Post-Game Quotes: Western Michigan

MICHIGAN STATE

Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio

Opening Statement…

First of all, great game by our entire football team. I thought that we came out energized, and certainly our offense had a lot of big plays early in the game, three-for-three going down the field early in the game and 21 straight points. We were able to run the ball and I thought (Brian) Lewerke played extremely well. We did what we needed to do in terms of playing hard, playing with toughness, knowing what to do; we got on people. As for our offensive line, they did an outstanding job as well.

Big day by Elijah Collins, busted some runs and got to the second level and hit it. You can see his speed and some other guys make some big plays. Big game by Darrell Stewart with 10 catches for, I think, one 180-plus yards there. Cody White has a big game as well, so very steady performance, some big catches. Our defense played outstanding. I felt sort of, you know, Western has good rhythm, (Jon) Wassink is an outstanding quarterback. He threw the ball out quick and made some throws, so we were playing through it. Big third quarter, we got off the field a lot. (Matt) Coghlin goes three-for-three field goals. No big returns really, so we played pretty well on special teams and just two penalties. So, as a whole, I thought we played outstanding. Coach Salem and Coach Tressel made great calls throughout the day. They kept our offense to a rhythm and made good calls on defense as well. Really excited about it and I'll take some questions.

On getting the offense going early…

Well I think it catapulted us, or sparked us, or however you want to say it. We had a couple big plays early and get down in there. We had a big run early, if I remember too, so all those types of things I think started to energize us a little bit and gives you some confidence, and they maintained that. There are the expectations that we have every single week and who knows how we get that, but we had a bright day out there, even at night.

On the defensive line…

Well we have a good front four, we alternate some guys in there, so our backup defense, so called backup. Our defensive tackles are very solid as well and our linebackers are very good. We fit the run scheme and our players understand how they fit it. Our coaches understand how they fit it, so when there is a problem, they are able to fix that very quickly. That's always been a positive thing with continuity you can do those type of things, so you aren't guessing as much as understanding the system and concepts. Our players really understand the concepts as well. They are very good football players and I thought the back end made some nice catches.

On the production of the offense…

Well first play, I thought we had a big play and had another big play, and I think we had a big run that same series. We were sort of off from there; I just coach one play at a time to be quite honest with you. We are just trying to get one play at a time, but I thought were in rhythm. The plays were coming in very fast and there was success on the. I thought Lewerke played outstanding, you can see what he can do when he is healthy and confident.

On Elijah Collins…

Elijah is a true freshman last year and did not have much time. We got him in a couple plays, but we red shirted him. I sort of felt like he has the physical skills, he is strong, and he is very explosive player. He just needs confidence. He got 17 carries tonight, and I think 192 yards maybe, so had a couple big ones but he just needs to get in rhythm, and I think he did that tonight. Not to say our other guys aren't good players, they are good players. Connor Heyward has a huge catch; I think on that third down slant or something like that. La'Darius (Jefferson) comes up with a touchdown run and we see what Anthony Williams can do. We actually played four tailbacks, but I thought Elijah had a big game, happy for him and our offensive line because they made it happen and our tight ends and everybody got involved.

On if he saw what he needed to see from the team…

I saw what they did on the field and could do but it's all about consistency and performance. It really is. You got to stack that next week and you have to continue to do that then I think you get more confidence and you're more sure of yourself. Good things happen when those things occur. This is a long season. We're 2-0 and like I said, that's the most important thing to me. A lot of happy people in that locker room and a lot of people that feel like they had some resolve and it was met.

On if there's a name for the play (Darrell) Stewart threw to (Brian) Lewerke…

Yeah I think there was a name for that. I can't remember what it was, but there was. You should've asked Brad (Salem). It's right on the tip of my tongue but I can't remember it. It was a nice trick play. I think we got it down to the one maybe.

On the team going 8-for-8 in the red zone…

8-for-8 with three kicks I believe. Good things were happening. We need to continue to be consistent in what we're doing in the red zone.

On Jalen Nailor's timeline to return…

I expect him to be back this season. He's got a lower leg injury.

On using C.J. Hayes and Connor Heyward in different roles…

Everybody on our football team brings value and every week we assess on where everybody's at and plug people in at different positions. Connor (Heyward) could probably play a lot of these different positions. Certainly C.J. (Hayes) got an opportunity and I thought he had a nice catch on the one and a nice run after catch. I'm not sure if he caught one after that but he has three catches for 31 yards so he did a nice job. He can catch the ball, he's a big target and he's a physical guy and he's got good run after catch. He's a redshirt sophomore so he's a young player.

On the difference in the offensive line tonight…

Like I said, we don't have any pixie dust. You run inside-zone, outside-zone; you run some gap oriented plays. But it's about guys getting on their guy and winning their individual battle - I thought they did that. I'm sure we did that because I saw the result of it but I thought they did a nice job with pass protection as well and gave us time to throw; good things happen when those two things occur.

On Xavier Henderson and the secondary…

Big pick by him. He didn't have the right leverage, I think, on the touchdown. He had the right leverage but the guy ran an angle route back inside on him and he didn't have help from the middle field safety or what we call the rat, which is the underneath free player. It wasn't all just him; it's always a comprehensive issue. I thought Xavier continues to play well; he's a true sophomore. The game isn't too big for him, he can rise up to the occasion and he can play well under the lights. Great crowd out there again tonight. Should be a great crowd next week for Arizona State so it will be another exciting atmosphere. It was loud down there, my ears are still ringing.

On Western Michigan having more time of possession…

Well we had 31 first downs – that's a lot of first downs. Even though we had the ball… probably if you look at the end of the third quarter, it's probably a little bit more tilted toward us. We had big plays and we were scoring points and at the end of the day, what kind of production day do you have? All these things lead to winning the football game so certainly possession time as well, but they did win the possession time which is rather unusual. I think a lot of it might've been the fourth quarter.

Michigan State Offensive Coordinator Brad Salem

On the confidence he had on the performance...

Well, you know the biggest thing and even talking Monday or Tuesday to you guys is I felt like it was in them. I felt like we would play better in the first game. I do think when it becomes real, you know last Friday, I think guys see how the real games played and how much concentration it takes. You know one play at a time. You look at the penalties and think, I'm trying to think if we had one maybe two and you want to put yourself in a favorable position. We did a good job last week of taking care of the football. You know we had two turnovers this week, but excited for our kids. Really the way they responded and really when it happened was on Tuesday at practice.

On Elijah Collins performance and if it's something he saw coming…

You know it has. We sort of got the tailback by committee, and he's done a nice job and had some good carries last week so felt like let's start out with him. And it's always been that way with Coach Dantonio and even when I was doing running backs back in 2010, 2011 and 2012 was kind of whoever got hot. We had three guys at that time maybe four you know who got hot and rolling, and so you know it's neat to see him. You know obviously you can get a rusher over 100 yards, so it was a big day for him.

On if it was part of the plan to stretch the formation this game…

I think as you attack people, you know each week your attacking structure, attacking people and obviously you're playing to your people. So, sometimes formations it just depends what you want to get at certain fronts and what people do, whether it be Tulsa last week or this week Western, but that was sort of the idea, spread them out a little bit more and try to create some space for our guys.

On Brian Lewerke's performance tonight and the offensive line…

You know obviously great growth each week by Brian (Lewerke), and I'm excited how he played and to be able to make some explosive plays which is what we were missing in the first game and just consistency throwing the football. The biggest thing I think you try and find early in a game is can you get in a rhythm. You know last week we go down and score, but then you gotta be able to keep that rhythm and so you know I thought a great job by our guys to continue into rhythm and when you take opportunities and take shots, they can either give you 2^nd-and-10 or a big play and those guys really capitalized on those opportunities and big plays today.

On going to Darrell Stewart early and often...

Sometimes it's hard with receivers, you can't say we are going to this guy unless it's truly a choke bubble or certain, specific plays. There were some shots that we could create where he (Darrell Stewart) lined up in that formation and you know a lot of its the read that takes Brian (Lewerke) there, but you know Darrell had a great game with 10 catches, and you it's neat to see how he responded to and had a big day.

On if there was anything Darrell Stewart did differently in practice this week to perform better than last week's game…

I don't think so. I just think maybe he didn't have opportunities either and you know he didn't have as many throws his way, but you know what you look through in this process and it is a process week to week and so you want marked improvement each week and you know that will be our goal next week when we go into Arizona state, but just excited how he performed and obviously we need you know at least a positive feeling offensively and I think I'm just excited how they responded and confidence can come through this and we just have to continue to grow this season.

