On being physical late in the season

I think anytime you get late in, you know, October, November, like this next game will be, you're going to have to be able to run the football, you're going to have to be able to be physical. You know, that's been a hallmark of, you know, offenses here, offensive lines here. And so, no matter what the game kind of dictates play calling wise, you know, we're going to have to be able to run the football and, you know, keep the defense off the field. So, that's something we got to do a great job of. I think so. I think, you know, they understood that. And obviously, we didn't start last game well enough in that respect. You know, struggled the first couple drives, really getting, you know, establishing the run and keeping us on the field. And I was happy to see the guys respond and improve that in the second half and start to, you know, lean on those guys a little bit. And it was also a credit to Michigan State. They were a good defensive line, but we got to start fast. You're playing good teams down the stretch here, starting with Oregon. You can't afford to kind of start slow up front.

On what Jordan Burch brings defensively

Obviously, an elite player. Elite player, dynamic, pass rusher, strong, all the attributes you look for with a good edge type player. You know, it's across their defense line. You know, Harmon, obviously, who we've seen before at Michigan State, is playing really, really good football as well. So, you know, we're going to respect him, but we're going to be excited to go meet the challenge.

On the improvements in pass protectio

It was definitely our best effort. You know, any time you have no sacks, no penalties, no turnovers, you feel good about it in that respect. Still stuff to improve on, you know, never perfect. And I thought there were still some areas we could clean up. And then the big challenge is we've got to start faster up front. And we took ourselves off the field twice, we felt like, up front, which is kind of simple stuff. So we've got to be better to start the game and start how we finished. And then when we do get a chance to finish that last four-minute drive or the second-to-last four-minute drive, we're going to do that as well.

On keeping Greg Crippen motivated

I think it comes down to, you know, a couple things. Well, one, as an individual, Greg and then some of these other guys, they've had to have the motivation themselves to keep working and understand that you have to prepare like you're the guy so that when you are the guy, you're ready to go. You know, you look at Gentry, you know, even when he didn't win the starting job at a camp, he continued to prepare as if he was the guy and ultimately started practicing better and then earned the opportunity to go out and be the number one guy the last couple weeks. So I think it comes down to that. And then, you know, for us as coaches, continue to challenge them and keep them engaged and, you know, continue to let them compete and push themselves. It's something we talk about every single week. You know, the best five guys are going to play. We feel like we can go out and give us a chance to win that specific week, and some of that happened last year. Myles starts the games early in the season, and then, you know, LD comes in and starts playing better and out-practices him and he ends up starting down the stretch. So I think that healthy competition is a good thing and something we're going to continue to do.

On Crippen being healthy

Sure, I think it definitely contributes to it. You know, especially when you're dealing with 320, 330-pound men who are pretty strong, you know, having full health can definitely be an asset.

On what he meant by saying the offense took itself off the field

I thought up front, you know, we had the two third downs. You know, we were in an inside zone. We were in the, you know, kind of counter-toss play in the second drive, I believe it was. And just simple mistakes that, you know, we have to clean up. You know, obviously it started with me, but we just got to go kind of execute the play calls that were good because they're good play calls. We have the numbers, the looks we're looking for, and we got to execute those because those are the type of plays where, you know, you hit even one of those, all of a sudden now you're on the field for that second or that third drive. And what ended up happening the last drive of the first half into the second half, all of a sudden now it's starting on drive two. And, you know, you kind of get control of that game a little earlier. So it's something we've challenged ourselves with. You know, you're playing a team that is very good. Again, we're going to respect them, appreciate them. You know, we're not going to fear them. But, you know, they're good enough. You can't afford to start slow or give them, you know, kind of free opportunities to take us off the field.

On Andrew Sprague and Blake Frazier's growth

Yeah, both of those guys have been working at tackle. And they're both, you know, have been, you know, up with us. They've been pushing those guys, you know, to be in the two deep. And we think both are going to have very bright futures. I think the cool thing with both those guys is how they've put in the work physically and mentally. You know, both have learned and kind of attacked the playbook, especially for Sprague, who was not here in the spring. And then both were, you know, kind of, I guess, battling through things in their own way. You know, Blake was a guy who was lighter out of high school. So for him to come in and attack the weight room, attack, you know, with Abigail and her staff, and they've done an incredible job with him, the nutritional piece to get himself up to a point where he now he's, he's weighing enough and he's got enough strength that he can compete. And for Sprague, you know, was out battling a knee injury coming out of high school for him to kind of, you know, get back healthy. And it was midway through fall camp when he was able to start doing team reps. So the fact he's able to, you know, to kind of put himself in the fringe too deep already is, is a really, really good sign. So we're excited about both their futures.

