Photo by: Matthew Mitchell/MSU Athletic Communications
Post-Game Quotes: Western Kentucky
10/3/2021 12:51:00 AM | Football
Head Coach Mel Tucker
Opening statement…
I'm really proud of this football team. The way they worked this past week, we worked with a purpose. We had some things that we needed to clean up, some things we needed to improve, and we wanted to come out and start fast and play complementary football, and we were able to do that against what was a very good football team. Western Kentucky's a good team. They have a lot of good players and their offense is very hard to stop. Their quarterback plays at a high level, and we came out, we started fast, and we were able to get the job done. Our fans were incredible tonight, it was an electric atmosphere, the student section was at an elite level. We really appreciate that with Homecoming. There's an expectation of coming back and supporting our football team, and in turn we need to show up and play, and play a brand of football that everyone can be proud of. We came out early and did that, mission accomplished. That's really what it's all about. 5-0, that's a good start, but the most important thing is what we do next. So we've got the 24-hour rule and then we're going to get back at it, we're going to take this show on the road. We all know that the Big Ten is a tough conference, so we're going to continue to work to get better, to develop this football team. They're willing to work for it and they're willing to earn it, and that's important.Â
On philosophy of putting a star like Jayden Reed on punt return…
I mean, I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't want to have him back there. He can make plays back there and put us in good field position, he wants to be back there. He wants to make plays, you know, big plays. And he's certainly a weapon. We're going to play on our guys on special teams. Special teams is not one of those deals where it's an afterthought. We spend a lot of time in meetings and on the field, we dedicate a lot of time to special teams, because it's a third of the game. That's part of our culture, where guys want to play on special teams. They understand how important it is to play complementary football, and when you get that type of buy-in, especially from your starters or your best players, you're going to have a better football team. Again, special teams is field position, which is huge on scoring probabilities and its momentum, they're one-play series. We call them Ops. When we break the special ops unit, we say Ops on 3. 1-2-3 Ops. One-play series, go out there and get it done. It doesn't matter if you're a starter or a backup, freshman or senior, we've got to handle it. It's important.
Â
On playing a relentless WKU team and if playing against a quarterback and offense like that is good for the MSU defense…
I told the other coaches before I came in here that we learned a lot from that. Because they're very explosive on offense. The type of offense they run puts a lot of stress on everyone on defense, everyone's at the point of attack, and they run the ball as well. They go up-tempo, they go no-huddle. They go fast, the quarterback is accurate with the ball and they have good players. They're hard to stop, that's good for us to play an offense like that and have some success, especially early…That's a good football team.
Â
On Jayden Reed being a weapon…
What you see is what you get, because he does that in practice. He practices at a high level and he is a very explosive player. He can do a lot, he plays with really good toughness, he's hyper competitive. Like I said, he's a difference maker for us. Special teams, offense, he can do it all. But he's humble and he's hard-working. That's his edge and that's contagious.
Western Kentucky Head Coach Tyson Helton
Opening Statement…
Tough game. Big environment...really good football team that we just played in Michigan State. I thought that they did a really good job. They made a lot of explosive plays. We did a lot of good things offensively. We couldn't find the end zone though in the first half that was an obvious thing. Defensively, we couldn't stop them in the first half and held them to six in the second half so two different stories. We will regroup and get ready for conference play. All the guys in the locker room they had the right look in their eye. They weren't very happy, they understand what's about to happen, we are about to get into conference play and get ready to go to work tomorrow. With that said, questions.
On getting to a faster start defensively…Â
Well, I think we are doing all we can do. I wish I had an answer for you there. I think we had the right calls; we were matched up in coverage and a good talented receiver was able to run a great route and get open and quarterback made a nice throw and that happened several times. When you play a good talented team like they are those things are going to happen, but obviously, we got to limit those explosive plays. In the first half, they were able to do whatever they wanted to do. Whether it was running, throwing or whatever it was. We regrouped in the second half and were able to put a good plan together and, like you said, we got to find a way to start fast next week. I know our defense will regroup and we'll get ready to go.
