Michigan State football’s starting quarterback knows puck.
We are deep into hockey offseason content, but when it presents itself, it’s full-speed ahead.
On the second day of Big Ten Media Days, Michigan State football QB1 Alessio Milivojevic naturally answered many football questions. One interesting side note, though, was in response to a question about his time playing hockey.
Alessio discussed his relationship with the game growing up and specifically mentioned two different experiences that stood out for him.
One moment he discussed was the ability to play at intermission at the United Center.
Being from Naperville, Ill., Milivojevic grew up during a great time to be a hockey fan in Chicago. Spending formative years being surrounded by the Blackhawks’ dynasty of the early 2010s. Those teams included guys like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and of course Spartan alumni Duncan Keith. He mentioned how it was a great opportunity early on to see what it was like playing in front of a big crowd. He inevitably brought this experience over to his football career and is using it as he continues to build his confidence in a starting role.
The other experience that he mentioned in the interview involved a specific game.
He mentioned that there was a game where he not only scored a hat trick, but also had three penalties. One of those penalties included a fight which was not allowed at the U-11 level. It’s easy to see some of the early development of traits that Milivojevic is using at the college level.
One of them being that he’s a tough player.
During his press conference with media, Pat Fitzgerald mentioned that he saw Alessio play when Michigan State went to Iowa in November. Coach was helping out at Iowa last year and mentioned that during the game, Milivojevic took a beating. The thing that stood out to him though was that he refused to stay down and continued to fight through the game which ended up being close. He also mentioned how he has always loved playing physical sports like football, hockey, and lacrosse.
These experiences clearly have helped shape the Spartans’ new starting quarterback. He also still harbors a love for the game that he spent 10 years playing before he gave it up to focus on football. He mentioned that any time he’s available, he tries to make it to Michigan State hockey games.
Milivojevic even had a team outing with the offensive line where they all got glass seats behind the opponent bench last season. He explained how it brought back a lot of great memories. Not only that, it helps fuel a desire to bring the Spartan football program back to the national stage like hockey has.
Keep checking in with Spartan Shadows as we continue to bring you information from the Big Ten Media Days.
