On the emphasis to find a way to win this week

I think the biggest thing is not only just self-reflection of who we are and what we need to do as coaches, as players, to make sure we get better and to make sure that we do everything we do in practice and on game day. It's a huge emphasis, especially on offense. The things we do protecting the football and what we do in practice, we gotta do that in the game.

On what he's seen from the pass rush

I thought it's been good. The biggest thing we talked about is just controlling our rush lanes to make sure that guys, quarterbacks can't get out and that'll be huge this week. But I think our guys have done a really good job of coaching staff-wise, of doing different things to help the players, put them in the best positions to be successful. And guys playing hard the whole time and playing at a high level. They scored 21 points, but two of those are, one's after a three and out off of a fake punt, and then the other one's off of a turnover on the both and plus territory. So I think our defense is definitely progressing and played well enough to win the game and we gotta continue to hold up our end on offense and special teams.

On the fake punt

Yeah, we were in a rush and they just blocked it up perfectly. And it was a really good job, well executed by them and not well executed enough by us.

On what he saw from Josaiah Stewart after being named captain

Yeah, I mean, just how I thought he would. Just the vocal leadership with the leadership as a worker and what he does on the field. Continued to impact the game, got a holding penalty early in the game and just continued to impact the quarterback on the edge. And he's just a really good player, but a really great kid.

On where he's seen Jaishawn Barham grow

You've really watched him progress into just doing his job, doing his 1-11, but doing it with his ability. And he continues to get better and better and better and just excited to watch him this week.

On whether it was a point of emphasis to have the secondary play more aggressive

Yeah, we definitely wanted to play a different style to help the guys and thought that that would help them. And I thought it did. We didn't give up a lot of explosive plays down the field. And I thought the corners, even when Will went out, they played really well. Got a couple of pass interferences, but sometimes that's the cost of doing business. And football, it's like a holding call depending on where it is. So I thought those guys played well and made it hard for those receivers to get open. And they did a really good job.

On Will Johnson's status for Saturday

Yeah, I think right now, we put him if I was doctor, not a doctor, so questionable. So we'll see how he rolls this week.

On who needs to continue to step up if Johnson is unavailable

Aamir Hall, huge. He's gotta continue to progress like he's been doing. And I think he did a really good job when he went in. Jyaire Hill, definitely improved. Played so much better than the previous game. And then having those guys, the safeties back there, play the way they played is definitely gonna help him.

On the blocked kick and the momentum it gives

Yeah, it's huge. And it tells a lot about your team because you tell a lot about your team is when you watch the field goal team and you watch field goal block. Is there effort on field goal block? And our guys, every single time, obviously blocking two field goals, back-to-back weeks of, you know, you can see the effort that they have. So it's not the effort, it's not the energy. We just gotta continue to execute in all phases.

On any experiences he can draw back on in tough times like this

Yeah, I'd probably go back, not really when I was playing, but more so a couple years back here when we were coaching, like just getting back to the little things to having fun and the positive reinforcement. Because you gotta point out the things, you gotta call the guys out and keep them accountable. But you've got to lift them up too because the players hurt more than anybody and you gotta make sure that they're in a good headspace.

On how he's seen the team respond while watching film

Yeah, there's a lot of accountability and I think the guys take a pride in it and the players take accountability to each other. So you've seen it, now we just gotta continue to progress it on the field.

On the thought process behind a starting quarterback

Yeah, I think right now we're just gonna go through practice. We've got a plan and I think the biggest thing we need to do with the plan is keep it simple. Not too simple where the defense just knows everything but for us, just keep it simple that our guys can execute a plan and let those guys compete, let those guys go out there and show who's gonna execute a high level and take care of the football.

On whether everything at QB is on the table

Yeah, I think right now Jack would be the guy but you have to go through the week and see what happens.

On Jadyn Davis' progression

He's been progressing well and excited to get him in the mix a little bit this week and let him work because he's definitely been progressing in a way that you could say that, okay, well, maybe he's getting closer to being that point so we'll definitely see what he does this week.

On what he saw from Jack Tuttle

Yeah, I mean, start off the week, he felt really, really good and he took care of the ball. The turnovers, you saw that but he did make some good throws, he did make some big plays in the passing game, just gotta continue to take care of the football.

On whether there's a way to scheme receivers open

Yeah, I think so. The motions, different things you can do and put them in different places are definitely gonna help them get the ball more and we just gotta connect, whether it's a deep shot, whether it's an intermediate shot, we gotta connect on those things to help them make plays.

On why Andrew Gentry got the start at RT

Yeah, a guy who's really practiced really well and probably practiced even better in the bye week than Evan and I think in the game played actually decent, played well in the game, so a guy I think that'll continue to stay there at that right tackle spot.

On whether Myles Hinton will play on Saturday

Yeah, I put him more in the probable pile now, I think he has a really good chance that he'll play on Saturday.

On what Hinton's return means for the offensive line

It'll be huge, I mean you got a guy that, obviously a senior that's played a lot of football, it'll be huge for the whole group.

On Greg Crippen starting at center

Yeah, progressed and definitely see him getting better, always has stuff to work on and clean up, but you can definitely see him progress.

On whether there's any other changes he's considering offensively

I think the biggest thing is just keeping it simple and doing things that our guys can do at a high level and whether whoever is in that quarterback just making sure that they can execute at a high level.

On the running backs

Right, you've seen that, that room played really, really well besides Donovan with the turnover, but those guys have run the ball well and looking forward to them doing it again.

On Marlin Klein's status

Yeah, we'll see on how he's doing, I'm not really sure if, he's probably more in the questionable, so we'll see if he gets back this week.

On having a deep tight end room

Yeah, that room's built, it's huge, and Hogan goes in there, doesn't blink, doesn't flinch, and goes in there, starts making plays, so he's a guy that I think now he's at his fifth game that we'll just continue to play.

On what the MSU rivalry means to him

It means a lot, ever since I've been here, my first year in the rivalry was the all-weather game, and it was rain, it was snow, it was sunshine, it was cloudy, it was the Devin Bush fiasco, I was holding him back with that whole craziness, so I got a glimpse of it early, and I've always seen it from afar and had a lot of respect for it, but it means a lot to me, and we're gonna take a lot of pride in how we prepare and what we do to try to keep Paul here.

On the importance of getting back on track in the conference

Yeah, I think just from a confidence standpoint for our kids and for the coaches, for everybody to understand, yeah, this is a huge game, and I think they're gonna be excited to prepare for this one just as they are the other ones, but obviously this one means a lot.

On the conversation with the players about extracurriculars during games

Yeah, play the game with controlled emotion, so you're gonna be emotional about it, you're gonna see the helmet, you're gonna see their jersey, you're gonna get all hyped up, but at the end of the day, when they blow the whistle, it's football, and you gotta go play your technique, you gotta do your job and be the best you can be.

On what it means for the MSU game to be played at night

Yeah, it's gonna be pretty cool, it's gonna be an awesome atmosphere, environment, it's gonna be, you know, obviously a sold-out stadium, and hopefully our guys just pack it in and don't let a lot of their fans in here, but it'll be a fun atmosphere to be a part of.

---

Discuss this article with our community on our premium message boards

Not a subscriber to Maize & Blue Review? Sign up today to gain access to all the latest Michigan intel M&BR has to offer

Follow our staff on Twitter: @JoshHenschke, @Berry_Seth14, @TrevorMcCue, @DennisFithian, @BrockHeilig, @JimScarcelli, @Jerry_Diorio

Subscribe to our podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify

Check out Maize & Blue Review's video content on YouTube

Follow Maize & Blue Review on social media: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram