Post-Game Quotes: Rutgers

Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio

Opening Statement…
I think as I've said many times, it's tough to win. So another tight game; it seems like every time you turn on the TV there's a lot of points being scored and it's tight or there's not many scores and it's tight. But big win for our football program, you know, the seventh win. We've been on that milestone here for a couple weeks so I thought it was a big moment for us.

Outstanding job by Josiah Scott. We sort of tried to figure out whether we were going to play him in this game or not and I'm glad we did; two big picks. I thought that we had some opportunities offensively and penalties took us out of there or whatever, early on, but outstanding catch by Matt Sokol early in the… I guess it was in the second quarter. And then I think our defense played outstanding. I think probably the biggest place in the game was probably the punt, the ensuing series where we run the option on third down and Rocky (Lombardi) picks up the first down and then obviously the reverse for a touchdown – to Cody White. Then Connor Heyward's big run at the end of the game was huge because we were backed up and they were going to get the ball and they had just driven down so then they still had momentum there; still had some field position things that they were going to get the ball back with 50 seconds to go or whatever it was. I'm really happy for our football team and our seniors especially. Took a step forward today and we'll see how it all shakes out in the bowl season but just got to keep getting better. We had some guys open and missed some throws but hey, a win is a win and like I've said before, they all count one. So I'll take some questions.

On where the offensive group is now…
Well I mean I think, first of all, you lose players that make a lot of plays for the season, it's tough to deal with at times. There's a reason a guy is a first-team and another guy is a back-up. There's guys that have their opportunities but they're maybe not quite as experienced or whatever it is, but we lost a lot of… You know, Felton Davis still was one of our top receivers coming into this week. He's one short of being the leading receiver (this season). Having LJ (Scott) at 1,000 yards and losing that. The quarterback situation. Our offensive line situation. It's so much worse on timing. I think there's a lot of timing out there. We had a lot of balls that were thrown. I thought we had maybe some catchable that were dropped. We had penalties that put us in bad situations that… Disappointing when it's a composure penalty. I can handle the other ones but when it's... When you're on the 2-yard line and you have a composure penalty, backed it up and he blocks the snap, or the high snap and tries to get it down, we don't even get a field goal out of it, it's disappointing. But what I will say is our guys will keep playing and they'll play hard. At the end of the day, you can call it what you want; you win by a lot, you win 50-48, everybody's complaining about the defense. I guess probably 30… 25 to 23, that's probably hitting the norm right there, everybody's happy. It sort of is what it is sometimes. I think we called every play out there on the sheet, some more than once, but you've got to execute and you got to come away with it. But at the end of the day it's about winning too. I don't know if I'm answering the question well enough but that's part of the course too.

On the plan going forward with Josiah Scott…
We'll see as the bowl game comes but there's a lot that can go on. If he's able to play in five games and he's making an impact in the games I think you allow him to play. But if that's a family decision for him, we'll just sort of listen to his family on that. Two more years is a long time, three more years is a long time for him. Would he go out after two more years? I don't know. So you got to look at all those things. He's definitely going to graduate because he came here early so he's going to graduate on time. He's got some things to think about in that regard and we'll just play it by ear, but we'll talk to his family. I just really felt like – or we just felt, when I talked to him this week that this was such an important game that this really went beyond, maybe even the bowl game, because we needed to win seven. We needed to have everybody going in the same direction and glad we did.

On what sticks out about this senior class…
A lot of those guys came as freshmen and played as freshmen. Andrew Dowell, Grayson Miller, Khari Willis, just to think of a few, and we went to the playoffs that year and they had that experience. They started in games; those three guys started in games as true freshmen. We got guys who were at the Baylor game the year before. You've even got Jon Reschke who was at the Rose Bowl, I guess. So they've had a lot of great experiences; a lot of those guys had great experiences and they saw a dip in 2016 and they sort of reaffirmed themselves and then they, with last year's 10-win team, and then this year it's been tight. It's tight. Wish I could sit there and say, hey we won our 10^thgame tonight. But we didn't. It sort of goes as it goes sometimes. They've done an outstanding job and I think we have 10 guys graduating mid-year, some have already graduated, so I'd say the majority of those guys are all going to graduate; the rest of them will graduate in the spring. They've done an outstanding job. Gerald Owens, great year this year. He came here as a tailback and now he's 305; an active 305. But he's had a great year for us. I can't say enough, going back to the game, about our defense. They're playing hard and playing extremely well.

