Michigan State football: Recap of Monday’s Press Conference Pre-PSU

On Monday, Michigan State football head coach Jonathan Smith held his weekly press conference previewing Penn State, along with looking back to the Minnesota game one last time. Here are some notes from the press conference, for those who could not watch.

Health Updates for Michigan State football

The Spartans had a bye weekend, giving them extra time to heal up. One of the first things Jonathan Smith addressed was the overall health of the team, revealing it had given players time to heal up. In particular, the coach said he felt optimistic about the health of running back Makhi Frazier, wide receiver Chrishon McCray, and defensive tackle Ru’Quan Buckley. All three of those players were revealed as surprises to the injury report, with not much being made about their status before the game.

Smith did not provide any other injury updates, which means it will be a “wait and see” approach regarding offensive tackle Stanton Ramil, defensive tackle Ben Roberts (ruled “doubtful” prior to the Minnesota game), along with long term injuries such as kicker Tarik Ahmetbasic, defensive back Ade Willie, long snapper Kaden Schickel, linebacker Marcellius Pulliam, offensive lineman Kristian Phillips, wide receiver Alante Brown, and tight ends Jayden Savoury and Brennan Parachek.

Quarterback Situation is Unclear

Against Minnesota, redshirt freshman Alessio Milivojevic got the nod as QB1 for the first time in his career. The Illinois native impressed, with 311 yards and a touchdown without a turnover. When asked if that had won Milivojevic the starting job, Smith did not give an inch.

The head coach said it would be determined by practice this week, but did reveal that the staff was looking into finding ways to incorporate but the redshirt freshman and junior Aidan Chiles. Some scenarios discussed included a “quarterback by drive” approach, or situational playing for both, putting Chiles in as the redzone quarterback, or even a two-quarterback formation to provide additional confusion to a defense.

Both were noted for their particular skill sets, and there is not a clear deciding factor so far for the staff to rule a player as the starter. Either that, or Smith is trying to maintain a competitive advantage for Saturday.

Offensive Line Woes

Smith was asked about the offensive line woes, where the head coach talked about the issues that the team addressed both during the bye week and at halftime against Minnesota. The Spartans have been decimated by injuries, with four different starters all being out against the Gophers.

However, that was no excuse as the Gopher pass rush generated six first half sacks against MSU. Smith said the main issues were some schematics that got changed, a few losses in one-on-one matchups, along with some over-aggression where the linemen were so determined to push their man out of the play, the completely whiffed on their assignment.

The coach feels confident that the room has clearer communication for this week, with an intimidating Penn State pass rush coming to town.

Senior Day Honors

The coach did confirm that this Saturday would be Senior Day, as the Spartans will be playing their final scheduled home game against Maryland at Ford Field. When asked for some of the senior leadership that this team has provided, the first name out of Smith’s mouth was for senior and captain linebacker Sam Edwards. Edwards has been a “do-it-all” player for the Spartans during his career, and his final game at Spartan Stadium will come in a battle for the Land Grant Trophy.

Other names that Smith mentioned were safety Malik Spencer and linebacker Darius Snow. He credited all three for holding everyone accountable, keeping players motivated, and bringing energy to every practice.

Penn State Looms Large

Smith was very wary of Penn State. Despite the Nittany Lions holding an 0-6 Big Ten mark, it was clear that the coach thinks the record does not reflect the team they have. The head coach pointed out their close loss to Indiana over the weekend, along with their overtime loss to Oregon.

Outside of their loss to Ohio State, all of Penn State’s losses have been one-score games at the end, which Smith was quick to point out. They are a team that is “right there” as said by Smith. There is a lot of respect for this Penn State team having a let down of a season.

Freshmen to Watch

With the season onto its final three games, Smith was asked if there were any freshman that would be cut loose to have free reign on the field with a redshirt assured. Smith said that there has been strategic decisions regarding redshirts the entire year, and said they are looking at players that have been coming along.

