Michigan State University Athletics
Preseason Camp Update: Pat Fitzgerald Press Conference Coverage
8/17/2026 5:07:00 PM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Following the 10th practice of preseason camp on Monday, first-year Spartan head coach Pat Fitzgerald met with the media to give an update on the Spartans.
Quotes from Pat Fitzgerald (Monday, Aug. 17)
Opening Statement…
Right in the heart of week three, right? This is where the rubber hits the road, so to speak, of training camp. And I thought the guys came out ready to go today. We had a lot of live situations after you guys left. I don't necessarily do a scrimmage per se. We do just a bunch of controlled, move-the-ball scrimmages. Really, between now and game week. So that started last Thursday, and it's pretty much every single day. So today, and then work in situational football into it. So, a bunch of live periods today. The guys, I thought, handled it really well. They're carrying their pads very well, and we're working hard to improve. And what I like the most is their attitude and their willingness to be really good teammates. We're practicing hard. We're practicing smart, and I think we're improving. So, with that, I'd love to answer any of your questions, please.
On if the team is doing a scrimmage between now and game week…
Yeah, we'll do live periods (Thursday) that I think if you guys were there, you'd look at probably like a scrimmage. But I think scrimmages as a player are really easy. Like, the "one" guys kind of get four or five reps, maybe ten, then they're out. I'd rather practice and then do some controlled live stuff where we can put some situational football. It's typically how I've done it leading up to the opener.
On having a dress rehearsal or mock game…
Yeah, we'll do a mock game at some point. Later this week. Absolutely. We got a lot going on this week; very busy week as far as those types of little things, from a structural standpoint.
On the first day of full pads (last Thursday)…
Everybody gets a little bit, their blood boils a little hotter when the full pads come on, and doing some really smart, controlled live drills, and the guys have handled it really, really well. What do you want to reinforce there, right? Obviously, it starts from the ground up, how we handle our feet on contact. How our eyes are, eyes are up, seeing everything we hit, teaching the right fundamentals, the ABCs, and one, two, threes of taking on contact, and then creating contact, beyond blocking and block destruction, and then ball security, ball disruption, are a big part of how you work into those drills, and as you guys have seen, as you come out every day, we're doing that, period one, right away in individuals, ball security and ball disruption. But then when you put the physicality into it, it compounds the fun.
On seeing the team come together day by day…
I really think that started in earnest somewhere in the middle of winter workouts when the guys are really kind of like, "Okay, I know who you are, I think." And then spring ball, it was like, "Yeah, we know who each other are." And then that carried over into the summer. And again, the feedback I've gotten from the guys is they liked going into Case Hall. They liked spending their time together. They like the commute for sure, but they like that (staying together as a team). And that will be something that I anticipate will continue as we move forward.
On whom he thinks could be a household name…
The whole team is completely different than it was in spring ball. That's all I would say. We're completely different. It's a much more, I think, cohesive group. I think they've definitely bonded together, and we're starting to create a brotherhood. And we're not there yet. We'll be there probably by some point in the middle of next week, where we start to really solidify a two-deep on O and D. But we anticipate, especially with the first two games being at home, a lot of guys playing in the kick game. We feel like we've got a lot of depth there. And we want to see what guys do in the stadium. So that's a big rule change that I think you all are tracking on, the five-year rule. That allows us access to the entire roster, and I'm very thankful for Commissioner Petitti, and the Presidents and the ADs allowing us to now travel 80 in Big Ten football. That allows us a lot of our roster, which is very different than we've had in the past.