On the possibility of anyone playing quarterback today besides Rocky (Lombardi)…
It was his deal.   I think you guys know I am going to try and stay with our guy.   I may get criticized for that but I think that I need to ante up a little bit sometimes with those guys.   For him, what I see in Rocky Lombardi is a very competitive guy. A competitive spirit. Will not back down... Just because he doesn't make the play the venue isn't too big for him.   He can stand in there and compete and have confidence in himself. He will lead, he will keep playing, and fight through the tough times. He is sort of...somebody asked me the other day, who he reminds me of and I am thinking back and I'm like that is a good question, (Jim) McMahon. That kind of guy. Makes people around him better and tough guy attitude. Athletic and not afraid to put his head down and run through somebody to give him everything he has got. While it is frustrating sometimes when you miss a guy, he is going to be better and if he has the game he had versus Purdue, everybody is much more excited, but he didn't.   It is a learning process and like I said these things are processes I think as you move forward with a quarterback.

On some of the young talent...
Blake Bueter is a guy that we just put on scholarship, he is a redshirt freshman and at the center position.   When you are at the center position it is called that for a reason. You are at the hub so that is where it all starts. I do think that our other guys have experience although we are playing two true sophomores at right guard (Luke Campbell, Kevin Jarvis) and right tackle but they have enough experience to be able to play well. You have to win at the point of attack on offense and there were times we did that and times we didn't probably so you have to watch the film. To go back and talk about Rutgers, they are an improved football team, they really are. It is a 10-0 game at half against Penn State and they are right there and they were ahead 3-0 at one point I believe… or maybe 10-3, or whatever it was. I think they are an improved football team with two good… three good tailbacks and two very good tailbacks and a quarterback that kept you honest...I think he scrambled 10 times for (60) some yards.

On possible staff changes…
Those are questions that I think are in house questions and when I make those decisions I make those decisions. I do think that first of all you self evaluate and you start to think about people and you start to think about things, you always do. Every year we do, we did last year too, and the year before and the year before and the year before...we always look at those things. From my perspective it is more than just about calling a play. It is about the teaching progressions, it is about what is being taught in the classroom, what is being taught on the field, it is about execution of that and it is also about how do you recruit, how do you handle people in general and what kind of person you are. I have always says that loyalty goes both ways so my inclination is sort of sit and hold with people. That is who I have been, that is why we have had continuity because it goes both ways. I know everybody out there is on a warpath and the wolf is at the door as I said last week. That is why I am the head coach, so I can deflect some of that.

On punt return execution…
I guess again in the world of explosion of Australian punters and its end-over-end kicks they are going to take off a little bit more, they are going to flip. I thought he did a pretty good job, I am not sure how many times the guy punted maybe seven, eight, nine....eight. So he did have one return, he did catch three or four of them and a couple of them went in. The main thing back there is that you have got to be able to field the football. If he can't field it clean, I would rather it bounce in and we will deal with it. We have got to do a good job in turns of holding down there. Sometimes you are in punt safe so you are sort of playing both ends of the stick there as I said last week.

On Felton Davis III…
Felton (Davis III) is not only a great player but he is a great person and he lifts people up around him and he bring energy to them, all of these guys. When you lose a player you lose some of your chemistry but he has maintained that.   Some of our other guys have maintained that as they have gone forward and I saw his little video which I thought was outstanding.

