Michigan State University Athletics
Photo by: Rey Del Rio/MSU Athletic Communications
Dantonio Previews Spring Practice
3/12/2019 5:43:00 PM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio met with the media on Tuesday afternoon in the lobby of the Skandalaris Football Center to preview spring practice, which begins on Thursday, March 14.
Linebacker Joe Bachie, quarterback Brian Lewerke and defensive tackle Raequan Williams also answered questions from reporters.
The Green-White Spring Game, presented by McLaren Health Plan, is scheduled for Saturday, April 13 at 2 p.m. in Spartan Stadium.
Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio
On atmosphere at Michigan/Michigan State basketball game on 3/9/19…
I watched it on TV from afar. Was unbelievable. Heard that from everybody I've talked to, all Spartans and the next day walking through airports and things of that nature as well. To win back-to-back Big Ten Championships, tremendous accomplishment. I want to congratulate Coach Izzo and his basketball team. I think, when you look at that basketball team right now, you get an appreciation for coaching and for teamwork. It's all going in one direction. They've had some things happen where they've lost some players on the court, but it continues to move forward. That's a testament to a team, period.
Opening statement…
Spring practice is going to start this week. We're going to push it back a couple days (will start on Thursday). Just coming off (spring) break, I feel like guys need to move around a little bit. But it's an opportunity to step forward, I think, again as a program, put our foot in the ground, plant it and drive forward. I think defensively, you can make a case for us having a top-five defense in the country. Mike Tressel's done a great job, along with the defensive coaches. On the offensive side of the ball, we have some changes. We need get that up and running to speed. But excited about the opportunity, as our players have been excited. They've done a great job throughout the fourth-quarter, or the winter workout program. We're looking forward to the challenges that spring brings and the new year brings. We will be ready in 2019.
On the emphasis of getting the offense straightened out for spring ball…
I think you've got to have a starting point. You use that starting point to sort of catapult forward really.
On changes on the offensive side, rare changes for this program…
My mindset is still the same. Give people an opportunity to have change in their position meeting rooms, which I think is good for our players. A new direction in that capacity and also those individuals have a knowledge of the history. What's worked here, what hasn't worked here, our players, their past, their relationships with those players, so there's knowledge there and we can get up and running a lot faster. That's what I decided to do, and those guys have had great success as well. Challenges are in front of us, but they've been met very collectively and very positively thus far.
On Brian Lewerke, if he's 100% healthy and what Dantonio wants to see out of him this spring…
I think he is. We haven't thrown the ball as much yet. I think the quarterback position, when we've been consistent at that position, we've had unbelievable offenses and teams. You can just look at the past and you can look across the country. When there's inconsistency or those type of things, you know mistakes are made, then it all sort of unravels a little bit. So you've got to be a little more consistent in completion percentages. But we had two guys playing, a redshirt freshman and a guy who was banged up a lot in the second half of the year. We lost some players that, whether it was Felton (Davis) or LJ (Scott), that are difference makers. So it's a collective issue, I would say.
On if there will be a quarterback competition…
We're going to always play the best players, and we're going to measure that collectively in every aspect. So if our backup quarterback plays like he did against Purdue the whole season, then you take it from there. If you're playing like you did against Rutgers, then you take it from there. Everybody is going to be judged on what they've done lately and that's what we'll continue to do. This is a team game much like, I just talked about with basketball, you've gotta pick it up and collectively go in the same direction and they've done a great job of that and we'll look to follow suit. That's one of the reasons why I took our football team over there to watch the basketball team just practice, just be a fly on the wall and just watch practice a couple weeks ago before spring break. I thought that there's power in the way they go about their business and communication, things of that nature. We just need to learn everything we can and keep going in the same direction.
On minimal attrition and how it helps in spring…
It always helps, last year I think we had 89 players, this year we've got 102 going through spring practice. We've got seven new guys, rookies is what I would call them, that will get their first taste of Big Ten football here on Thursday. I think it will be good for all of us to have minimal attrition, but who knows how this transfer portal works after spring practice too, so we'll just keep trying to coach our guys positively and push our guys in a positive direction.