On Mark Dantonio and Ken Mannie being welcomed to practice and addressing the team…
I'll start with Coach Mannie. I mean, I've had the utmost respect for him and the job that he did here. He had a great connection with our strength staff at Northwestern, and it was funny, he'd always come talk to me pre-game, and I thought he was distracting me. I thought it was like a really good Jedi-mind trick, telling me how much he appreciated and respected us, and then tried to butter us up a little bit, and then after the game, he would do the same thing. I'm joking, obviously, but I've known him for a while, and just with Joel (Welsh) and his appreciation and respect for those that have been here before us in that world, especially Ken (Mannie). I mean, the weight room should be named after him. I can't believe that it's not already. So that should be something that's done ASAP. I think so highly of him that I had him as our guest speaker at our staff retreat this summer. So that'll tell you my feelings about Coach (Mannie), and really thankful for him to be here. And then, I'm just grateful for my longstanding relationship with Coach Dantonio. When you look at the run that he had here, that's the goal. That's the destination that we want to get back to and put ourselves in position to compete for a national championship. I have not shied away from what the expectations should be here. It should be compete and win Big Ten Championships and get in the playoff to win it all. And if you don't believe that, then I told the team in the first meeting that you should leave. Don't come back the next day. And I don't care if people think I'm crazy. I just think you've got to work that way. You've got to believe it first, and they've been working hard. They've been working hard.
On balancing physical contact in practice with keeping players healthy…
You've got to callous the guys from a contact standpoint. And that's fundamentals, that's technique, tempo, the drills, the way we structure practice. It's also kind of the calendar. We're kind of on a two-day hard practice, recovery mental day, two-day hard practice, recovery mental day, and then an off day (schedule). That's kind of our cadence. It's what I've been able to work through with our sports scientists over the years that we feel really good about being able to push them really, really hard for two days, and then having a really focused third day of the rotation. Our research found that in the third day of heavy training is where soft tissue issues spike, typically. And so, it's all based on the health, safety, and well-being of our guys. So, when we go, you guys have seen being in practice, we go. Like, we go hard. So, it's all by design.
On situational football work during practice…
A lot of situational football now that we're into. We're still ongoing with some little nuances of the install schematically in all three phases, but a lot of situational football here. And I thought the guys handled it well. Like, for example, today was a second inning of overtime, where we had to go for two. That was a situation that we worked on. We worked two-minute drill, 39 seconds, down two, no timeouts, on the opposite 39. So, all these things are now kind of creeping into our team periods that are controlled at times and then live at times, depending on what our dress is. So today and Thursday will have live periods; tomorrow and Friday will be thudded periods that we'll do that.
On the wide receiver rotation…
I think we're going to play a lot of guys. I think that's going to be a rotation. It's not going to be two or three guys. I think you're going to see six, seven, eight, maybe as many as nine, depending on how we wrap up training camp and where our health is at. And again, when you maybe don't have a number one, which maybe some people would call it, and you got a bunch of kind of "ones," the guys that are close, I'd rather rotate them. And that's a position that you can rotate. You typically don't do that at quarterback or O-line, but like DB, you might see some different groups, some linebackers, you might see some different groups, definitely D-line. I'm just talking about macro, not talking about this team, but things I've done in the past when guys are close. Running back, guys are close. We're going to play a lot of them, especially early. Tight end, receiver – those are positions I have typically done that with.
On the team staying in Case Hall during camp…
No, they're not in there anymore. They thought we were going to be in for 14, and I gave them a little surprise, and we were only in for seven. I'd rather have you ask the players that, I feel that way, but that's what I've sensed from the guys, is they really enjoyed the time being able to be together. Just the first seven nights for this year. It's going to be all 14 next year.
On the relationship between a football head coach and the athletic director…
Great question. I think, first of all, honesty, transparency, the ability to sit down and have hard conversations and create a plan. What does that mean? That means the next 12 months, the next 36 months, the next five years, kind of, what is our plan? What do we see as our priorities? It's my job to help that person be better. And whatever that means, however they need me is what I'm going to do, just like my assistant coaches to me. We have very honest, transparent conversations, and they're there to help me be the best head coach I can be. I'm here to take things off the AD's plate and make him or she be the best AD possible. That's how I've always approached it. And so that's the way our guys carry themselves all the time, the way we run the program. And then, our relationship is just going to be built on honesty and transparency, and kind of working through one situation at a time.