Michigan State defensive coordinator Mike Tressel

On the decision to play Josiah Scott…
The decision to play him was simply about we needed to get this win and he's a great football player and we weren't going to hold any bullets back to finish this regular season with seven wins and obviously since he's been back, he came back at the right time. He was 100-percent confident and he was physically 100-percent and he made plays on the football.

On bowl game plans…
Don't have a plan yet, but obviously we all know the circumstances, so decision to be made.

On what he expected from Rutgers QB…
We didn't know who was going to be at quarterback first of all, but we did say to the guys in our preparation if #17 is in, he's a look to his first read, tuck it and go type of guy which can be a little bit scary, and we had a spy on him a number of times where he still was able to wiggle his way out. We didn't do a good enough job of that. I think our interior defensive line started to get to a point where we were just looking in the back field, so, then when our ends were rushing up field, there's a gap there in between the two different levels. He was able to find those lanes and certainly that was some crucial third-down conversions that he had on his feet.

On what it takes to get his guys to do enough for the win…
You know I'll say this. I think our seniors wouldn't have had it any other way, to have a victory on their last senior day that comes down to the wire because we've had so many games over their four, five years careers that come down to the wire. I don't think they would have said that with four minutes to go when we were down, but at the end they say they wouldn't have had it any other way. I think our guys have drilled amongst themselves because we do have leaders at every level on the defense. Khari Willis at the back end and Joe Bachie and Kenny Willekes that we can only do what we can do, and we can only control what we can control, and we want to be the best defense in the country. We also want to be the best team in the country, but we can only control what we can control, and we need to be on best always.

On Josiah's picks…
So I'm trying to think back because the end of the game was so much clearer and the last one the guys on the field checked to a cover two and he was our flat corner and he snuck underneath the corner route. Wasn't threatening the flat and the flat wasn't what was going to hurt us and he sunk back underneath the corner route and that was a great play. A great play by our entire defense checking the coverage based the look that that they saw. That was pretty impressive. I don't even remember the first one I just remember celebrating on the sideline after. Oh half-back pass yeah so we were in a zone pressure and he was disciplined and that's one thing about Josiah you can count on him doing his job so he was supposed to bail into a third and we had enough guys pressuring the run that he didn't have to stick his foot in the ground and drive and try and go beat the guy making the tackle. He was disciplined staying in his third and then again with a half-back pass that half-back's usually going to throw the ball. He's going to throw it so as long as you're in the right place and then can make the play on the ball that's what Josiah did.

On what this senior class has been like…
Yeah, I love these guys. Michigan State football is so important to them. There is such leadership in the group. We have a lot of guys that aren't necessarily starters that have truly impacted our program. Grayson Miller, Matt Morrissey, John Reschke these are guys that have had great impact over their careers. Gerald Owens, Dillon Alexander and the list goes on and on and that's part of the reason we've been able to play good football is because of depth you know we do have that but as the linebacker coach also I had four seniors. I was sitting at dinner last night and our Friday night meals are eight-person tables and I had to add an extra seat so that each senior can bring one parent with them to that last meal. We had to add a ninth seat so no matter how many starters we're losing, we're losing a lot of guys that impacted this program heavily and worked their tails off.

On what he told his guys after the last TD to preserve the win…
We just had to tell them 'keep doing what you're doing. Don't try to do too much. Don't try to go out of your lane' and sometime that's what our guys need to do and be reminded as the games are tight regardless of low scoring or whatever. When the games are tight sometimes guys want to just go make a play and they go out of their lane and our guys did a great job of all year-long of staying in their lane. When the going got tough just doing their job better instead of trying to do additional things. We did give up a play that made it a little bit hairier and the quarterback was able to scramble and buy some extra time and find some people, but the bottom line is we felt like if we just kept doing what we were doing, didn't try to do too much in the end we were going to be able to make the stop.