On an open competition on the offensive line…
It's always an open competition, but certainly guys have experience that I've talked earlier about and that experience gives them a leg up. At the same time we had injuries, we had I think one guy on the offensive line played every game (at the same position). We had a lot of injuries and we had young players in there. When those things start to happen there will be some struggles.
On what it's like to hit the reset button…
I'm excited about 2019. Sometimes as I've said earlier, you find things by how you handle things when there are some downfalls or some problems. To me this is an opportunity to step back in, I'm excited about spring ball, I'm going to sort of immerse myself in terms of what we do on a day-to-day basis and look at everything and stay positive and stay current. I'm excited about it and I think our football team is too because we left some plays on the field. What's the difference between 13-1 and 7-6 when we were in such tight games? It's guys making plays at the end of the game in the fourth quarter, really that's the difference. In every football game we're right there in the fourth quarter we just need to score more points, but we're still right there based on how things played out.
On guys that will miss spring practice…
I think Jack Camper's going to miss the spring and Kenny Willekes will miss the spring. I think everybody else will be good to go. Both of those guys are good players, but they're in casts right now so they'll miss the spring, but it gives us an opportunity to look at other players and change up some things and do some experimenting.
On importance of getting reps early for running backs…
Yeah it's important and Anthony Williams has showed some burst, he's looked very good in our winter workout program, but you've gotta put the pads on and do other things. Elijah Collins has been impressive as well, he's 220 pounds, he can run, jump, he just needs experience, but he's showed out as well.
On what impressed him about the winter conditioning program…
There's not one time when I asked Ken Mannie how we'd done in weights this particular day or that particular day where he hasn't come across saying these guys continue to work. It's one of the best groups we've had.
Linebacker Joe Bachie
On the team's defensive mindset …
There's always room for improvement and we are going to take strides during the spring to get better. We are a veteran group, it's our last ride, and whatever is left in the tank we got to give. Coach D has won some big bowl games and that's what we want to get to.
On the added pressure since last year didn't go as planned…
It's motivation, obviously 7-6 isn't good enough here, we want to be a 10, 11, 12 win team in order to win a conference championship. Our standards are up there and we will be held accountable to win.
On finding new leaders…
It starts during winter conditioning, we find those guys who are going to drive and push others forward. We already found a bunch of our leaders, but you can never have too many.
On already being a leader…
I was picked as a leader a few years ago because of the way I carried myself. I continue to do that and try to make more players on this team leaders. After I'm done they can carry on the legacy and make this place special.
On losing defensive back Justin Layne to the NFL draft…
It's a huge loss, he's going to be a top round draft pick most likely. I wish him the best, but we have guys coming back in Josh Butler and Josiah Scott. We have guys who played last year who need to step up. We still need to find our third and fourth defensive back.
On replacing Khari Willis' leadership in the secondary…
It's probably going to be David Dowell, he's going to be that guy vocal on the back end. He has experience for two years now. Xavier Henderson has been playing great, he was in on third down a lot and will probably be with the first team this spring. I'm excited to see what happens, but I feel David Dowell can take care of the leadership role.
Quarterback Brian Lewerke
On the offseason…
Studying film is a big thing, re-watching all of the plays from the past year, seeing what I did right, what I did wrong, and trying to improve on that.
On the offensive coaching changes for the upcoming season…
I've (worked) with both coaches. Coach (Dave) Warner was the OC, and Coach (Brad) Salem was the quarterbacks coach. I've had a great time with both of them. Both coaches have had success at their positions; Coach Warner coaching Kirk (Cousins), and Coach Salem coaching Le'Veon (Bell), so I think both guys are in a great position for what they do.
On getting healthy and back to playing during spring practice…
I'm very anxious to get started again, just because I want to show that I'm still a great quarterback and still have a lot of abilities when I'm fully 100 percent healthy.
Defensive tackle Raequan Williams
On excitement of starting spring practice...