On what's the biggest thing you learn from playing these games to get ready for conference play…
As long as this football team keeps battling, we are always going to have a chance. We've been down in pretty much the last three games, probably two touchdowns, and our guys just keep battling. We got to fix the obvious problems but even good football teams like we've played, I mean look at Army, Indiana, Michigan State those are all really good football teams and all have a really good record at the end of the year. We've shown that we can beat those teams if we can put it all together so now, we got to go and put it all together. That's probably the biggest takeaway and our guys in the locker room know that. It will be a tremendous challenge for us next week because UTSA is an excellent football team and they'll be just as talented and so we got to find a way to get it done.
On what went wrong once you got to the red zone…
Obviously kicking field goals against a team like Michigan State is not going to win the game, but unfortunately it put me in a scenario the 4th and tens and the odds are against you so just getting points on the board, you just have to get what you can get. It was disappointing in the second half, we get down there on the one-two yard line and then we got the penalties so now all of a sudden, you're looking at a fourth and long. Bailey (Zappe) hits Jerreth (Sterns) in stride and Jerreth just kind of lost his balance there and we fall down at the one and turn the ball over, that's got to be a touchdown. I wish I could tell you the perfect formula, I do know that I love the fact that we are moving the football, I love the fact that we are getting down there, I love the fact that we can score fast because it always gives us a chance. Again, I'm like a broken record, we just got to get all those pieces together and hopefully it will show up next week.
Junior S Michael Dowell
On Western Kentucky offense with three redzone trips…
I think that it was something that was really important. All week, the defense focused on red zone efficiency. Just because they get down there doesn't mean that they gotta score a touchdown. If it's a field goal, we see that we took four points away. Defense efficiency in the red zone is something we pride ourselves on.
On facing quarterbacks like Western Kentucky…
I think it's kind of what Angelo (Grose) just said. Keep chopping. They get a first down or they get a big play, explosive, whatever it is, it's about the next play. I think we did a good job tonight doing that.
On being 5-0 and the start to the season…
Coach Tucker always talks about something special happening here in East Lansing. We've known that throughout the whole summer and even throughout the whole spring. I think now, East Lansing and the rest of the country is kind of seeing that. It's a really great thing to be a part of, and we're just going to keep chopping. We play Rutgers next, and we're on the road twice and then we get a bye. But we're going to take one opponent at a time. We've got a 24-hour rule that Coach Tucker talks about, then it's back to work Monday morning.
Sophomore S Angelo Grose
On Western Kentucky offense with three redzone trips…
We live on, keep chopping. That's what we kept doing.
On facing quarterbacks like Western Kentucky…
We kind of knew that coming in, so tackling strong was going to be a big thing for us to win this football game.
On being 5-0 to start the season…
I feel the exact same way… keep chopping.
Sophomore QB Payton ThorneÂ
On starting the first offensive possession up 7-0…
Yes, it is great when you look up at the scoreboard and it is 7 to 0 and you haven't even been on the field yet. That's credit to our special teams unit. They worked hard all this week, I know, and Coach Els has our guys working hard on special teams. Good return by this guy (Jayden Reed). Like I said, last week I saw that a few times, so that was fun. Good blocking out there, it is big to step out on the field and you're already up.
On knowing when Jayden Reed had the touchdown on the opening punt return…Â
Well, honestly, Kenneth Walker was standing next to me, and he said before the ball was snapped that he was going to return this, so he called it, I'll give him credit there. When he booted it pretty far, it was the classic "outkicked his coverage," It was too much space for a return man like that. He made the first guy miss, our guys did a good job with no blocks in the back or anything like that and we had a few key blocks and it was great.
Junior WR Jayden ReedÂ
On "deja vu" feeling of starting game with punt return rather than ending win one….
I was just saying that last week we were up here, so it kind of felt like Déjà vu again, like repeat. It was kind of cool returning for the first play instead of like the end of the game. It is pretty cool to get in the end zone early, so that was good.