On the impact Byron Bullough made compared to his brothers…
Well, first of all, it's really cool Byron's mom, LeeAnn, was the one who sat at the table with us last night and she was the one that came to the Friday night meal for Max, Riley and Byron. Obviously his dad played here. Nine straight years we've had a Bullough at linebacker on this team so that's going to be strange, that's going to be strange for me, but his impact, he's a leader without a doubt. He's passionate whether he's a starter or not he's a guy that can grab people and say no, now that's not the way we do things whether it's physically or whether it's by his example and him amongst others were guys that really stayed fully engaged even though they probably wish they were playing forty more snaps at defense. They recognized their role and really made an impact doing it.

Michigan State co-offensive coordinator Dave Warner

On keeping Rocky engaged and on his leadership…
He's good, yeah, he's good on the sidelines from my conversations with information that we relayed down. I think he sees things and I think he makes corrections. There were a couple times today that felt like he could have stuck a couple throws in there based on those rules, and his read, and then do it and he came back and did it the next time we called it, so he's cool. He knows that he's got to maintain his poise and hang in there and lead this football team.

On if there was any thought of playing Brian Lewerke or Theo Day…
No.

On if there was any confusion between players…
I didn't sense any of that. I think there was some indecision but first off, we're juggling our receivers as well. Jalen (Nailor) came back which we weren't sure if he was going to be able to play this week, so we had to end up making some last-minute adjustments trying to get guys in the right spot wide receiver wise. Some of our game plan there was some confusion as far as guys getting lined up, motioning. I think that was probably as much as anything is just those different formations of motions that we use in third-down and some of those guys didn't get a chance to practice them enough during the week at the right position.

On Heyward, Jefferson and the overall offensive still learning their plays…
I think Connor and La'Darius are both still learning. You're never going to be consistent throughout the game. Our history had certainly been bang away, bang away, bang away in those three-yard carries in the first half and turn into better plays in the second half. That held up true in the last play we ran in there got us a first-down. Not happy with what we got out of our running game, but it was good enough to get it done today.

Michigan State junior linebacker Joe Bachie

On his thoughts of the game…
Glad we snuck by with a win. We knew it was going to be a battle and the weather in the first half was kind of intense. We knew that field position would be huge. Defensively we could not get a turnover, so that was kind of killing us and Will came up big with a big punt at the end of the game.

On the mentality of the last drive…
Let's go boys, come on, let's make a play. Let's win the game. That was the main message. They did a couple big plays and we knew it was fourth down territory. Every time we needed to get stop and (Josiah) came up with that big pic at the end of the game.

On Josiah Scott playing…
He is a very good cornerback and is a big part of our defense. With a guy like him and Justin Layne on the outside, it helps a ton. They are very confident in their game, so it was good to have him out there today.

On sending the seniors out with a win…
It meant a lot to me, to them, to the other guys on the team. They are some of my brothers and some of my best friends. It was amazing to get that win late in the game and can't thank them enough for everything they have done.

Michigan State sophomore cornerback Josiah Scott

On what he saw that helped him make the interception…
It is just watching film throughout the week and just knowing their tendencies and what they wanted to do against us in certain situations going through the game. Whenever they gave a bunch set, they usually run a corner route and as I was dropping back into my zone, I saw the guy run a corner, so I just broke one right when the quarterback was looking at him.

On the thought process of playing in this game…
I was just communicating with a bunch of people. Coach D, obviously, my assistant coaches, my family back home, friends and just other people outside and what the best decision is. I felt like this game was way too important for us for me to sit, so I felt like I made the right decision.

On pros and cons of making the decision to play…
Getting an extra year to better myself and having that comfortability towards the end of my career. Do you want to leave, or do you want to stay for an extra year? The con is what happens if I do not do so well next year, does sit hurt my chances of going to the NFL.

Michigan State redshirt freshman quarterback Rocky Lombardi

On seeing the seniors in the locker room after the game…
It's emotional you know, those guys put so much work into this program and into us. People don't realize how many hours that they put, we put in, so to see them in their last game, it's just emotional.