I'm real excited to get back to football, and I think everyone in the locker room is excited to get back to football.
On success of defense last season and challenges of taking another step up...
Yeah, definitely, but I feel that (Defensive Coordinator) Coach Tressel is going to find a way to motivate everybody on this defense to be better, that's something that he's good at. Of course there's going to be inches to find in everything and there's a lot of improvement that we want to find for the whole football team.
On where the defense was ranked among the nation's leaders last year and what goals they have to improve...
There's times where we could have gotten off the field earlier, there's a lot of different things that we can get better at. Like I said, Coach Tressel is going to definitely remind everybody of those situations that were tough for us, and we'll have to learn from them and get better from them.
On what the offseason wait has been like and if guys are chomping at the bit to get out there...
Oh yeah, definitely, getting ready with OTAs (offseason workouts) and whatnot, just trying to bring the young guys along that all look up to us, so that's the biggest challenge of spring ball since I've been here, just trying to get the younger guys to follow suit. Spring ball is usually fun, so we just try to make it fun for everybody.
On what it's like being a senior now in last go-around with spring ball and the one that everyone looks up to...
It definitely feels weird because it's the last go-around, but I feel like I was in a position, and everybody on this whole team has been in a position of leadership for the past two years, so it's no shock to anybody, but it definitely is weird to think that this is my last year.
On how intense the workouts have been...
Yeah, definitely pretty intense. Everybody wants to get better, so you can definitely feel that in every workout and every team meeting or anything that the team does and meets up.
On getting so much pressure on the quarterback and in the backfield last season and able to process on how they were able to do that and what they can do to take next step to get in the backfield even more...
I don't know if we've taken the time to process it much, but we definitely know that 'destruction' has always been a big thing here, (Defensive Tackles Coach) Coach Burton was trying to teach us that for a long time, but we think that comes from disruption and penetration from the D-line. We haven't really taken the time to look back on it, but with spring ball, we're going to get back into it, I'm looking forward to it.
On what Coach Burton says about 'destruction'...
Oh, it's everything, it can create plays, make plays, destruction is everything. We need a lot more of that this year.
Linebacker Joe Bachie, quarterback Brian Lewerke and defensive tackle Raequan Williams also answered questions from reporters.
The Green-White Spring Game, presented by McLaren Health Plan, is scheduled for Saturday, April 13 at 2 p.m. in Spartan Stadium.
Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio
On atmosphere at Michigan/Michigan State basketball game on 3/9/19…
I watched it on TV from afar. Was unbelievable. Heard that from everybody I've talked to, all Spartans and the next day walking through airports and things of that nature as well. To win back-to-back Big Ten Championships, tremendous accomplishment. I want to congratulate Coach Izzo and his basketball team. I think, when you look at that basketball team right now, you get an appreciation for coaching and for teamwork. It's all going in one direction. They've had some things happen where they've lost some players on the court, but it continues to move forward. That's a testament to a team, period.
Opening statement…
Spring practice is going to start this week. We're going to push it back a couple days (will start on Thursday). Just coming off (spring) break, I feel like guys need to move around a little bit. But it's an opportunity to step forward, I think, again as a program, put our foot in the ground, plant it and drive forward. I think defensively, you can make a case for us having a top-five defense in the country. Mike Tressel's done a great job, along with the defensive coaches. On the offensive side of the ball, we have some changes. We need get that up and running to speed. But excited about the opportunity, as our players have been excited. They've done a great job throughout the fourth-quarter, or the winter workout program. We're looking forward to the challenges that spring brings and the new year brings. We will be ready in 2019.
On the emphasis of getting the offense straightened out for spring ball…
I think you've got to have a starting point. You use that starting point to sort of catapult forward really.
On changes on the offensive side, rare changes for this program…
My mindset is still the same. Give people an opportunity to have change in their position meeting rooms, which I think is good for our players. A new direction in that capacity and also those individuals have a knowledge of the history. What's worked here, what hasn't worked here, our players, their past, their relationships with those players, so there's knowledge there and we can get up and running a lot faster. That's what I decided to do, and those guys have had great success as well. Challenges are in front of us, but they've been met very collectively and very positively thus far.
