Post-Game Quotes: Ohio State

Michigan State Head Coach Mel Tucker

Opening statement…
Thanks for coming out. Yeah, obviously very disappointed in the outcome of the game. On a positive note, Jaden Mangham was in the locker room just now with us, with his teammates. He went to the hospital, they ran some tests, he's in good shape and he came back, so that's a positive. Just very disappointed in the outcome, obviously I'm not real happy right now.

On making personnel changes midway through the season…
I'm not looking to make any changes from a coaching staff standpoint at all. Any changes we make, we'll have to evaluate the tape.

On closing the offensive gap against other teams…
After I watch the film, I'll be able to see exactly where the breakdowns are. I'll have some ideas on how to close the gap.

On the Spartans' running game…
We have to be able to run the ball. We can't be one-dimensional. Any time defensively you can make a team one dimensional and take away the run, and know that they have to throw the ball, you basically have them where you want them.

On what he's hoping to see the rest of the season from his team…
I want to see better execution in all three phases and consistent execution. And I want to see us prepare to get ready for this next game.

On building his team toward the level of success that Ohio State achieves…
I definitely understand it. I've been at Georgia, I've been at Alabama, so I know what that type of program looks like. I know what it feels like, I know what goes into it. We're not there yet, but we'll get there.

On Ohio State's offense and Michigan State's defensive breakdowns…
There was the one third down where they scored a touchdown was a complete bust on one guy. And also they made plays on some contested balls. So it was a little bit of both.

On whether the result of tonight's game impacted recruiting or not…
No, because those guys see the opportunity to come in here and make a difference. We have a really good recruiting class going for the 2023 class. It's one of the best classes that's been put together so far here, and we're going to continue to add to it and have a really good class. We're always going to have to fight to hang onto guys, but that's just the nature of recruiting. We're going to recruit at a really high level for 2023.

On the importance of getting stops…
We're in the game, but if we can't get them stopped, then we won't be in the game for very long. That's what happened.

On the improvement of the kicking game…
In terms of the operation, we were a lot cleaner this week. We just have to make some kicks. We didn't have the other types of breakdowns that we had a week ago.

On the challenge of preparing for Ohio State…
The matchups are a challenge, obviously. That's the biggest thing – the one-on-one matchups – because they put pressure on you at every position. They have a really good quarterback who is very, very accurate with the ball. He can put the ball in places where another guys can't put it on a consistent basis. So, he doesn't need a lot of room, but you have to be perfect.

On progress between last year's Ohio State game and this year's…
I can't say that. I'll have to look at the film. I can't say. You're either in the left-hand column or not, in my mind.

On a potential increase of negativity in the locker room…
I haven't really noticed that. The guys have all been disappointed after every one of these losses, but I'm on the lookout for any type of negativity, or anything like that. That is zero-tolerance. Life is not easy, and it's a test of character for everyone in that room, whether it's coaches or players. We will see how we respond. I believe we will respond like we have, coming in here ready to work the next day. If not, then you can't be a part of it, because that's not life. When things get tough, you can't look for excuses. You have to keep chopping and see what's next to take the correct next step. That's what we have to be able to do. Anything else is not going to be acceptable.

On the performance from both quarterbacks…
None of us played good enough today. I'll have to watch the film, but after a loss like that, the positive is that (freshman safety) Jaden Mangham was healthy after the game. That's the one positive I can take out of everything else. We will get things evaluated and see.

On Jayden Reed's performance and changes the team needs to make…
J Reed is getting back to form, I think you can see that. All of the positives that we had in the game, we are going to build on those. Offense, defense and special teams, we are going to build on those positives. That's what I told them in the locker room. That's typically what you do. Any of the positives that you have, you're going to build upon those things. But the negatives, we have to really eliminate some of those things we do out there. Some of the drive-killers, things like that. Whether they are mental errors, or lack of execution, there's no lack of want-to. Guys do play hard, but execution is not there. That's really what we have to get cleaned up.

Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day

About the offense without Jaxon Smith-Njigba…
It all starts with the running game when you are running the ball well, it opens up a lot of things. I give our offensive staff a ton of credit. It starts off with Kevin Wilson. Kevin Wilson is one of the best offensive minds in college football and continues to come up with great game plans in that meeting room with Brian Hartline, Tony Alford, and Justin Frye. We got some really bright minds in there, so you go in there and come up with different ideas and the best idea wins. But it all starts with the physicality up front and running the football effectively and that opens up everything else.

