Jalen Thompson says shutting Western Michigan out was “expected”

Michigan State’s defense pitched a shutout against Western Michigan, and junior end Jalen Thompson said it was “expected”.

On Wednesday, a few defenders spoke to the media to recap the Western Michigan game, as well as previewing the upcoming Boston College game on Saturday. It also let players look back on the 2024 loss to Boston College, and how they view preparation for the game.

Jalen Thompson was among those speaking to the media, and the junior defensive end came up huge in the season opener. Thompson recorded his first career safety, bringing down Jalen Buckley in the end zone to finish the scoring for the Spartans.

The Spartan defense outscored the Bronco offense on Friday, pitching a shutout. Thompson was not phased by this, citing Joe Rossi’s points of emphasis excellently preparing the team for the game. In fact, the shutout was expected.

“That is really kind of expected, as a defense,” Thompson said. “Coach Rossi puts a big emphasis on stopping the run, it was a point of emphasis the majority of the week, then harassing the quarterback, getting pressure on the quarterback is another emphasis we had all camp. Being able to get that done and seeing it on film, showcasing it to everybody else, it’s great.”

While it was apparently an expected outcome, Rossi praised the team, per Thompson, but also had coaching points for the squad.

“Coach Rossi said we did a good job, Western Michigan is a good team, but he stills feels like there is more in the tank,” Thompson pointed out. “There’s times where we could’ve gotten home, times where we should’ve run a certain stunt one way but we didn’t.”

Heavy rotation, light playing time aid Michigan State football

Part of this success came from sustained Spartan drives. Against the Broncos, Smith brought it back to the Mark Dantonio days, draining the clock down. As a result, the defense was on field for well under half of the game. Better yet, a heavy rotation of defensive players made it easier for the players to fly around at max speed all game.

“It’s a great feeling, it allows you to play fresh,” Thompson said. “It allows you to go 100 percent more plays, knowing that, with the defense we had, we played 30-something guys, that Western Michigan game, on the defensive side. Knowing that we can get the same job done no matter who is in the game, it allows people to play way faster, have more fun, and fly around.”

The defensive end was quick to shout out the defensive backs for enabling the pass rush to have more fun. He explained that between the new guys and the returning players having a year of Rossi’s scheme under their belt, there is more time for the pass rush to affect the quarterback.

“With the guys we got now, we have a little bit more time,” Thompson revealed. “Second year, same scheme, so guys know what to expect and things people get technique about.”

“Just another game on the schedule”

Jalen Thompson also took time to preview the upcoming matchup against Boston College, but he is not viewing this as a revenge game. The defensive end called it just another game on the schedule, and wants to focus on his own team rather than the loss to the 2024 version of Boston College.

Instead of wallowing in the past, the veteran wants to focus on Rossi’s new points of emphasis.

“The outcome (a 2024 loss to BC) isn’t what we wanted, but at the end of the day, it’s football,” Thompson pointed out. “You’re gonna take wins and losses. We kinda just look at it now as another game on the schedule where we are not going to do anything different. We are going to focus on what we need to focus on, on the points of emphasis Coach Rossi has for the week, get the job done.”