On if that relationship accelerates once the permanent athletic director is hired…
Yeah, I mean, it definitely can be accelerated. I get a little busy with this thing called the season here coming up pretty soon, so a lot will be on their plate. I'm sure whoever it is, like J (Batt) and I and Jon (Palumbo) were meeting once a week, and I'm assuming that – that was something that I've always done, and I actually requested that when I was at Northwestern with Jim Phillips, is I wanted to have at least one meeting a week in season, if not more, depending on their schedule. Usually they're pretty busy, but I wanted to make sure they knew where we were at, where we were going, and how we were going to do it. And so, I just believe in, like I said now three times, just being honest and being transparent, and I think that builds trust, and then you can just have alignment between myself, that position, the president's office, and then our key donors and trustees.
On his involvement and perspective on the athletic director search…
I just believe in the direction here. I've said that pretty clearly. I was disappointed to see J (Batt) leave, because, obviously, I was excited to work with him, he was the catalyst of the reason why I was here. And so, when those things happen, you talk to the people around the program and around the school, and when President Guskiewicz made the decision to come back, it was just a huge, "let's go." And so, I trust and believe in that leadership. I know the people that he's put together to select our next athletic director will make the right decision, but I couldn't be more excited about the direction of the athletics department and the university.
On exploring the transfer portal following the recent roster eligibility rulings…
365 days a year we're always looking to make our roster better. Whatever that means, it's just this is a really unique, nuanced situation. As I sit here today, there's nothing for me to say one way or the other with that. We're always looking, though, but it's kind of a unicorn, someone who left here, went in the portal. I would say right now, as I stand here today, there's nothing on the horizon, but we're definitely always looking to improve the roster.
On the dynamics and chemistry of potentially adding a late transfer…
It would be a unique situation. I think it would take a handful of weeks to get somebody up to speed. I mean, if Aaron Donald wants to come, we'll take him on the D-line. Let me just be very clear: we'll take him. You get a guy up to speed schematically; the relationships will probably be slower to go. And then they've got to earn a role if that were to be the case. It wouldn't be that we're bringing you in, and you're starting, or you're in the rotation. It would be the other way around. You'd start learning, growing, figuring things out, and then probably a month, month and a half would be realistic, unless the guy has been in a pro training camp and has been practicing, that would be a different situation.
On protecting team chemistry and setting expectations with roster additions…
For sure. First of all, that's part of my job, too, is not bringing any knuckleheads here, so I would have to be very clear to the guy that I was bringing in. Like, "Here is what you're coming into. Here's the expectation. Here's what you can expect." And then we'd roll the ball out and go see what happens. And the way our guys are treated, everybody that's coming in the program has been met with open arms, and they want to win. Now, do they want somebody to come in and take their role? Well, then do something about it. Sorry, it's called meritocracy. Win the job, keep the job. That's 365 (days). I know we're talking about a specific question, but it's everybody. That's our dietitian, to our strength staff, to our coaches. Everybody. We have to be better tomorrow than we were today, and that's got to be the way we approach everything.
On Kenny Soares Jr. being voted to wear No. 1…
No question. Kenny's just a special guy. I mean, he's an energizer bunny. He's a guy that's got a high motor with his legs and at times a high motor with his mouth, which can be good and when focused, it's great…I love him. I'm biased, though. I'm totally biased. I loved him out of high school. He's found a great niche in our defense, and I think the guys respect the heck out of the way he works, the way he leads, and the way he carries himself – not some of the time, all the time. There's a consistency there. We had eight guys, I believe, get votes (to wear No. 1), which is maybe the most I've ever had to get that bestowed upon them. So, I think that shows you the depth of our leadership, but the team spoke, and they selected Kenny. So, I'm really proud of him. I'm happy for him. And with that number comes a lot of expectation, and he needs to live up to it.
On Kenny Soares Jr.'s growth and leadership development since high school…
I think as a young player, at times, it was just like, "Okay, I hear you. I don't want to hear you anymore. I just want to see you." And that's okay. That's not unique to him. And I think he's just grown, he's matured, and he's just kind of taken that passion and that motor and just steered it in the right direction. And he's really using it as positive fuel. And he's just a great teammate. I mean, he holds himself to a high standard, he holds his teammates accountable. The line, "I lead by example" – he is 180 degrees opposite. He leads by example, he leads by talking, he leads by showing, he leads by holding guys accountable. It's what you want in a leader, and we have a lot of those guys. That's why I said we've got eight of them that got votes.