On what things needed to be better today offensively…
I don't know, we just couldn't seem to finish drives. I'm not sure how many first downs we had, but it seemed like we were moving the ball okay, had decent yardage, not good enough but decent and we just couldn't finish drives. I felt like we had to drive down the field a lot, you know it's tough but you know you got to do it if you want to be a good team.

On missing some wide receivers on his throws…
I know, I mean every pass is big you, especially when you get a guy that's running wide open you got to hit him. Bottom line is I need to play better, you know I'm glad we were able to sneak out with a win, but I missed a few throws, got one batted down that should have been a touchdown probably. Overall, I just need to play better.

On throwing a touchdown to Matt Sokol on his senior day…
It meant a lot because he's actually gotten two touchdowns taken away because of penalties. So, when I saw him in there on that play I was like "Oh God I hope he's open." So, I threw it to him and he made a good catch, ran a good route so I was really excited for him and he was excited for himself too. So, it was a good bonding over the offense over that play.

Michigan State junior wide receiver Darrell Stewart

On what it's like being out on the field when things are not coming easy…
Like I said before, it's going to be frustrating not being able to score points at times, and you feel like you're not executing the things you need to. But at the same time, you got to know how respond to adversity and respond to tough times. That's one thing Coach D (Mark Dantonio) tells us is, everything is not going to be pretty, everything is not going to be dealt with right, but you got to know how to respond. So, this play might not go well, the next play or this series might not go well, but the next series you got to be ready to come out there and battle.

On the blessing of being able to play another football game for bowl season…
I mean anytime you get another game to play football that's a blessing. Even though I know the season didn't go as we pictured, it's still a blessing that I get a chance to play football and the team gets a chance because there's guys out there and people out there that don't get to do what they love or there's something wrong with them where they can't perform up to their best of knowledge, like the sad thing about Felton, his injury. That's one thing I look at him and I say I'm very grateful to be able to play another game or be able to still do the thing I love to do, so it's a blessing.

On at what point does the game turn into getting the win for the seniors…
I mean that's every series that we think. I know every series is not going to go as we plan, but that's one thing that I said, no matter what happens let's go out here and like you said let's send the seniors out on a good note. The one thing that I really took in that really meant a lot to me was sending the guys that didn't get to get in this game, they still were cheering and going nuts on the sideline. So that just inspired me to, all right, let's go out here and make plays, so that was the one thing.

Michigan State senior safety Khari Willis

On how excited he is for the future of the guys coming back next year…
I'm very excited. I'm very excited for the guys coming back because you know what they bring to the table. You know the grind that they're going to go through in the off season to get better and then it should be an upward climb from here. So, I feel like next year we got a lot of pieces back, you know a lot people back on both sides of the ball and this program is in great hands. We got our coaching staff back, so you know it will be exciting going toward next year.

On why the seventh win was such a big thing for the program...
It was a big thing to put us over the .500 mark and try to get us into the best bowl as possible. So, you know we had goals at the beginning of the season and due to some of our play we weren't able to accomplish those goals, but we go for next and next for us was seven, we've been trying to get seven for three weeks now. So, it was a huge, huge win for us regardless of how pretty or ugly it was, it was seven and that's what we needed to do what we have to do.

On how you feel seeing Cody White score the touchdown and having to go out and become the playmakers to secure the win…
Yeah, when you first see him run, you cheer, you're very excited for him, you're glad that we were able to take the lead back, the way it probably should be and you celebrate and then you put your hard hat on and you rally with your guys. They had a couple big plays on us early in that last drive, should have never been, one where I should of made a better tackle, another one where a guy got out or whatever. They made some big plays, but thankfully Josiah Scott is healthy and he came through and did what he had to do.

Michigan State senior tight end Matt Sokol

On what scoring a touchdown on senior day meant to him….
First of all, I was really happy to see no flags on the play. I have gone through so many ups and downs throughout my career, lot of highs and lots of lows. It just felt great to have one go your way. It feels great to have that opportunity to go out with all the guys that I have been here with for four or five years. Been through a lot with this team this year, and I'm so proud of how we fought the whole game and found a way to win.