On what Elijah Collins has a young guy…

He has a nice burst you know; he's got good vision. He's a really strong kid, but as far as lower body and does a nice job running through tackles, but when he sees it, you see the acceleration and I think he's got the whole run ability.

On being able to get guys in who are younger and if he expects them to keep contributing…

It's their first game so you know you got one right there in under their belt, but it seems like even being here 10 years there have not been many opportunities to play young guys you know like to get both quarterbacks you know Rocky (Lombardi) and Theo Day there at the end. I think those things are substantial; they really are. When a guy gets in the game in the stadium he does the scrimmages and those things, but really neat to see some of the young freshmen play today.

Michigan State Defensive Coordinator Mike Tressel…

On the defensive line performance…

You know our defensive line did do a great job; there's no doubt about it. The thing I'm frustrated about right now is the fact that we need to close out the game better; we need all 30 guys that got out on the field to play as well as the starters do, but definitely impressed with our defensive line. They had to try and get the ball out quick all day; they had a hard time letting down the field routes develop.

On what he saw from the secondary and the play by Xavier (Henderson) in the endzone…

Yeah well huge play in that sudden change to keep all points off the board and that was huge because that's going right into half time and that can completely flip the script, especially when they get the ball to start the second half. So big play by Xavier; really great job by every single person. They are one of eleven, and everybody is right on task on that specific play. Also thought our guys in the back end did a great job of limiting the deep ball plays. I mean we knew they were going to throw it up a bunch of times and that was one of our keys to victory was playing the deep ball well.

On Xavier Henderson's play the past two games…

We said it all along that he has a huge spot to fill in our defense that boundary safety is a big spot for communication, Khari Willis was that guy last year and he was a security blanket for everyone in the back seven, and Xavier has done a great job of picking that up and you know he's going to give up a play here or there. We all do in the back end, but he understands football, he can anticipate plays and we are really impressed where he is after two games.

Michigan State senior QB Brian Lewerke

On what it felt like to get back to 2017 Brian Lewerke...

Yeah, it felt good. I was thinking for the first time since maybe Penn State last year that I've felt happy about the product that I put on the field. It feels really good.

On what the pre-game message was for the team…

The offense kind of struggled the first game, everyone was freaking out, but we were fine, we knew what we had to do. What I said was we're going to win this game whether it's a close one or a big one, but it'll be up to the offense. We obviously showed that tonight.

On what practice was like this week since coach D wasn't happy about last week…

You can tell when Coach D isn't happy. When he walked into the team meeting room on Tuesday, you could tell he wasn't happy; he gave us a mouthful. But it fired me up a little bit and I think it did as well for some other guys. We were just motivated. I just want to be good and I think we took a big step tonight.

Michigan State senior LB Joe Bachie

On what the biggest difference was from last week to this week…

Fifty-one points. It was just awesome to see our offense rolling out and going three-for-three on the first three drives and putting up points on the board. It's awesome just because it gives us a little breathing room. We don't want to think like that, but realistically there was some breathing room. We can be aggressive on this side of the ball when our offense has confidence.

On the mental shift this week for preparing for an opponent that they lost to last year…

Arizona State had a great scheme against us last year. They were moving the tailback all around. We pretty much lost the game on a tailback flash with a big first down at the end of the game. They know what they're going to do against us. We'll watch last year's film and their first two games and game plan that. We'll be ready next week.

On how big it is when both the offense and defense are clicking…

It's awesome. It builds team confidence when you see the offense and defense are doing well. You can build off that and build a championship program with that. We've known we've had that in us, we've just been waiting for that to come up and it did tonight. We're excited and we'll have a tough matchup next week.

Michigan State senior WR Darrell Stewart

On if he sensed a big win coming this week in practice…

All week in practice we've been believing in each other. That's the main thing, that we can come out here and make things happen. It's a beautiful feeling when everything's clicking. One thing I love about our coaching staff is that they believe in us. All throughout practice, drawing up big plays and doing the little things to make the big things happen.

On if he knew how many yards he had tonight…

I don't really think about yards, I just try to come out and dominate every day.