On Alessio Milivojevic's readiness to lead the offense at quarterback…
I think Alessio is very mature. I think he's got a great understanding of what Nick (Sheridan) is trying to get done offensively. He's got great leadership skills. He can make all the throws that we ask our quarterback to make. And yeah, he started four games, and he's played pretty dang well, and he's really tough. And so, those are kind of the tenets and the hallmarks of really good quarterbacks. He just doesn't have a plethora of maybe 100 starts, but that's what makes us so excited to have Cam Edwards here too, a guy who's been in 30 games. I mean, that's a lot of experience. We're very excited to have him be a part of it. We feel good about that room right now.
On expectations for running back Cam Edwards…
I expect him to be the best running back in the country. That's his goal, and we expect to push him to be that. He has shown just unbelievable ability here in camp. There was a play the other day where he ran through it, Devon Spaulding and I made eye contact, and I go, "I'm good. I don't need to see him till the opener. Like, put him in bubble wrap, we're good." And he's just got a great personality. I've coached some great backs, and I'll be very interested to see how these initial 12 chapters get written this fall by him, because he's got every bit of talent to be the best that I've ever coached. Obviously, he's got to write those chapters, though.
On having former Spartan All-American Tony Mandarich visit practice…
Tony stopped by the facility yesterday, so I got a chance to visit with him yesterday at length, and then I had him address the offensive line, and he was really gracious to share a few words with the guys. And I introduced him to the team after practice. It's great to have him back. He was here for a charity event over the weekend, and to have him back was great. It's great to not see him on the gridiron, because when you saw him opposite as a linebacker, you wanted to run and go hide. Just great to have him back – second pick overall (in the NFL Draft), it's really neat to have him back. And he was so gracious and humble, and I just literally talked to him again walking off the field, and he said whatever he can do, however he can help, he'd love to do anything for the program. So, just really appreciate him being here, and I appreciate him saying that.
On Tre Bell's leadership and performance in fall camp…
First of all, Tre's athleticism, right? He's got great length, he's got great size, great speed. He spoke to the team the other day, and it was so impressive. I mean, he could be the President of the United States. He's that impressive of a person. He's a really good player, and then his relationship with Coach Poe (Hank Poteat), I think, was a big catalyst to getting him here, and he's been a great leader. He's been, without a doubt, one of our better leaders in the back half for a guy who's just been here since January. And then football speaks for itself. He's an unbelievable special teams player. He had great tape from last year. He had a good spring, he's had a really good fall camp, and I look forward to him being an All-Big Ten level corner. The scouts are excited when they come see him. There are very few guys that are 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, that can run and flip their hips the way he can.
On watching LeVar Woods build the special team's unit…
Again, I don't want to speak for LeVar, but from my perspective, Coach Ferentz was just really gracious to me over the last couple years, allowed me to go to spring ball and training camp at different times and be a part of it, and LeVar allowed me to sit in his meetings. So, I've watched him install, I've watched him teach and coach on the field. I'm sure that doesn't make Iowa fans very happy that Coach did that, but that is what it is. He's a great teacher. He starts every day. At 8 a.m., we start kick meetings. He's got the team before I have the team. It's a little bit by design. I just believe he's got head coach in his future, and as I talked to him about coming here to become a Spartan, my job is to help him in the areas that he felt like initially when he got here that he wanted to improve, and then for me to put a fresh set of eyes onto the way he teaches, the way he coaches, the way we install, the way we practice. And then the way he's going to run – there are certain periods that I give him the whistle, I go to drills, he runs the practice. Just trying to give him every opportunity to get all these things prepared for when the right opportunity presents itself for him and Meghan and their family, that there's no doubt that he'll be prepared to be a head football coach, which I believe he is, but now I just want to put the icing on the cake. So, he's been a treat. He has been a joy. He's done a great job, and like I said earlier, he's been pretty outspoken to the team that the athleticism that we have as a collective whole, he feels great about, and he wants to play a lot of guys in the kick game. And so, that's our hope as we kind of start to hone into game week mindset, we start to really solidify roles and get as many guys on the field as we can in the first two weeks as possible. All right, guys. Thanks so much for being here. Have a great day. Go Green.