On Brian Lewerke, if he's 100% healthy and what Dantonio wants to see out of him this spring…
I think he is. We haven't thrown the ball as much yet. I think the quarterback position, when we've been consistent at that position, we've had unbelievable offenses and teams. You can just look at the past and you can look across the country. When there's inconsistency or those type of things, you know mistakes are made, then it all sort of unravels a little bit. So you've got to be a little more consistent in completion percentages. But we had two guys playing, a redshirt freshman and a guy who was banged up a lot in the second half of the year. We lost some players that, whether it was Felton (Davis) or LJ (Scott), that are difference makers. So it's a collective issue, I would say.
On if there will be a quarterback competition…
We're going to always play the best players, and we're going to measure that collectively in every aspect. So if our backup quarterback plays like he did against Purdue the whole season, then you take it from there. If you're playing like you did against Rutgers, then you take it from there. Everybody is going to be judged on what they've done lately and that's what we'll continue to do. This is a team game much like, I just talked about with basketball, you've gotta pick it up and collectively go in the same direction and they've done a great job of that and we'll look to follow suit. That's one of the reasons why I took our football team over there to watch the basketball team just practice, just be a fly on the wall and just watch practice a couple weeks ago before spring break. I thought that there's power in the way they go about their business and communication, things of that nature. We just need to learn everything we can and keep going in the same direction.
On minimal attrition and how it helps in spring…
It always helps, last year I think we had 89 players, this year we've got 102 going through spring practice. We've got seven new guys, rookies is what I would call them, that will get their first taste of Big Ten football here on Thursday. I think it will be good for all of us to have minimal attrition, but who knows how this transfer portal works after spring practice too, so we'll just keep trying to coach our guys positively and push our guys in a positive direction.
On an open competition on the offensive line…
It's always an open competition, but certainly guys have experience that I've talked earlier about and that experience gives them a leg up. At the same time we had injuries, we had I think one guy on the offensive line played every game (at the same position). We had a lot of injuries and we had young players in there. When those things start to happen there will be some struggles.
On what it's like to hit the reset button…
I'm excited about 2019. Sometimes as I've said earlier, you find things by how you handle things when there are some downfalls or some problems. To me this is an opportunity to step back in, I'm excited about spring ball, I'm going to sort of immerse myself in terms of what we do on a day-to-day basis and look at everything and stay positive and stay current. I'm excited about it and I think our football team is too because we left some plays on the field. What's the difference between 13-1 and 7-6 when we were in such tight games? It's guys making plays at the end of the game in the fourth quarter, really that's the difference. In every football game we're right there in the fourth quarter we just need to score more points, but we're still right there based on how things played out.
On guys that will miss spring practice…
I think Jack Camper's going to miss the spring and Kenny Willekes will miss the spring. I think everybody else will be good to go. Both of those guys are good players, but they're in casts right now so they'll miss the spring, but it gives us an opportunity to look at other players and change up some things and do some experimenting.
On importance of getting reps early for running backs…
Yeah it's important and Anthony Williams has showed some burst, he's looked very good in our winter workout program, but you've gotta put the pads on and do other things. Elijah Collins has been impressive as well, he's 220 pounds, he can run, jump, he just needs experience, but he's showed out as well.
On what impressed him about the winter conditioning program…
There's not one time when I asked Ken Mannie how we'd done in weights this particular day or that particular day where he hasn't come across saying these guys continue to work. It's one of the best groups we've had.
Linebacker Joe Bachie
On the team's defensive mindset …
There's always room for improvement and we are going to take strides during the spring to get better. We are a veteran group, it's our last ride, and whatever is left in the tank we got to give. Coach D has won some big bowl games and that's what we want to get to.