About the challenge of Michigan State…
It didn't start exactly the way we wanted on offense and nobody panicked at all. I thought the way the defense played Lathan (Ransom) got the early interception, just across the board, we gave up a couple things on the outside and a couple penalties. But after that, they did a great job of stopping the run, I thought the defensive line was strong, I thought Tommy (Eichenberg) and the linebackers were excellent, across the board our guys played strong. When you have that type of back and forth and that balance on offense and defense, and they play against each other you can see what we did there in the first half. And I thought for the first half of that third quarter as well and maybe (late) into that third quarter. I just think overall we played good football on the road, certainly not perfect, and we got a little sloppy in the fourth quarter. But, we just wanted to get some guys out of the game and make sure that we got to the bye week as healthy as we could. Looking forward to getting to the bye week, looking forward to getting guys healthy and reflecting on the things we did well and the first six games but also projecting where we need to be and where we need to go. Great to get this win on the road and get into the bye week.

About if he wonders what this could be if all of his players were healthy…
Yeah, sometimes, but also, I feel like it is rare in today's day in age where you have a full deck. Just the way the game is played. Typically, you have to play depth and we know that. And when we talk about in the preseason, who is your tailback going to be, we always say you are going to need two, I don't know how it is going to shake up, but we are going to need two. How about at receiver? We are going to need five, you just know we are going to need this many guys because things happen. But it is exciting to know that if we can get everybody back in there at full strength then certainly, we can put a lot of stress on defenses.

On the play of C.J. Stroud…
What can you say about a kid who's throwing the ball in 20 mile per hour winds, or it seemed like that, the wind was blowing the ball a couple times, for him to throw the ball accurately and get it done on the road. You could see he was clicking with his timing and a big part of that is the protection and our offensive line did a great job giving him a good pocket and when you do that he can do some damage.

On the play of the defensive and possible issues in the secondary…
When I look at it, it seems like we are there but we just aren't making the plays, so we have to figure that part out. I think if it's something where guys are just creating separation and we can't cover anybody that's one issue. I know we can address it, we have the guys over there and they are pressing a little bit but that's ok because they've been doing some really good things.

Michigan State Redshirt Junior QB Payton Thorne

On where the mindset and confidence of the team is …
You know, I don't think our mindset has really changed, it's been good. I don't feel like we've had guys, going in separate directions, which is a positive, especially when things aren't going well. In a lot of teams in the country, you have guys fighting, arguing, and guys going in different directions, and we don't have that, so that's a positive. But we're gonna come in tomorrow, and do what we do on Sundays, and move forward.

On the offense he wanted to run, and how he can win a game with those rushing tactics...
Yeah, we'll have to watch the film to see, you know, what happened in all aspects of the game on offense. So, it's kinda early to tell what was this, what was that, so we'll watch the film and we'll figure out what happened.

On the pass rush and pressures…
Yeah, you know, same thing. We'll just have to watch the film. I'm sure there was a time or two when I could've gotten the ball out a little quicker, help my guys out. But you know, I don't know, I won't know until we watch the film and analyze it.

On the four straight losses and what needs to happen before the Wisconsin game…
I think the first thing is that togetherness, and moving forward together, was like I said a second ago, I feel like we've been doing that, and now we are going to have another test of that. It's gonna be another week with another outcome that we are looking to have. So we're together and all, working for the common good, and the common good is what we need. And we're gonna have to do things a little bit better than we've been doing them, obviously, but you know we've got a good Wisconsin team coming in, and we've gotta get our team ready for that.

On the effect and pressure on Michigan State's offense…
From the outside, you say there's pressure, if you're looking at it from an outside perspective. But we talked, we've been talking about we just have to worry about us, and we've got to go out there and execute our stuff, which, you know, obviously we didn't do a good enough job of tonight. And we can't control things that we're not involved in, obviously we're rooting for our defense, and we're all a team, we win as a team, we lose as a team. So there's two sides of a ball, but it's one team, and for us we just have to do our job and go score points, and that's all that we're worried about.

On his mindset, level of frustration and what's going through his mind right now…
I don't really know how to answer that one; I'm not good. You know, frustrated, like you said, upset about how things are going. And you know, I hate losing, a lot. And to lose four games in a row, that's not something I feel like I've ever really done, to be honest with you, in any sport, and so it's frustrating, and it's tough, and there's a lot of question marks right now, but you know, all we can do is work. All we can do is show up tomorrow with the right attitude, and move forward together.