In particular, Smith praised receivers Charles Taplin II and his progression throughout the season, along with Bryson Williams. Smith noted that Taplin had earned his first career catch and could see more playing time in the next three games, noting that, with only one game played, “you could see him in all three.”

Williams was a player Smith had a lot of praise for as well, and Smith noted that there is still one game to spare before the Orchard Lake (MI.) St. Mary’s product loses his redshirt.

He also discussed Jace Clarizio, stating that the freshman running back had been dealing with an injury for most of the season, which is why he has not been seen yet. The biggest thing the staff is working at is availability for Clarizio.

Smith also stated “a few freshman” are working their way and trending towards getting some playing time as the season winds down, but the goal is to maintain redshirts. However, he did not list any more names in particular.

Some names that have been mentioned in previous weeks, by name, by the staff, is wide receiver Braylon Collier and defensive lineman Cal Thrush for who could be the next Spartan to make their debut.

No Players Shutting Down or Quitting

Smith was directly asked if any player has called it a season prematurely to focus on entering the transfer portal while avoiding more injury, and the coach declined that immediately. He stated that all the players out were dealing with injuries and wanted to get back to the point of being able to play, but all players out are legitimately unable to play.

Challenges of Recruiting

The topic of recruiting came up for Smith, and he did concede that there are a few struggles recruiting when the team in on a six-game losing streak. The staff is committed to building things the right way in East Lansing, and is they are selling the vision in how they plan on getting to being more competitive in the conference.

Of note, Smith cannot discuss any particular players that are committed, as that is an NCAA rules violation. However, it is worth noting that the Spartans have flipped three-star defensive tackle Hudson Aultman from Miami-Ohio on Sunday. On the negative topics of flips, two Spartan commits, Samson Gash and Jordan Vann, are receiving interest from conference foes Wisconsin and Iowa. Gash also recently visited Alabama over the weekend.

Controversial Officiating Call Updates

Finally, Smith got asked about a barrage of controversial calls that have been called against Michigan State football lately. The Spartans were whistled for a controversial offsides against Malcolm Bell amidst the Michigan contest, where the defensive back had a perfectly timed blitz and stripped Bryce Underwood of the ball, but it was blown back.

As of the week of the Minnesota game, Smith had not heard back from the Big Ten. The coach said he had heard back, and stated how there was no clear admission or “sorry.” However, the explanation was that there was an expectation of Bell being offsides, when he was not. Smith did also call it a bang-bang play, but this “expectation” of Bell offsides is the closest many will hear towards Smith criticizing officials.

The Minnesota game had a controversial ending, with a defensive pass interference being negated extremely late, along with the game winning run by quarterback Drake Lindsey appearing to show he stepped out of bounds a moment before the ball crossed the goal line.

The Lindsey call, in particular, was one where the officials from the Big Ten stated it was 50/50, and the Spartans lost out to the call on the field. There is some frustration, with most angles showing the freshman short of the end zone.

The Big Ten did, however, admit some procedural errors with the officiating crew regarding a pass interference call when the Spartans had the ball in overtime. Rod Bullard Jr. appeared to have his jersey or towel tugged as a route broke, with Alessio Milivojevic delivered a strike to him in the end zone. However, that tug put Bullard a step behind, and the ball sailed just past the receiver’s extended hands.

The flag was thrown for pass interference, and the officials went and walked off the penalty. After the ball was spotted and the Spartans had a formation call ready, the officials inexplicably blew the whistle and declared there was no foul, necessitating a Martin Connington field goal.

Smith said the Big Ten admitted that the way the Big Ten had ruled the play was a procedural error, as the late “no penalty call” should have been determined much before. Once again, this is the closest that Smith may come to calling out officiating during his tenure in East Lansing.

The Spartans have media availability each of the next two days for Michigan State football. Check back for Wednesday’s press conference, with defensive coordinator Joe Rossi being the coach speaking to the media.

The Michigan State football contest against Penn State will kick at 3:30 p.m. EST in Spartan Stadium.