Quotes from Pat Fitzgerald (Monday, Aug. 17)
Opening Statement…
Right in the heart of week three, right? This is where the rubber hits the road, so to speak, of training camp. And I thought the guys came out ready to go today. We had a lot of live situations after you guys left. I don't necessarily do a scrimmage per se. We do just a bunch of controlled, move-the-ball scrimmages. Really, between now and game week. So that started last Thursday, and it's pretty much every single day. So today, and then work in situational football into it. So, a bunch of live periods today. The guys, I thought, handled it really well. They're carrying their pads very well, and we're working hard to improve. And what I like the most is their attitude and their willingness to be really good teammates. We're practicing hard. We're practicing smart, and I think we're improving. So, with that, I'd love to answer any of your questions, please.
On if the team is doing a scrimmage between now and game week…
Yeah, we'll do live periods (Thursday) that I think if you guys were there, you'd look at probably like a scrimmage. But I think scrimmages as a player are really easy. Like, the "one" guys kind of get four or five reps, maybe ten, then they're out. I'd rather practice and then do some controlled live stuff where we can put some situational football. It's typically how I've done it leading up to the opener.
On having a dress rehearsal or mock game…
Yeah, we'll do a mock game at some point. Later this week. Absolutely. We got a lot going on this week; very busy week as far as those types of little things, from a structural standpoint.
On the first day of full pads (last Thursday)…
Everybody gets a little bit, their blood boils a little hotter when the full pads come on, and doing some really smart, controlled live drills, and the guys have handled it really, really well. What do you want to reinforce there, right? Obviously, it starts from the ground up, how we handle our feet on contact. How our eyes are, eyes are up, seeing everything we hit, teaching the right fundamentals, the ABCs, and one, two, threes of taking on contact, and then creating contact, beyond blocking and block destruction, and then ball security, ball disruption, are a big part of how you work into those drills, and as you guys have seen, as you come out every day, we're doing that, period one, right away in individuals, ball security and ball disruption. But then when you put the physicality into it, it compounds the fun.
On seeing the team come together day by day…
I really think that started in earnest somewhere in the middle of winter workouts when the guys are really kind of like, "Okay, I know who you are, I think." And then spring ball, it was like, "Yeah, we know who each other are." And then that carried over into the summer. And again, the feedback I've gotten from the guys is they liked going into Case Hall. They liked spending their time together. They like the commute for sure, but they like that (staying together as a team). And that will be something that I anticipate will continue as we move forward.
On whom he thinks could be a household name…
The whole team is completely different than it was in spring ball. That's all I would say. We're completely different. It's a much more, I think, cohesive group. I think they've definitely bonded together, and we're starting to create a brotherhood. And we're not there yet. We'll be there probably by some point in the middle of next week, where we start to really solidify a two-deep on O and D. But we anticipate, especially with the first two games being at home, a lot of guys playing in the kick game. We feel like we've got a lot of depth there. And we want to see what guys do in the stadium. So that's a big rule change that I think you all are tracking on, the five-year rule. That allows us access to the entire roster, and I'm very thankful for Commissioner Petitti, and the Presidents and the ADs allowing us to now travel 80 in Big Ten football. That allows us a lot of our roster, which is very different than we've had in the past.
On Mark Dantonio and Ken Mannie being welcomed to practice and addressing the team…
I'll start with Coach Mannie. I mean, I've had the utmost respect for him and the job that he did here. He had a great connection with our strength staff at Northwestern, and it was funny, he'd always come talk to me pre-game, and I thought he was distracting me. I thought it was like a really good Jedi-mind trick, telling me how much he appreciated and respected us, and then tried to butter us up a little bit, and then after the game, he would do the same thing. I'm joking, obviously, but I've known him for a while, and just with Joel (Welsh) and his appreciation and respect for those that have been here before us in that world, especially Ken (Mannie). I mean, the weight room should be named after him. I can't believe that it's not already. So that should be something that's done ASAP. I think so highly of him that I had him as our guest speaker at our staff retreat this summer. So that'll tell you my feelings about Coach (Mannie), and really thankful for him to be here. And then, I'm just grateful for my longstanding relationship with Coach Dantonio. When you look at the run that he had here, that's the goal. That's the destination that we want to get back to and put ourselves in position to compete for a national championship. I have not shied away from what the expectations should be here. It should be compete and win Big Ten Championships and get in the playoff to win it all. And if you don't believe that, then I told the team in the first meeting that you should leave. Don't come back the next day. And I don't care if people think I'm crazy. I just think you've got to work that way. You've got to believe it first, and they've been working hard. They've been working hard.