On what about the matchups with Western Michigan's corners that made him so successful…

I feel like most of the time it was just me executing plays and being able to run with speed better. Working on my form is one thing I've been working on all week. Also, staying after practice and doing wind sprints. It's the small things that really count is what Coach D always tells us. We also had zero penalties. Usually the team that makes the least mistakes is the team that wins.

On if there was a sense of relief after a great offensive performance…

Definitely, it felt good to get the ball moving, but we're still hungry. We have a lot more games to play. It's good to celebrate right now, but we're back in the lab tomorrow watching film and working out. It's bigger than one game, we're trying to chase a championship.

Michigan State Running Back Elijah Collins

On his emotions after the win…
I feel tremendous. It's a great day to be a Spartan.

When he knew he was getting the start…
I mean it happened on Wednesday. Kind of got the heads up that I'd be a starter. Me and Coach D sat down and talked 1-on-1, and he told me that they thought I could be the guy.

On his field vision…
Playing football my whole life has just been something that I had gotten used to. Making cuts here and there. Everyone might not see them. But some things have kind of become second nature, seeing the whole or open areas. Just what I do.

On seeing new things on offense…
We definitely got a lot of our athletes, including our receivers like Darrell Stewart and Cody White, and everyone else the space to make plays. Opens up the run game ultimately. Allows me to get the holes and next thing you know. I'm running 20 yards.

On how the first run gave him confidence…
It definitely took me to a different place or level. But big credits to the offensive line and the recievers that were blocking upfront. They did a tremendous job so shout out to those guys.

On the mood after last week's run game…
I mean we just knew that we need to keep at that level. We knew that we could do some things like what we saw during the summer and in practice. We saw we were capable of doing great things. I think today was that day.

Michigan State Defensive End Kenny Willekes

On having a complete team win…
It's a complete win all around. You know you see people making plays on defense, offense, and special teams. And offense came out, played real well, executing and producing plays so that was good to see.

On how jumping out early and how it fires everyone up…
It adds a lot of confidence to the team. We've seen it in them all fall camp playing and forming really well, and to see them put it out there on the field, it's really good for all of our confidence.

On the play of the defense against WMU…
We just continued to try and do what we do, get after the quarterback, and play fast physical and aggressive football. And we try to wear teams down, so that we just continue to get after and do what we do.

WESTERN MICHIGAN

Western Michigan head coach Tim Lester

Opening statement…

All right, obviously a frustrating day. There are some bright spots out there but not enough of them. Really proud, I thought our special teams unit, our kickoff return team and our punt return did a good job. We have to take advantage of our chances. When you're playing a top 20 team and you get opportunities, you have to capitalize on them. We missed two field goals and we had the ball on I think the three or four in the first half and you're not going to beat a top 20 team doing that stuff. But I was proud. We drove the ball well early and Jon (Wassink) was efficient with the ball early and had to get away from him but he was getting rid of the ball and not taking hits, which was the plan obviously. We gave up too many big plays, but I thought we settled down in the second half. Our defense played much better and made them kick field goals which is the goal. They kept fighting till the end, the twos went in there and did a good job. I was happy with the fight of our team; we didn't make enough plays to beat a top 20 team but I was happy with the way we fought.

On their lack of red zone execution and the importance of capitalizing on scoring chances…

Huge. You have to right? To beat a top 20 team you have to take advantage of every opportunity you get and I think we missed three. We had two turnovers that we didn't score on that we have to score on. I mean our one touchdown was when we drove it and scored, but when you get a turnover you have to take advantage. Jon threw the one and didn't see the backside safety on the one and we missed two field goals while we were down there. At the end I kicked it; I mean technically we probably should've gone for it but I wanted Thiago (Kapps) to have confidence and he buried it which was good. And then I had him kickoff and he kicked it out of the endzone. We're trying to build confidence and move forward and then the twos went down and scored which was nice. I mainly kicked because I wanted him to have some confidence and he buried it so I was proud.

On whether he was considering going for it on fourth-and-seven from MSU's 31-yard line on the opening drive…

We have a book, I go off the book and what it tells me to do. We know after first down when we're going and when we're not. I went against the book to kick the field goal at the end. But yes, I plan on going down there and whatever the book says we do, so that was a kick situation. Kapps has got the leg, he just needs to get comfortable. He obviously never played in front of this many people, his first two kicks weren't good and then his last one was.