On being able to plan a punt return…
I am usually pretty calm when I am back there. I usually stay poised. I actually love when kickers outkick their coverage because that leaves a lot more space for me to make a move. I saw one guy coming a little too fast, so I just stuck my foot in the ground, got around him and then found a lane and my unit made great blocks for me so I just followed the blocks and everything else took care of itself.Â
  Â
Â
Opening statement…
I'm really proud of this football team. The way they worked this past week, we worked with a purpose. We had some things that we needed to clean up, some things we needed to improve, and we wanted to come out and start fast and play complementary football, and we were able to do that against what was a very good football team. Western Kentucky's a good team. They have a lot of good players and their offense is very hard to stop. Their quarterback plays at a high level, and we came out, we started fast, and we were able to get the job done. Our fans were incredible tonight, it was an electric atmosphere, the student section was at an elite level. We really appreciate that with Homecoming. There's an expectation of coming back and supporting our football team, and in turn we need to show up and play, and play a brand of football that everyone can be proud of. We came out early and did that, mission accomplished. That's really what it's all about. 5-0, that's a good start, but the most important thing is what we do next. So we've got the 24-hour rule and then we're going to get back at it, we're going to take this show on the road. We all know that the Big Ten is a tough conference, so we're going to continue to work to get better, to develop this football team. They're willing to work for it and they're willing to earn it, and that's important.Â
On philosophy of putting a star like Jayden Reed on punt return…
I mean, I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't want to have him back there. He can make plays back there and put us in good field position, he wants to be back there. He wants to make plays, you know, big plays. And he's certainly a weapon. We're going to play on our guys on special teams. Special teams is not one of those deals where it's an afterthought. We spend a lot of time in meetings and on the field, we dedicate a lot of time to special teams, because it's a third of the game. That's part of our culture, where guys want to play on special teams. They understand how important it is to play complementary football, and when you get that type of buy-in, especially from your starters or your best players, you're going to have a better football team. Again, special teams is field position, which is huge on scoring probabilities and its momentum, they're one-play series. We call them Ops. When we break the special ops unit, we say Ops on 3. 1-2-3 Ops. One-play series, go out there and get it done. It doesn't matter if you're a starter or a backup, freshman or senior, we've got to handle it. It's important.
Â
On playing a relentless WKU team and if playing against a quarterback and offense like that is good for the MSU defense…
I told the other coaches before I came in here that we learned a lot from that. Because they're very explosive on offense. The type of offense they run puts a lot of stress on everyone on defense, everyone's at the point of attack, and they run the ball as well. They go up-tempo, they go no-huddle. They go fast, the quarterback is accurate with the ball and they have good players. They're hard to stop, that's good for us to play an offense like that and have some success, especially early…That's a good football team.
Â
On Jayden Reed being a weapon…
What you see is what you get, because he does that in practice. He practices at a high level and he is a very explosive player. He can do a lot, he plays with really good toughness, he's hyper competitive. Like I said, he's a difference maker for us. Special teams, offense, he can do it all. But he's humble and he's hard-working. That's his edge and that's contagious.
Western Kentucky Head Coach Tyson Helton
Opening Statement…
Tough game. Big environment...really good football team that we just played in Michigan State. I thought that they did a really good job. They made a lot of explosive plays. We did a lot of good things offensively. We couldn't find the end zone though in the first half that was an obvious thing. Defensively, we couldn't stop them in the first half and held them to six in the second half so two different stories. We will regroup and get ready for conference play. All the guys in the locker room they had the right look in their eye. They weren't very happy, they understand what's about to happen, we are about to get into conference play and get ready to go to work tomorrow. With that said, questions.
On getting to a faster start defensively…Â
Well, I think we are doing all we can do. I wish I had an answer for you there. I think we had the right calls; we were matched up in coverage and a good talented receiver was able to run a great route and get open and quarterback made a nice throw and that happened several times. When you play a good talented team like they are those things are going to happen, but obviously, we got to limit those explosive plays. In the first half, they were able to do whatever they wanted to do. Whether it was running, throwing or whatever it was. We regrouped in the second half and were able to put a good plan together and, like you said, we got to find a way to start fast next week. I know our defense will regroup and we'll get ready to go.
On what's the biggest thing you learn from playing these games to get ready for conference play…
As long as this football team keeps battling, we are always going to have a chance. We've been down in pretty much the last three games, probably two touchdowns, and our guys just keep battling. We got to fix the obvious problems but even good football teams like we've played, I mean look at Army, Indiana, Michigan State those are all really good football teams and all have a really good record at the end of the year. We've shown that we can beat those teams if we can put it all together so now, we got to go and put it all together. That's probably the biggest takeaway and our guys in the locker room know that. It will be a tremendous challenge for us next week because UTSA is an excellent football team and they'll be just as talented and so we got to find a way to get it done.
