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00:00 I want to start out by saying that I appreciate all the Spartans who have reached out to me
00:04 over the last couple of days for their support.
00:08 I'm here today to talk about our team and about our game against a very good opponent
00:14 in Washington.
00:15 Our focus and energy has been really good after these first two days of practice.
00:22 And our job as a staff is to focus on our guys and get them ready and prepared for the
00:28 game on Saturday.
00:30 We had a team meeting on Sunday where I met with them and I told those guys that, "Hey
00:35 man, we have to all come together in this time of adversity and we have to be unified
00:42 through the adversity so that we can, and we need all our leaders to lead.
00:47 Not only the coaches, but the leaders to lead."
00:50 And I told them they lead by love, encouragement, accountability, and discipline.
00:54 So we have to lead.
00:55 We all have to lead.
00:57 This is a determined group.
01:00 They worked very hard this offseason.
01:03 They've worked very hard so far this season.
01:05 Hey, we're 2-0, right?
01:07 And they're still motivated and excited to move forward in this season.
01:14 We have a mission to complete.
01:16 So we're mission focused.
01:19 With all that, I'll open it up to questions.
01:25 Thank you.
01:28 Coach, you talk about leadership.
01:30 Can you just talk about Coach D'Antonio, what that means about him coming back, and
01:35 what are his duties as far as the week and then game day, if you could let us know about that?
01:41 So, Coach D, that's my guy, man.
01:44 First coach.
01:46 He hired me.
01:47 My first coaching job was with Coach D'Antonio at the University of Cincinnati back in 2004.
01:53 We were together 14 straight years.
01:55 We did three years there at the University of Cincinnati and another 11 here at Michigan State.
02:00 And Coach D brings the calming presence, the wisdom, the knowledge of being a head coach,
02:06 a very successful head coach at that.
02:08 And so he's bringing all that as our associate head coach.
02:12 And so any and all ways, he's willing to help with us, and that's what he's going to do.
02:17 So he's helping in all aspects of the operation.
02:22 Arnell, you've been doing this for a couple decades, and this is obviously your first chance to be a head coach.
02:27 Obviously, the circumstances are not ideal.
02:30 How do you--I guess what's it like for you just personally and professionally to now be in that top spot
02:36 and, you know, obviously with an unbeaten team and facing, you know, a very good opponent this weekend in your debut?
02:43 I'm going to be totally honest here.
02:45 You know, my--I would be the head coach at Michigan State, but not in this way, obviously.
02:53 And so that's always been a goal of mine.
02:57 I'm a Spartan through and through, and anybody that knows me knows that I am a Spartan.
03:01 They will tell you that, and it's green all day.
03:05 And so I really appreciate the opportunity to be able to be the head coach here.
03:12 Again, not like in the circumstances.
03:16 I think the players, I connect with those guys in a good way.
03:22 And how I've been feeling personally is like this because of how it happened, you know what I mean?
03:30 So--but I am really very, very, very excited about this coming week and this opportunity to show what I got.
03:40 Have you talked to Nelson?
03:42 I have not spoken with him.
03:44 I have not spoken with him.
03:46 Hello, I'm Lindsay Helms from Sports Psychology Solutions, SPS.
03:49 I'll only say the name just to give you context for the question.
03:52 From a mental health standpoint, you talk about some 20 years with Coach D,
03:56 and 20 years ago we didn't have social media that made stories just take off like wildfires.
04:00 So as I see your players, I know you've got a great mental health staff,
04:03 but how do you really connect with them to keep them mentally locked in,
04:07 less distracted with all the things that's going on,
04:10 and just using your past experience 20 years ago to now to really help them?
04:14 That's a great question.
04:16 Currently, I'm meeting with all the players, all of them.
04:21 Yesterday I got 27 in.
04:23 I'm going for another 20-plus today because I told them on Sunday I want to meet with everybody,
04:28 everybody in the room.
04:29 I'm starting with--I started with the players.
04:31 Individually I'll go into the coaches, the support staff, training, everybody.
04:37 Just so everybody is on the same page.
04:40 Again, I keep talking about unity, keep talking about unity,
04:44 and that's part of, I think, helping people mentally when we're all together
04:48 and they know they have somebody to lean on and trust in.
04:52 And so when I was talking to them, and this was actually going yesterday, I should say,
04:57 at the team meeting, I gave my story.
05:00 I said, "I'm going to tell you all my story really fast.
05:02 So when you all come to my office, you don't have to hear my story again.
05:05 I want to hear it about you guys."
05:07 And so we go five to ten minutes just to get everybody.
05:10 Of course I know the defensive backs, obviously, and a lot of guys on the defense.
05:13 I know the offensive guys as well, but not intimately like I would want to.
05:18 So that's why we're meeting with everybody,
05:21 letting them know that I'm open and honest, I'm there for them any time they want to come,
05:25 along with the rest of the staff.
05:27 And we have things set in place where if they need to go get some extra help
05:31 or what have you, it is set in place here, let's just say.
05:34 All right, thank you.
05:35 Russ.
05:36 You and Alan go way back to your playing days.
05:39 I'm wondering how the conversation went on Sunday when he approached you
05:44 about being the acting coach, and had you previously had any conversations with him
05:50 about, as he mentioned, about formulating contingency plans all the time?
05:55 Had you ever had any inkling that should something arise that you would be in this role?
06:00 I haven't.
06:01 I haven't.
06:03 It's me covering up for Alan again, like I did as a player when we were players.
06:07 [Laughter]
06:08 I'm getting him now.
06:10 He says that all the time.
06:12 But, no, I haven't had really any other conversations with him.