Michigan State Redshirt Sophomore LB Cal Haladay

With what CJ Stroud and the rest of the Ohio State offense present themselves offensively, how difficult is it to stop them?
They're a talented and really well-coached team. They got explosive players all over the field and it's not just him (Stroud), I mean he's a heck of a player…Heisman candidate…but he's got a really good WR room, really good backs and a really good O-line. Just a really good offense and they're tough to stop.

On the Ohio State offense…
The biggest thing was that we had to limit the explosive plays, and we really couldn't get the job done. They're a really good and explosive offense and it was hard to stop them.

Michigan State Senior LB Jacoby Windmon

On how frustrating today was…
For the most part it was very frustrating but at the end of the day you have to block out the noise and you have to focus on what's next. Finding the areas to improve in and build off the improvement we have been making and look at the good stuff on tape and build from that, and learn from the bad stuff and go from there.

On facing a team like Ohio State…
They are a very good team, a lot of talent, well coached, and great players. It's one of those things where you look forward to the challenge because you always want to play against the best and put your best foot forward. The result wasn't what we thought, but we have to learn from it and build off it.

Michigan State Senior Center Nick Samac

On the run game…
Just continue to have everyone on the same page. Have everyone do their job every single play, and we have to keep going to work and keeping our heads high. We don't ever back down, so we're going to continue to work and continue to get better and clean up the little things.

On how to improve…
Watching the film and learning from it, seeing the little things we did wrong and just taking that to the next week. It's frustrating, you want to get more than 7 rushing yards, that's not good, it's horrible. We've got to continue to get better and keep fighting.

Ohio State junior QB C.J. Stroud

On how he was able to rebound from his early interception and the role that his teammates played in that bounce back…

When you see the work that Marvin (Harrison) puts in early in the week, that's definitely what builds confidence. And then staying after practice, the summer workouts, the summer routes that we've thrown, just give him a chance. They're (OSU wideouts) so dynamic out there, and they always have a 50/50, or 70/30 chance as I see to come down with the ball, just because he (Harrison Jr.) is so big and strong and just the work he puts in.

On how impressive Harrison Jr.'s last touchdown catch and how it compares to some of his acrobatic catches prior to this game…

Yeah I knew that it was kind of a cloud look, they wanted to not leave him (Harrison Jr.) on an iso, but the corner kind of played man press. So, Marvin did a good job of just staying wide and I put it as wide as possible, I probably could have put it a little higher. But with those types of guys, all you got to do is give them a chance, and that's what I tried to do. He made a heck of a catch.

On the type of mindset needed to come back from that early pick-six, as well as what happened on that play…
I mean, it's the next play. There's no positive in thinking about the negative, and things that have happened in the past. I definitely think that (type of mindset) has something to do with my off-field character. Just making sure that I know at the end of the day, mistakes happen, and that play was just a miscommunication between me and Emeka (Egbuka). I thought he was going to slam it down, but he did the smart thing by taking off, and just got to be better at that. Zero (Charles Brantley) made a heck of a play.

On how the offense has continued to surge despite some key injuries on that side of the ball. As well as how much better the offense could be when those players come back…
I don't really think we have a limit. I'm super excited to get Jaxson (Smith-Njigba) back, and of course Miyan. Just to see where we are at full strength. But at the end of the day, I think we got to press this bye week and make sure we continue to get better. Hopefully they continue to come along. And of course, I know that Jaxson and Miyan are two veterans that we need, when you add leadership into that as well. They definitely stepped up in that area, so I think they will definitely come in and have that immediate impact.

Ohio State sophomore WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

On where he gets his work ethic from that allowed him to have a historic day catching the ball…
I'll just say, I just wanted to be great. Wanted to be a great football player, wanted to help my team win, so I just try to put in as much work as I can and help us win.

On how he was able to make the acrobatic catch that secured his third touchdown of the day…
Just talking to Coach Hart (Hartline), we talk a lot about going up and getting the ball, and just being aggressive at the catchpoint. As well as using my size and strength with my strong hands. So, mainly just practice.

At what point those difficult catches began to feel routine to him…
I definitely surprise myself sometimes. But, I just have to have that confidence in myself to make any play. I just try to make everything feel routine, and that's why I put all the work in, so nothing surprises me.

On how his play has evolved and what it is like to be able to play next to such talented receivers…
I mean it's scary to me, so I can only imagine how scary it is to the rest of the country. But you know, we just like to go out there and have fun, we put a lot of work in during the week to be able to succeed come Saturday. So, that's really just all it is, seeing the hard work pay off, and being able to have fun on Saturdays.

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Players Mentioned

Charles Brantley

Cal Haladay

Jaden Mangham

Jayden Reed

Nick Samac

Payton Thorne

Jacoby Windmon

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