On balancing physical contact in practice with keeping players healthy…
You've got to callous the guys from a contact standpoint. And that's fundamentals, that's technique, tempo, the drills, the way we structure practice. It's also kind of the calendar. We're kind of on a two-day hard practice, recovery mental day, two-day hard practice, recovery mental day, and then an off day (schedule). That's kind of our cadence. It's what I've been able to work through with our sports scientists over the years that we feel really good about being able to push them really, really hard for two days, and then having a really focused third day of the rotation. Our research found that in the third day of heavy training is where soft tissue issues spike, typically. And so, it's all based on the health, safety, and well-being of our guys. So, when we go, you guys have seen being in practice, we go. Like, we go hard. So, it's all by design.
On situational football work during practice…
A lot of situational football now that we're into. We're still ongoing with some little nuances of the install schematically in all three phases, but a lot of situational football here. And I thought the guys handled it well. Like, for example, today was a second inning of overtime, where we had to go for two. That was a situation that we worked on. We worked two-minute drill, 39 seconds, down two, no timeouts, on the opposite 39. So, all these things are now kind of creeping into our team periods that are controlled at times and then live at times, depending on what our dress is. So today and Thursday will have live periods; tomorrow and Friday will be thudded periods that we'll do that.
On the wide receiver rotation…
I think we're going to play a lot of guys. I think that's going to be a rotation. It's not going to be two or three guys. I think you're going to see six, seven, eight, maybe as many as nine, depending on how we wrap up training camp and where our health is at. And again, when you maybe don't have a number one, which maybe some people would call it, and you got a bunch of kind of "ones," the guys that are close, I'd rather rotate them. And that's a position that you can rotate. You typically don't do that at quarterback or O-line, but like DB, you might see some different groups, some linebackers, you might see some different groups, definitely D-line. I'm just talking about macro, not talking about this team, but things I've done in the past when guys are close. Running back, guys are close. We're going to play a lot of them, especially early. Tight end, receiver – those are positions I have typically done that with.
On the team staying in Case Hall during camp…
No, they're not in there anymore. They thought we were going to be in for 14, and I gave them a little surprise, and we were only in for seven. I'd rather have you ask the players that, I feel that way, but that's what I've sensed from the guys, is they really enjoyed the time being able to be together. Just the first seven nights for this year. It's going to be all 14 next year.
On the relationship between a football head coach and the athletic director…
Great question. I think, first of all, honesty, transparency, the ability to sit down and have hard conversations and create a plan. What does that mean? That means the next 12 months, the next 36 months, the next five years, kind of, what is our plan? What do we see as our priorities? It's my job to help that person be better. And whatever that means, however they need me is what I'm going to do, just like my assistant coaches to me. We have very honest, transparent conversations, and they're there to help me be the best head coach I can be. I'm here to take things off the AD's plate and make him or she be the best AD possible. That's how I've always approached it. And so that's the way our guys carry themselves all the time, the way we run the program. And then, our relationship is just going to be built on honesty and transparency, and kind of working through one situation at a time.
On if that relationship accelerates once the permanent athletic director is hired…
Yeah, I mean, it definitely can be accelerated. I get a little busy with this thing called the season here coming up pretty soon, so a lot will be on their plate. I'm sure whoever it is, like J (Batt) and I and Jon (Palumbo) were meeting once a week, and I'm assuming that – that was something that I've always done, and I actually requested that when I was at Northwestern with Jim Phillips, is I wanted to have at least one meeting a week in season, if not more, depending on their schedule. Usually they're pretty busy, but I wanted to make sure they knew where we were at, where we were going, and how we were going to do it. And so, I just believe in, like I said now three times, just being honest and being transparent, and I think that builds trust, and then you can just have alignment between myself, that position, the president's office, and then our key donors and trustees.