On being around a problem who played multiple quarterbacks as a player

For us, the way we look at it is whatever quarterback's out there is going to give us a chance to win and we got to protect them. We got to establish the football, you know, establish the run game to help us as an offense, you know, control the football. So I don't think anyone in our program, and especially no one in our offense line room views as a challenge or this guy's in versus this guy. And I think they all give us different opportunities to win. And I think, you know, you saw a great example of that and how Coach Campbell called the game and utilize both those guys' skill sets on Saturday.

On the response of the players when there is a change at QB

I think the best indication you could see was postgame and even during the game between Davis and Orji. There was no, you know, why is this guy going in? Why is this guy going in? Let me look at Orji's touchdown. Davis was one of the first people to celebrate it with him. You know, after the game, those two were ecstatic and that's how our guys feel is, you know, we know that both those guys are going to give us a chance to go out and execute. So for us, it's just about controlling what we can control. And we know that those guys are going to put us in a good position.

On what makes Colston Loveland unique

I mean, he's got some, some rare traits. You know, I've said this before, you know, the only other guy I've been around who has as much kind of feel on the, on the field. I know that's kind of a generic term, but sometimes it's kind of hard to describe. Sometimes I say it's like, you know, you're just knowing where your body is in space at an exceptionally kind of high level. I'm having a feel of where all other 21 guys in the field are, even though you can't see them all was Jake, but, but he's faster than Jake and more athletic than Jake. And I say that because Jake said it to me and I've, you know, we've had that conversation before. That's not an insult to Jake. Obviously, he was the best tight end in the country, but it's more of a compliment to Colston. You know, he's willing to run game. You know, there's a lot of tight ends now who will get flexed out and do the things that he can do past game wise. And they don't want to contribute to run game. And you look at some of our big runs throughout the year, you know, he's in there. I mean, you know, he's battling, even when he was coming back from the shoulder injury, he's in there wanting to be involved in the run game and off the field leader. I was kind of a fiery competitor, but he's, he's everything you want.

On Andrew Gentry's status

Yeah. I mean, obviously I'm gonna let, you know, coach more kind of address any availability concerns and things like that. But, you know, I obviously love Andrew and I thought he did a great job for us over the last two games. So I'll let coach more address that.

On relating to Jack Tuttle medically retiring

Yeah, just gave him a, you know, kind of quick, a couple of quick words and let him know where we're thinking of him. And, you know, myself, especially, like you said, I've been in that situation and it's, I'll speak for myself. It was, you know, it's a, it's a tough decision to come to, you know, you're really kind of balancing a lot of things in your head. And, you know, it's, it speaks a lot to his maturity and, you know, I guess poise might be the word that, you know, to be able to make that kind of decision because it's, it's not an easy one to make. And obviously a ton of respect for him and what he's done throughout his college career and especially for us. And, you know, just told him anything he needs. Obviously we're, we're all here for him, but if he ever needs someone to talk to, you know, we're here.

On what Crippen brings to the team personality wise

I think, you know, one of the, the biggest things for him is, is, you know, you know, he's a football, you know, junkie. He's, he's in here, he's actually upstairs right now in the offense line watching tape. You know, he loves it. He loves it. And he cares, which is something I think a lot of guys, you know, a lot of guys care. A lot of guys think they love football. It's different to, to really, really love at that level. And being willing to invest the way he has. And I think that's a credit one to, to him and his mindset, but also to the guys he's had ahead of him. You know, he's got to see what two NFL centers look like and how much they study. Even, you know, his freshman year when Restartus was here. You know, I saw how much Vastardis put into this, you know, physically, mentally, and understood that kind of, that's what it, that's what it takes to be able to kind of compete. And that's not a knock on Dom in any, in any way as well. Cause he's, he's just, he's up there with him as well.

On Evan Link's resiliency

Sure. I know I was proud of how he handled it. Obviously, you know, was not perfect, a couple of mistakes still in the game, but for coming in, like you said, you know, after having not played for a game and a half, essentially, and all the kinds of emotions and things that can go with, with that, with, you know, with having a change made, I was proud of how he came in and he fought. And again, it's a credit to him that even when Gentry took over as the guy, he never complained or whined or moaned or, or did the kind of, what was me? No one said, Hey, I gotta, it took us a challenge that, Hey, I gotta be better, be better. And, you know, continue to work and improve on the things that I know I need to improve on. And when I was happy to see him do that and, you know, excited to see him kind of continue to peak moving forward.

