is only as good as its backups, and we found that out this year for sure. Good for them for coming together at the right time. November is a month for contenders, we all know that, and as we continue through the playoffs and those type of things, they know that this is our time. This is our time. Let's get it done.
Q. Before the Iowa game, you were preaching to the guys three simple words, fast, physical, violent. Going up against Alabama, Derrick Henry and that offense, how big will it be to play by that mantra?
Harlon Barnett: It's a must. It's a must. And that's how we should always, not only against those guys, but always; that should be our mindset, our mentality going into every game. And they have done that, especially in the month of November for the most part, we have done that. That's a good mantra so we don't keep pumping it out and keep getting it done.
Q. What is it about Calhoun's personality that makes him so valuable to your program?
Harlon Barnett: Shilique, as you know, he was already holding court (here at media day). He's naturally a people person, you know what I mean. He's a smart young man. He's always been that way. He's sincere and he's a hard worker. So you love a guy like that. You love a guy like that that really cares about his teammates, that's a hard worker, that plays well and shows up on game day.
So great to hear -- maybe it's his parents, what is it about him, you have to ask him that question. He's just a great young man to be around on a daily basis, and you know what you're going to get. Love having him on our team.
Q. What are your expectations for RJ Williamson, on the field and the leadership attributes and emotional?
Harlon Barnett: We expect a lot from him. He's a very experienced player on our team and on our secondary, who was part of what we were talking about earlier about injuries and things like that. So we did miss him, but it's good to have him back.
He was always involved and engaged in everything we were doing even while he was out, so it's not like he's behind on anything and understanding techniques or tweaks or things we have made throughout the course of the year. We are excited to have him back. We are excited to have him back. He will contribute heavily in this game.
Q. Going back to Henry, for both of you, I guess. Seems like a lot of games they have really been able -- especially against Florida, late in games, wearing people down. How important is tackling but also using your depth early in this game to avoid that?
Mike Tressel: There's no doubt with a guy as big as he is, as fast as he is, as physical as he is, especially when he's getting the ball potentially 40 times a game, you need to be prepared to play for 60 minutes. Really our last few games, we've talked about we need to prepare for a 15-round fight and we need to prepare to take blows and deliver blows right up to the very end, which we did in the Big Ten Championship game.
But that has to be our mindset. It has to be our mindset that we are going to need to want to tackle and want to tackle physical every single snap.
With a big man, you can see as the year progressing and as his game progressed that people have started thinking twice about wanting to throw their body around. The mindset is a start and the second thing is the depth and we feel like we do have a two-deep, pretty much D-line linebacker secondary that we can roll in there so the guys stay fresh both mentally and physically.
Q. Coach D always talks about completing that circle. Harlon, your circle goes back further than his because you played in a Rose Bowl and then you coached in a Rose Bowl -- playing for a National Championship, how crazy is this?
Harlon Barnett: Awesome, man. God's plan is the way I can see it, man. I never envisioned even coming to Michigan State -- not even college football when I was in high school. It wasn't like it is nowadays where guys are getting recruited as ninth graders and those type of things. Wasn't until almost my senior year, where I got a chance to go play college football. Coming to Michigan State, didn't know much about Michigan State at the time. To come here, it has been awesome. It was a great experience for five years, I got red-shirted.
And then to come back, never even anticipated that, ever even being a coach for that matter, so it's been awesome. It's been great, man. Look forward to it. Look forward to it. Back in 1987, or after the '88 Rose Bowl, '87 season, that '88 summer, someone asked me, I'm going to tell you guys about it. I made up a rap and I was into rap and all that stuff about going to the National Championship. I shared it with the guys the Rose Bowl year, and now we got a chance to actually possibly get it done.
Q. Do you hear from any of those teammates? Harlon Barnett: Oh, yeah, I've heard from a lot of the guys. After the Ohio State game, after the Big Ten Championship game, my text messages were through the roof and they are all excited and really happy, happy for the Spartans.