On his involvement and perspective on the athletic director search…
I just believe in the direction here. I've said that pretty clearly. I was disappointed to see J (Batt) leave, because, obviously, I was excited to work with him, he was the catalyst of the reason why I was here. And so, when those things happen, you talk to the people around the program and around the school, and when President Guskiewicz made the decision to come back, it was just a huge, "let's go." And so, I trust and believe in that leadership. I know the people that he's put together to select our next athletic director will make the right decision, but I couldn't be more excited about the direction of the athletics department and the university.
On exploring the transfer portal following the recent roster eligibility rulings…
365 days a year we're always looking to make our roster better. Whatever that means, it's just this is a really unique, nuanced situation. As I sit here today, there's nothing for me to say one way or the other with that. We're always looking, though, but it's kind of a unicorn, someone who left here, went in the portal. I would say right now, as I stand here today, there's nothing on the horizon, but we're definitely always looking to improve the roster.
On the dynamics and chemistry of potentially adding a late transfer…
It would be a unique situation. I think it would take a handful of weeks to get somebody up to speed. I mean, if Aaron Donald wants to come, we'll take him on the D-line. Let me just be very clear: we'll take him. You get a guy up to speed schematically; the relationships will probably be slower to go. And then they've got to earn a role if that were to be the case. It wouldn't be that we're bringing you in, and you're starting, or you're in the rotation. It would be the other way around. You'd start learning, growing, figuring things out, and then probably a month, month and a half would be realistic, unless the guy has been in a pro training camp and has been practicing, that would be a different situation.
On protecting team chemistry and setting expectations with roster additions…
For sure. First of all, that's part of my job, too, is not bringing any knuckleheads here, so I would have to be very clear to the guy that I was bringing in. Like, "Here is what you're coming into. Here's the expectation. Here's what you can expect." And then we'd roll the ball out and go see what happens. And the way our guys are treated, everybody that's coming in the program has been met with open arms, and they want to win. Now, do they want somebody to come in and take their role? Well, then do something about it. Sorry, it's called meritocracy. Win the job, keep the job. That's 365 (days). I know we're talking about a specific question, but it's everybody. That's our dietitian, to our strength staff, to our coaches. Everybody. We have to be better tomorrow than we were today, and that's got to be the way we approach everything.
On Kenny Soares Jr. being voted to wear No. 1…
No question. Kenny's just a special guy. I mean, he's an energizer bunny. He's a guy that's got a high motor with his legs and at times a high motor with his mouth, which can be good and when focused, it's great…I love him. I'm biased, though. I'm totally biased. I loved him out of high school. He's found a great niche in our defense, and I think the guys respect the heck out of the way he works, the way he leads, and the way he carries himself – not some of the time, all the time. There's a consistency there. We had eight guys, I believe, get votes (to wear No. 1), which is maybe the most I've ever had to get that bestowed upon them. So, I think that shows you the depth of our leadership, but the team spoke, and they selected Kenny. So, I'm really proud of him. I'm happy for him. And with that number comes a lot of expectation, and he needs to live up to it.
On Kenny Soares Jr.'s growth and leadership development since high school…
I think as a young player, at times, it was just like, "Okay, I hear you. I don't want to hear you anymore. I just want to see you." And that's okay. That's not unique to him. And I think he's just grown, he's matured, and he's just kind of taken that passion and that motor and just steered it in the right direction. And he's really using it as positive fuel. And he's just a great teammate. I mean, he holds himself to a high standard, he holds his teammates accountable. The line, "I lead by example" – he is 180 degrees opposite. He leads by example, he leads by talking, he leads by showing, he leads by holding guys accountable. It's what you want in a leader, and we have a lot of those guys. That's why I said we've got eight of them that got votes.
On Alessio Milivojevic's readiness to lead the offense at quarterback…
I think Alessio is very mature. I think he's got a great understanding of what Nick (Sheridan) is trying to get done offensively. He's got great leadership skills. He can make all the throws that we ask our quarterback to make. And yeah, he started four games, and he's played pretty dang well, and he's really tough. And so, those are kind of the tenets and the hallmarks of really good quarterbacks. He just doesn't have a plethora of maybe 100 starts, but that's what makes us so excited to have Cam Edwards here too, a guy who's been in 30 games. I mean, that's a lot of experience. We're very excited to have him be a part of it. We feel good about that room right now.
On expectations for running back Cam Edwards…
I expect him to be the best running back in the country. That's his goal, and we expect to push him to be that. He has shown just unbelievable ability here in camp. There was a play the other day where he ran through it, Devon Spaulding and I made eye contact, and I go, "I'm good. I don't need to see him till the opener. Like, put him in bubble wrap, we're good." And he's just got a great personality. I've coached some great backs, and I'll be very interested to see how these initial 12 chapters get written this fall by him, because he's got every bit of talent to be the best that I've ever coached. Obviously, he's got to write those chapters, though.
On having former Spartan All-American Tony Mandarich visit practice…
Tony stopped by the facility yesterday, so I got a chance to visit with him yesterday at length, and then I had him address the offensive line, and he was really gracious to share a few words with the guys. And I introduced him to the team after practice. It's great to have him back. He was here for a charity event over the weekend, and to have him back was great. It's great to not see him on the gridiron, because when you saw him opposite as a linebacker, you wanted to run and go hide. Just great to have him back – second pick overall (in the NFL Draft), it's really neat to have him back. And he was so gracious and humble, and I just literally talked to him again walking off the field, and he said whatever he can do, however he can help, he'd love to do anything for the program. So, just really appreciate him being here, and I appreciate him saying that.
On Tre Bell's leadership and performance in fall camp…
First of all, Tre's athleticism, right? He's got great length, he's got great size, great speed. He spoke to the team the other day, and it was so impressive. I mean, he could be the President of the United States. He's that impressive of a person. He's a really good player, and then his relationship with Coach Poe (Hank Poteat), I think, was a big catalyst to getting him here, and he's been a great leader. He's been, without a doubt, one of our better leaders in the back half for a guy who's just been here since January. And then football speaks for itself. He's an unbelievable special teams player. He had great tape from last year. He had a good spring, he's had a really good fall camp, and I look forward to him being an All-Big Ten level corner. The scouts are excited when they come see him. There are very few guys that are 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, that can run and flip their hips the way he can.
On watching LeVar Woods build the special team's unit…
Again, I don't want to speak for LeVar, but from my perspective, Coach Ferentz was just really gracious to me over the last couple years, allowed me to go to spring ball and training camp at different times and be a part of it, and LeVar allowed me to sit in his meetings. So, I've watched him install, I've watched him teach and coach on the field. I'm sure that doesn't make Iowa fans very happy that Coach did that, but that is what it is. He's a great teacher. He starts every day. At 8 a.m., we start kick meetings. He's got the team before I have the team. It's a little bit by design. I just believe he's got head coach in his future, and as I talked to him about coming here to become a Spartan, my job is to help him in the areas that he felt like initially when he got here that he wanted to improve, and then for me to put a fresh set of eyes onto the way he teaches, the way he coaches, the way we install, the way we practice. And then the way he's going to run – there are certain periods that I give him the whistle, I go to drills, he runs the practice. Just trying to give him every opportunity to get all these things prepared for when the right opportunity presents itself for him and Meghan and their family, that there's no doubt that he'll be prepared to be a head football coach, which I believe he is, but now I just want to put the icing on the cake. So, he's been a treat. He has been a joy. He's done a great job, and like I said earlier, he's been pretty outspoken to the team that the athleticism that we have as a collective whole, he feels great about, and he wants to play a lot of guys in the kick game. And so, that's our hope as we kind of start to hone into game week mindset, we start to really solidify roles and get as many guys on the field as we can in the first two weeks as possible. All right, guys. Thanks so much for being here. Have a great day. Go Green.
Players Mentioned
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