On where Link can improve and his ceilijng

I mean, the biggest thing that we've challenged him with is just consistency. You know, cause I've mentioned it before, you know, there, there are times you actually shoot. That's really, really good. That's the guy we've, you know, we've seen and we, you know, we expect to see again that the one to six out to me, like close big run in the USC game, you know, that's right behind him. He's moving a talented defensive lineman off the ball, three or four yards along with Marlin. But then there's obviously some stuff that he knows was not to the level that, that he's capable of. So just like everyone else, but especially for him being a younger guy and a guy, I can speak to that. You know, I was the same when I was playing, you know, your young tackle kind of thrown in, you know, on the edge, playing talented rushers, you know, there's going to be the ups and downs, but just getting to that, you know, higher level consistency where the good is still really good. And the not so good is not as frequent and not so bad.

On the improvement of the guard position

Sure. I thought, you know, Gio played his best game last week. You know, since he's been here, I mean, I, you know, we, we challenged him big time last week that he needed to, to play physically to level he's capable of. And, and I thought he did that, you know, there's a play 36 in the game offensively and he's taking a dude out of bounds and delivering them to our bench. And the challenge for him is he's capable of that. He's been capable of that. He's got to continue to put that on tape. I thought Priebe didn't play especially well last week. And I know he was disappointed about that. And he, he's matured. He's aware, dude, he, he knew, you know, Hey, I gotta, I gotta be better in a couple areas. And he's, you know, he's attacked those. And he's another guy who's, he's in the building constantly. He's, you know, he's, Hey, how can I do extra? What can I do this, that, you know, he's a pro in that sense. And, you know, sometimes that's going to happen, but it's, it's good when, you know, as a, as a coach, your players are the first ones to correct themselves and the hardest on themselves. And then they're aware that, Hey, either I didn't do this good enough or I gotta be better here. And they want to do that. It's encouraging that just like, just like we are, you know, no one's harder on themselves than the players and no one's harder themselves than the coaches. So it's, that's awesome for us, for us to see. And it's, it's a great role model for the room that you have a guy who's an established starter in this conference. And even he can have a bad game sometimes, but he knows it. He's aware of it. And he's got to take the steps to, to make sure it doesn't happen.

On how often a team is practicing trick plays

Practicing a lot. I mean, truthfully it's, it's, you know, I try to stay off social media, but I'm sure all, a lot of people are like, Oh, why does this get saved to this game or why does this get to this game? Naturally, the reality is like, a lot of those have been on the sheets for multiple weeks, you know, and Coach Campbell every single week, you know, has however many you're on the sheet ready to go. And a lot of times they, you know, they get pushed the next week. And it's one of those things where it's, you know, we got to, we got to execute as position coaches and as players to allow him to be able to position to call some of those things. Cause it's, it's one of those where it's, you know, hey it's second 15 on your own 15 yard line, you know, that trick play from Donovan's probably not coming off the sheet. Whereas you can get a drive going. And that's kind of what I was mentioning earlier, you know, Hey, we sustain one of those first two drives at the level we're capable of, the level we expect to the level we should like that probably comes off earlier. So I think it's a, you know, it's a joint effort. He does a great job of getting creative ways. Let's get our, our best players, the ball. And all of us collectively coaches players, you know, got to kind of control the games that those can come off the sheet. Cause obviously we all, we all like when, when that happens. And as you guys can imagine from watching the last couple of years, there's no one who's a bigger fan of trick plays and Coach Moore and Coach Campbell. So, you know, it's a collective effort of executing and putting ourselves in a position where, where, where we can all feel comfortable with, with him calling those and, and you know, enjoying the success.

On Donovan's perfect QB numbers

So there's a couple of guys in the building who like to say that they're the best thrower of the football, I guess, you know, Outside of the quarterback room, but Donovan definitely has the best track record. So you can imagine with Donovan, he's, he's gonna let you know about it. He's, he's let the quarterbacks know that he's yet to not have a, or he's had to have an incomplete pass. So hopefully at some point we can blow a team out and he can still throw an incomplete pass. We can bring him back down to earth a little bit, but in the meantime, I'll take all the completions from who we can get.

On not trying to tip your hand with Alex Orji

Sure. And that's always a balance. You know, you never want to get in a situation where it's with anything. You have a, you've, you have a big indicator, a big tendency. It's something that we were conscious of last year. And, you know, Coach Kasula has done a better job than I did last year of, with Max, of, Hey, every time it's Max in the game, you know, it can't just be, it's a direct fullback run. Even though he's obviously elite at it. So that's always a balance and it's a balance with, you know, receivers and alignments and splits and personnel groups. So that's something that you look at and Coach, Coach Campbell looks at every single, every single week. And, you know, in multiple different respects, looking at tendencies, looking at, you know, trends and because defenses look at them. So, you know, the good thing is that it's not like you're bringing a wildcat, you know, tight end. You're still a good thrower of the football. So, you know, you hope, you hope defenses respect that. And then if they don't, then it's on us to, to make them pay for it.

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