Q. To either one of you guys, there's a passing of the torch with the Bullough family for generation upon generation. Can you talk about how Riley and Byron are picking up the torch and running with it?
Mike Tressel: Well, the Bulloughs all seem to have the same mentality: They love football. They love the physical aspect of the game. They are passionate people, so whatever they are doing, it's all in. And they also all seem to have some leadership characteristics that are really unbelievable to be honest with you.
In my time here at Michigan State, that started with Max and from day one, you could see the leadership ability. And obviously has physical talent to play in the NFL but you can see leadership from day one.
It was exciting to see once Riley got into the role he's in, those same characteristics coming forth and I can tell Byron has the exact same thing. It's neat to see the passion, and let me tell you something else, every one of them bleeds green, so that makes a big difference, as well.
Q. You played for Nick Saban a couple different times. Did he influence you, your coaching style, how you approached becoming a coach?
Harlon Barnett: Absolutely. The basis of how I coach defensive backs are from Nick, great defensive back coach. I learned a lot from him. The reason why I have this job right now is because of that, because Coach Dantonio and I both speak Sabanism. That's how I got the job at the University of Cincinnati initially with Coach Dantonio and been with him ever since. The basis of my foundational teaching and how I teach is from what he's taught me in the past.
Q. Do you guys talk at all with this team about how that last meeting with Alabama went or do you just leave that in the past and for them to know if they already know?
Mike Tressel: They know about the last time we played Alabama. I also think they view it much like we do, which that was a completely different team and we were at a different point in our program in 2010 that we are here in 2015.
We are excited for the opportunity to show ourselves, as well as everybody else, where this program has come over the past five years.
Q. Watching Calhoun, does it seem like maybe he saved his best for last? Did you sense anything different from him going into that game? His teammates talked about maybe he was quiet for a change, actually, before that game.
Harlon Barnett: You see a different Shilique every game sometimes, and you never -- and that's not just Shilique, that's all players, you just don't know. You're trying to figure are they ready or not. Sometimes they are joking around, sometimes they are serious and you just can't judge a guy how they are doing.
But as far as saving his best for last, I wouldn't say that in particular because his mentality is to go out every game and play his best. But obviously now it's show time to get it done, Championship Game, big time players show up at big times in big time games. We are happy to see that. He really turned it on versus Iowa and hopefully he can continue it on versus Alabama.
Q. For both you guys, you were both named co-defensive coordinators around this time last year. Can you just reflect on how this past year has been stepping into these new roles?
Mike Tressel: From my perspective, we have been together for a long time. So we had a picture in our mind of how this was going to work and which roles each of us would take over. And for the most part, it worked out exactly like that but you can't foresee every little tweak that has to happen, every little adjustment that has to happen.
I think we work well. I think we have great input from Coach Burton, Coach Snyder and of course Coach Dantonio who has helped us along the way but you can also see our defense grow and us grow over the course of the season.
Harlon Barnett: Feel the same way. You saw us grow as co-coordinators and figure it all out how we want to get it done and we've grown throughout the course of the year and we're in the spot we're in right now because of it.
Q. Who would you compare Derrick Henry to? You've seen so many running backs over the last 30 years. Is there anybody with that size and that speed that fits into the 6-3, 245, 4-4 category?
Harlon Barnett: Whenever I get those questions, I get always get a blank. Of course as soon as I get back over to the office, I'll think of somebody. Christian Okoye was a big boy but he wasn't that fast. Thinking of guys like that, Marion Butts -- I'm taking y'all back now, but you asked when I played so that's taking me back a little bit, too.
Those are big guys, man. And you have to, you know, wrap them up, get them down low. You can't take them on high, because down low, they don't weigh as much as they do up top. I can't think of anybody in particular that's like that, but he's a big, physical runner, good player obviously, Heisman Trophy winner and we'll have our work cut out for us.
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