On what it felt walking through the tunnel for one last time….
I had a lot of mixed emotions there. It's been such a privilege and an honor to represent this university and play here for five years. All the other seniors can attest to that and feel the same way. It's an unbelievable feeling, and I have so much gratitude for Coach Dantonio for allowing me and giving me the privilege to play here. It changed my life and all our senior's lives for the better, we all have gone through unbelievable experiences here from the highs and lows of college football. All of us have grown so much individually as men and as football players. I love this university and I love this program and I'm very thankful.

Michigan State sophomore wide receiver Cody White

On what this group of seniors means to him…
Words can't even describe it. The way that they have been leaders to me and have picked me up through everything I have gone through. They showed me the Spartan way and how to be a Spartan dog. Shout out to the seniors, thank you for showing me the way.

On the chemistry Rocky has with the receivers…
It's just the chemistry he has with the whole team. He's always trying to bring everyone together. If someone is down, he's trying to bring them up, and if he's down he is expecting one of us to help him up too. He's resilient and brought us all together as an offense.

Rutgers head coach Chris Ash

Opening Statement…
Hey guys we'll go ahead and get started. Hats off to Michigan State. They played a heck of a game, and it was a battle of field position tonight and they won it at the end. Had some missed opportunities, some critical penalties that obviously cost us in that game, but couldn't be more pleased in the attitude and the effort and the fight that our team put forth. You know you look at that football team out there and we have a lot of guys coming back and a lot of things we can build off of. You know the last five weeks I think we've been playing our best football and we're gonna focus on that and move forward and continue to get better. But with that I'll open it up for anybody that has questions.

On being more aggressive before Michigan State's last score on offense…
When we were backed up? No. We couldn't do a whole lot in the pass game up to that point and we were hoping to just get some more yards where we had some more opportunity for our punter to change the field position. He had the wind behind his back a little bit, he had been punting great all night, and we were hoping for a really good punt.

On his decision to play Giovanni over Artur at quarterback…
Yeah we just went through the week. You know Artur struggled in the last game, Gio came in, had a little more confidence; and we just thought that he's a senior, he's coming home, it's his last game, give him the opportunity to lead the offense.

On Gio's performance…

I thought it was a very gutsy performance. Obviously there's some plays he'd like to take back and do better, but he was a warrior out there. He ran the ball, dropped back when we passed the ball and pulled the ball out a lot and ran when things weren't there or guys were covered. I haven't watched the tape to give you a full assessment of how he did, but it just felt like he was really battling his tail off and trying to lead the offense.

Rutgers redshirt senior quarterback Giovanni Rescigno

On his emotions with it being his homecoming and last game…
Yeah its um, probably haven't gotten all of the emotions yet. You know I laid it out all on the field. You know as a team we try our hardest. The guys gave a tremendous amount of effort and I'm so proud of all the guys on our team. We tried to go out with a win, and came up a little short. Is what it is.

On being proud of his career…
Absolutely. You know like I said before, it's just the guys in the locker room mean so much to me. I've had such a pleasure being around the players, the staff. I've enjoyed the four and a half to five years I've spent here and they go by quick, but yeah it's the same story I'm not going to be upset with anything that happened. God has a plan for me and I'm gonna trust it.

On being the guy the last week of the season…
Yeah you know it's a really cool experience. You know these games and starting in the Big Ten are things you dream of when you're a little kid. And I tried to take advantage of it and soak it all in, and just try to go out there and have fun and play for my brothers and that's what I did.

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Players Mentioned

Dillon Alexander

Joe Bachie

Blake Bueter

Byron Bullough

Luke Campbell

Felton Davis III

Theo Day

Andrew Dowell

Connor Heyward

Kevin Jarvis

Justin Layne

Brian Lewerke

Rocky Lombardi

Grayson Miller

Matt Morrissey

Gerald Owens

Jon Reschke

Josiah Scott

Matt Sokol

Cody White

Kenny Willekes

Khari Willis

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