On the added pressure since last year didn't go as planned…
It's motivation, obviously 7-6 isn't good enough here, we want to be a 10, 11, 12 win team in order to win a conference championship. Our standards are up there and we will be held accountable to win.
On finding new leaders…
It starts during winter conditioning, we find those guys who are going to drive and push others forward. We already found a bunch of our leaders, but you can never have too many.
On already being a leader…
I was picked as a leader a few years ago because of the way I carried myself. I continue to do that and try to make more players on this team leaders. After I'm done they can carry on the legacy and make this place special.
On losing defensive back Justin Layne to the NFL draft…
It's a huge loss, he's going to be a top round draft pick most likely. I wish him the best, but we have guys coming back in Josh Butler and Josiah Scott. We have guys who played last year who need to step up. We still need to find our third and fourth defensive back.
On replacing Khari Willis' leadership in the secondary…
It's probably going to be David Dowell, he's going to be that guy vocal on the back end. He has experience for two years now. Xavier Henderson has been playing great, he was in on third down a lot and will probably be with the first team this spring. I'm excited to see what happens, but I feel David Dowell can take care of the leadership role.
Quarterback Brian Lewerke
On the offseason…
Studying film is a big thing, re-watching all of the plays from the past year, seeing what I did right, what I did wrong, and trying to improve on that.
On the offensive coaching changes for the upcoming season…
I've (worked) with both coaches. Coach (Dave) Warner was the OC, and Coach (Brad) Salem was the quarterbacks coach. I've had a great time with both of them. Both coaches have had success at their positions; Coach Warner coaching Kirk (Cousins), and Coach Salem coaching Le'Veon (Bell), so I think both guys are in a great position for what they do.
On getting healthy and back to playing during spring practice…
I'm very anxious to get started again, just because I want to show that I'm still a great quarterback and still have a lot of abilities when I'm fully 100 percent healthy.
Defensive tackle Raequan Williams
On excitement of starting spring practice...
I'm real excited to get back to football, and I think everyone in the locker room is excited to get back to football.
On success of defense last season and challenges of taking another step up...
Yeah, definitely, but I feel that (Defensive Coordinator) Coach Tressel is going to find a way to motivate everybody on this defense to be better, that's something that he's good at. Of course there's going to be inches to find in everything and there's a lot of improvement that we want to find for the whole football team.
On where the defense was ranked among the nation's leaders last year and what goals they have to improve...
There's times where we could have gotten off the field earlier, there's a lot of different things that we can get better at. Like I said, Coach Tressel is going to definitely remind everybody of those situations that were tough for us, and we'll have to learn from them and get better from them.
On what the offseason wait has been like and if guys are chomping at the bit to get out there...
Oh yeah, definitely, getting ready with OTAs (offseason workouts) and whatnot, just trying to bring the young guys along that all look up to us, so that's the biggest challenge of spring ball since I've been here, just trying to get the younger guys to follow suit. Spring ball is usually fun, so we just try to make it fun for everybody.
On what it's like being a senior now in last go-around with spring ball and the one that everyone looks up to...
It definitely feels weird because it's the last go-around, but I feel like I was in a position, and everybody on this whole team has been in a position of leadership for the past two years, so it's no shock to anybody, but it definitely is weird to think that this is my last year.
On how intense the workouts have been...
Yeah, definitely pretty intense. Everybody wants to get better, so you can definitely feel that in every workout and every team meeting or anything that the team does and meets up.
On getting so much pressure on the quarterback and in the backfield last season and able to process on how they were able to do that and what they can do to take next step to get in the backfield even more...
I don't know if we've taken the time to process it much, but we definitely know that 'destruction' has always been a big thing here, (Defensive Tackles Coach) Coach Burton was trying to teach us that for a long time, but we think that comes from disruption and penetration from the D-line. We haven't really taken the time to look back on it, but with spring ball, we're going to get back into it, I'm looking forward to it.
On what Coach Burton says about 'destruction'...
Oh, it's everything, it can create plays, make plays, destruction is everything. We need a lot more of that this year.
Players Mentioned
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