On what went wrong once you got to the red zone…
Obviously kicking field goals against a team like Michigan State is not going to win the game, but unfortunately it put me in a scenario the 4th and tens and the odds are against you so just getting points on the board, you just have to get what you can get. It was disappointing in the second half, we get down there on the one-two yard line and then we got the penalties so now all of a sudden, you're looking at a fourth and long. Bailey (Zappe) hits Jerreth (Sterns) in stride and Jerreth just kind of lost his balance there and we fall down at the one and turn the ball over, that's got to be a touchdown. I wish I could tell you the perfect formula, I do know that I love the fact that we are moving the football, I love the fact that we are getting down there, I love the fact that we can score fast because it always gives us a chance. Again, I'm like a broken record, we just got to get all those pieces together and hopefully it will show up next week.
Junior S Michael Dowell
On Western Kentucky offense with three redzone trips…
I think that it was something that was really important. All week, the defense focused on red zone efficiency. Just because they get down there doesn't mean that they gotta score a touchdown. If it's a field goal, we see that we took four points away. Defense efficiency in the red zone is something we pride ourselves on.
On facing quarterbacks like Western Kentucky…
I think it's kind of what Angelo (Grose) just said. Keep chopping. They get a first down or they get a big play, explosive, whatever it is, it's about the next play. I think we did a good job tonight doing that.
On being 5-0 and the start to the season…
Coach Tucker always talks about something special happening here in East Lansing. We've known that throughout the whole summer and even throughout the whole spring. I think now, East Lansing and the rest of the country is kind of seeing that. It's a really great thing to be a part of, and we're just going to keep chopping. We play Rutgers next, and we're on the road twice and then we get a bye. But we're going to take one opponent at a time. We've got a 24-hour rule that Coach Tucker talks about, then it's back to work Monday morning.
Sophomore S Angelo Grose
On Western Kentucky offense with three redzone trips…
We live on, keep chopping. That's what we kept doing.
On facing quarterbacks like Western Kentucky…
We kind of knew that coming in, so tackling strong was going to be a big thing for us to win this football game.
On being 5-0 to start the season…
I feel the exact same way… keep chopping.
Sophomore QB Payton ThorneÂ
On starting the first offensive possession up 7-0…
Yes, it is great when you look up at the scoreboard and it is 7 to 0 and you haven't even been on the field yet. That's credit to our special teams unit. They worked hard all this week, I know, and Coach Els has our guys working hard on special teams. Good return by this guy (Jayden Reed). Like I said, last week I saw that a few times, so that was fun. Good blocking out there, it is big to step out on the field and you're already up.
On knowing when Jayden Reed had the touchdown on the opening punt return…Â
Well, honestly, Kenneth Walker was standing next to me, and he said before the ball was snapped that he was going to return this, so he called it, I'll give him credit there. When he booted it pretty far, it was the classic "outkicked his coverage," It was too much space for a return man like that. He made the first guy miss, our guys did a good job with no blocks in the back or anything like that and we had a few key blocks and it was great.
Junior WR Jayden ReedÂ
On "deja vu" feeling of starting game with punt return rather than ending win one….
I was just saying that last week we were up here, so it kind of felt like Déjà vu again, like repeat. It was kind of cool returning for the first play instead of like the end of the game. It is pretty cool to get in the end zone early, so that was good.
On being able to plan a punt return…
I am usually pretty calm when I am back there. I usually stay poised. I actually love when kickers outkick their coverage because that leaves a lot more space for me to make a move. I saw one guy coming a little too fast, so I just stuck my foot in the ground, got around him and then found a lane and my unit made great blocks for me so I just followed the blocks and everything else took care of itself.Â
  Â
Â
Players Mentioned
S
/ Football
S
/ Football
WR
/ Football
QB
/ FootballJonathan Smith Postgame Comments | Iowa
Saturday, November 22
Jonathan Smith | Football Press Conference | Nov. 17 2025
Monday, November 17
Jonathan Smith Post Game Comments | PSU | Nov. 15 2025
Saturday, November 15
Jonathan Smith | Football Press Conference | Nov. 10 2025
Monday, November 10