![]() ![]() But the development of those guys, they do have an opportunity to go to that next level that will put them that much farther ahead and the ability to stay on a roster. Not saying we're deviating from playing the run, but we can't go after the quarterback, at least in college, unless we stop the run first. Now, especially for those young men who have aspirations to play at the next level, it's pass first, run second now. When I came into the league (as a player in 1992), you had a lot more running the ball…you had to stop the run, then pass. And it helps the players out, because of the focus and the development in that particular area. It makes it really good, because you normally have a coach, you have all those guys and trying to get stuff done, it creates an opportunity to kind of separate and get a little bit more attention. Ultimately, the defensive line is going to be my responsibility, but Brandon's specialty in the pass rush really bodes well to bring a whole different element and take it to another level of focus. On working with pass rush specialist Brandon Jordan… Coming from a defensive ends coach (at Georgia Tech), to now the whole defensive line, it's another step in the progression of my career. It was a good opportunity – where the program is, Coach Tucker, those were probably the motivating factors. On coming to Michigan State to join Coach Tucker's staff… But absolutely, you know have a more experienced quarterback ( Payton Thorne), you have some receivers with J-Reed ( Jayden Reed) coming back that obviously brings some things to the table, so yeah, I'm hoping that we can continue to evolve there and become even better. I think it comes with the brand of football, the physicality, it will still start there. That's what our program is, the physicality that Coach Tuck wants, that relentless approach, that non-stop high velocity is what he's looking for. I think it's still a little early for me to tell that yet, because we're still going to base things starting with the run game. On having balance on offense with an experienced quarterback and wide receivers… So I look for continued progressions in those things. I can just see the way he's handling the team, the way he leads the team, those things are coming. I want everything around it to be chaotic and fast, but for our world, it needs to be slower. Even this spring, I see things are kind of, in our quarterback world, a little slower for him, which is what I want. And so like even in spring ball, I'll say, 'hey, come on, just run the play,' because he knows so much, he takes so much in. And sometimes, as he and I have talked before, sometimes he's almost too good mentally that it gets him in trouble. Coming from a football family, with his dad (Jeff) and that, he really has a great grasp of things. So that will be the focus as we move forward. We were solid in the red zone, but we need to increase our touchdown production there, and we need to do better on third down, particularly on some of the more shorter distances, we need to get corrected and fixed. ![]() We need to be better in situational ball. We're still going to have to run the ball well, you're going to have to throw the ball well. It's really just blending everything together. And I think for us to take that next step, I need to see that growth from him. But I still think, as he and I have reviewed things, and he and I have talked, the growth for him is really there still. I think one of the big emphases for me is to get Payton Thorne to even play at a higher level. We were balanced obviously, with Ken (Walker), and what he brought to the table unbalanced doesn't really bother me because I need to win the game, but I think with everything that we're doing, we're trying to even become more, mesh things together a little better, looking at what can help us to do that. I feel that when we went back and watched things, I think we have to do everything a little bit better. Obviously, we did take a big step from the previous year. Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson ![]() The spring game is scheduled for Saturday, April 16 at 2 p.m. – The Michigan State football team held its fifth spring practice overall and second in full pads on Thursday morning inside the Duffy Daugherty Football Building.įollowing practice, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson, defensive line coach Marco Coleman, wide receiver Tre Mosley, defensive end Jeff Pietrowski and cornerback Ameer Speed met with the media to give an update on spring practice. ![]()
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