Michigan State Football: Dillon Tatum is confident heading into Michigan game (Video)

Michigan State football sophomore defensive back Dillon Tatum is oozing confidence ahead of the Michigan game.

Chatter is starting to ramp up between Michigan State football and Michigan as the big game inches closer this weekend. Most of the chatter is coming from Michigan, and rightfully so. They have been the superior team this year while Michigan State has struggled. But that hasn’t impacted the Spartans confidence.

Sophomore defensive back Dillon Tatum had this to say when asked about the upcoming Michigan game.

Michigan State's Dillon Tatum on Saturday's showdown against Michigan: "I believe we're going to win this football game." pic.twitter.com/mnDabc7Atv

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) October 18, 2023

“I believe we are going to win this football game.”

How awesome is that to read? Even in a season that has gone the complete opposite of what we were hoping for, our team is still confident they can pull off the upset this weekend.

Why this is a perfect quote

This quote is perfect for many reasons. First of all, it shows the locker room is still in tact. It’d be easy for the team to write this season off and give up coming off four straight losses. It’d also be easy to throw in the towel after the off the field Mel Tucker drama that has occurred. That however doesn’t seem to be the case. If we want any chance to beat Michigan, we need to play with confidence. We stand no chance on Saturday if we come out scared.

This quote from Tatum shows this team will not be intimidated no matter how good this Michigan team is.

I also love that Tatum didn’t say anything he would regret later. By this I mean giving Michigan any bulletin board material. Countless times in this rivalry both teams have gone too far in pregame comments which can be used as motivation by the other team. Dillon thankfully avoided that here. We don’t need to give Michigan any more motivation before this game, so I’m thankful Tatum kept his comments to a minimum.

Dillon Tatum year in review

Tatum has had a solid start to his sophomore season. He has appeared in all six games so far and has accumulated 30 tackles with 0.5 being for loss. Last year as a freshman, Tatum recorded 14 tackles in 12 games. He is developing very well so far and is beginning to see a lot more time on the field because of it. He is becoming a reliable player in coverage and has shown to be able to make big tackles when needed.

I expect Dillon to continue to see the field a lot more this year and grow into one of the leaders of our defense in the coming years as an upperclassman.