On the positive takeaways offensively and the overall progression of Jon Wassink…

He's doing a good job, that's the one thing Coach Dantonio said. He said, 'You have one hell of a team and one hell of a quarterback.' And I think he did a good job those two, and I'm a quarterback guy those two kill me, I wish he'd just throw a different type of ball. He needs to rip those in there as opposed to babying them in there a little bit. But he made reads he made throws, they were bringing three or four different things off the edge, cat blitzes and he was diagnosing them and getting rid of them before he got hit. The sacks really came from coverage, to be honest with you. I mean every time you got three and hitch, he got rid of it. There were a couple times the coverage got us and the two receivers that were meshing ran into each other and that's when he took his sacks; It wasn't that he mentally didn't know where to go. He's where he needs to be every time that's why we have a chance to be really good.

On how he tried to coach his team back from a 21 point deficit…

Against a defense like that? You're going to have to come from behind in a season, you're not going to be up the whole season so falling behind wasn't the end of the world; falling behind against the number one defense in the country, or one of them is hard. It was important for us to make sure we put drives together. Like I said, we had 17 minutes of possession and a little over 17 minutes of possession in the first half, which was by design and what we hoped. That was the plan and unfortunately they scored too much in 12 minutes.

Western Michigan senior tight end Giovanni Ricci

On the teams game plan and Michigan State's defense…
We came into this game pretty confident with our game plan, all the credit to the defense there. Very good defense, very good team. Michigan State came out to play. I felt like we have a lot to learn from. We left a lot on the table especially at the end of that first half. We are going to get back to it. Watch the film, learn from it and come back next week ready to play.

On what he took from this game…
Definitely disappointing to go out there and feel like we left something on the table. But I keep going back to the fact that Michigan State played really well tonight, and that's something that like Justin said I felt like offensively we fought till the end and we didn't give up necessarily and that's really exciting about our team. While the guys we are playing with are gonna come back fighting and wanting to get better this week and we will be ready this week.

On being able to move the ball at times on Michigan State's defense..
Like you said they were a really good defense and we knew that coming in. We stuck to our game plan for the most part. It was definitely encouraging to see young guys making plays, especially at wide out. No one was scared of the spotlight, everyone was ready to play. That's really encouraging going into next week and I'm really excited to get back out there and get to work.

On quarterback Jon Wassink's game..
Jon (Wassink) is an unbelievable player, an unbelievable quarterback. The thing about him is that he is really smart, he probably knows what they're doing before they even know what they decide to do. He is really fun to play with and you just know he is always gonna find the right spot to put it in. He did really well for the most part.

Western Michigan senior free safety Justin Tranquill

On their defensive effort…
I am proud of our defense. I felt even in midst of the loss we took tonight I felt like the guys were fighting until the end. We had dudes out there staying positive, wanting to play. Again all the credit in the world to Michigan State's offense. They came out there firing and ready to go. Something along with what Giovanni (Ricci) said, we have to go back and watch the film. I think we are getting close as a defense and that's something we can be excited about. Just a few missed gaps from here to there and then we just have to come out from the jump. Especially with our communication - if I know one thing - in the first half that was really getting us guys playing different calls and we weren't communicating across the board. So that's something that we got to get fixed, but it's good to get that done at the beginning of the season so we can learn and grow from it.

On what went wrong on the defensive side…
Our biggest thing for us was just communication. Even at the end of the second half with that wide open touchdown they had even that was miscommunication on the back end. So again, it was a loud stadium, loud fans, something that we have to be able to adjust to. We have to make sure we are getting the calls communicated from our sideline all the way to the corners of the opposite side of the field, make sure everyone is on the same page. Obviously, whenever they come out in certain formations we have specific checks for those. We did not do a good job getting the check across the board to everyone, so again at times we were. One side of the field was playing a certain coverage and then the backend is still playing the coverage we originally called. So that was on our shoulders as a defense, that's on me and the other guys back there at safety to make sure we are communicating quarterbacks and the defense to make sure we are on the same page.

Players Mentioned

Joe Bachie

Elijah Collins

Theo Day

C.J. Hayes

Xavier Henderson

Brian Lewerke

Jalen Nailor

Cody White

Kenny Willekes

Khari Willis

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