06:15 I have talked to Alan--I mean, this has been some years ago now,
06:18 I've been talking about it recently--about, "Hey, man, I want to be a head coach."
06:22 And he knew that was part of my plan to become a head coach someday.
06:29 And this was back in--actually, I'll tell you when it happened,
06:32 I told him I came back for Coach D'Antonio's wedding when I was at Florida State
06:37 one summer, I think it was the summer of 2018, and I told him at the reception.
06:42 So I remember that, yes.
06:45 Coach, Alan is not here kind of symbolically backing you up.
06:49 Did you know he wasn't going to be here, or does that bother you at all?
06:51 No, that don't bother me at all.
06:53 I'm not going--we know what it is.
06:56 There is nothing about that.
06:58 We're good.
06:59 In respecting your relationship with the players,
07:01 can you kind of give us an idea of their reaction when you met with them on Sunday?
07:06 It was good.
07:08 It was actually really good.
07:10 And talking with them, like I said, I talked with 27 of them yesterday,
07:14 and it was almost like they had a scripted answer which fired me up
07:18 because we're out at practice.
07:20 I'm like, "These guys, they're moving on.
07:23 They're young people.
07:24 They're resilient.
07:25 They're going."
07:26 And so they were confirming that when I saw at practice.
07:29 You know, "Coach, we know what it is.
07:31 We're going to keep moving.
07:32 We're going to keep fighting.
07:34 We're mission-focused.
07:35 Let's go."
07:36 No one hanging their head?
07:37 No, no.
07:38 They're pushing forward, yes.
07:39 Thanks.
07:42 Hey, Harlan, I got a couple things for you.
07:43 I'm just wondering about the idea of at this point in the season,
07:46 how much can you change as head coach?
07:48 How much do you want to change?
07:50 How much is continuity important for these guys?
07:52 Where do you sort of sit on that idea of change
07:54 versus keeping things the same right now?
07:56 Well, a lot of stuff is going to stay the same.
07:58 Tough, disciplined, selfless, do your job.
08:00 Those are things that are staples of Michigan State football
08:04 since I've been a Spartan since 1985.
08:07 Tough, disciplined, selfless, physicality.
08:10 We're going to still talk about those same things.
08:12 Playing smart, fast, and physical, that's who we are.
08:16 And so from that standpoint, we're going to be pretty much--
08:20 that's the foundation of it,
08:21 and we're going to continue to build on top of that foundation.
08:24 And then I'm also just curious about your position
08:26 and your meetings and individual drills and practices.
08:29 Is that still you, or have you handed that off to somebody else
08:31 while you're acting head coach now?
08:33 I love coaching DBs.
08:35 I do, I do.
08:37 The individual part, I'll still go over there and throw balls
08:40 and all that kind of stuff.
08:42 It's been two practices.
08:44 I'm trying to wean away a little bit, but it's kind of tough.
08:48 And Coach Saban never has left the DBs.
08:56 Never has.
08:58 He's always coaching DBs.
08:59 He's going to be at the corners and say--
09:00 he's going to be over there some kind of way.
09:02 And so that lets me know that at least I can be in some capacity
09:05 helped with the DBs and backs.
09:07 Very similar to Coach D'Antonio when we were here together.
09:09 When you're not, who's that guy that's--
09:11 Coach DelSalgado and Coach Ross Ailes.
09:13 Ailes has the nickels, and Giona had the nickels at the corners
09:17 and the safeties, and we came down to it.
09:19 But absolutely, Coach DelSalgado.
09:22 Aaron, congrats.
09:23 Thank you.
09:26 Your coaching resume is solid.
09:28 I'm not sure why you haven't had an opportunity to be head coach.
09:32 Perhaps you've wondered that too.
09:34 But is this a chance for you personally to meet the challenge
09:39 and prove that you can lead a program
09:41 and maybe get an opportunity to be a permanent head coach,
09:45 perhaps even hear circumstances work out?
09:49 The way it's set up, it's set up that way.
09:51 I'm just being honest.
09:53 I'm just being honest about it.
09:55 And I'm looking forward to this, this great opportunity that I'm having.
10:01 And let's go.
10:03 Let's go.
10:04 It's a great opportunity.
10:06 I have desired to be a head coach since I became a college coach,
10:11 and I'm very grateful for this opportunity.
10:15 Your school is bleeding right now.
10:18 Is this also an opportunity to kind of--you can't fix it alone--
10:24 but to help bridge it and bring this thing back to where you think it should be?
10:31 Absolutely.
10:32 Our Spartans--and when I say this, all Spartans is what I'm talking about.
10:38 We always talk about the chip on the shoulder, hardworking, tough.
10:43 Let's go back to Coach Perkins.
10:45 I'm saying things like that over and over.
10:47 Tough, we're going to make them limp out the stadium.
10:51 We're going to be the hardest-hitting team.
10:53 So we're tough.
10:54 We're Spartans.
10:55 We're resilient.
10:58 I'm going to use this opportunity for another term that I tell people sometimes.
11:01 I'm a dog.
11:02 I'm a dog.
11:03 Be a dog.
11:04 We're going to push through this as Spartans do, as Spartans will, right?
11:08 Spartans will.
11:09 And we will push through this.
11:11 We will become better for it like everybody does when they come out of adverse situations.
11:16 They keep fighting.
11:17 They keep pushing through.
11:18 So I expect that to happen.
11:22 Quick clarifying question.
11:23 You guys haven't spoken to Val since -- what's the last time you talked to Val?
11:28 Let's see, when -- Saturday was the game, right?
11:31 So the last time I actually spoke with him.
11:33 Okay, and text?
11:34 He did text me.
11:35 We text.
11:36 And he was all in support of the team, of the coaches in the team.
11:41 My question is for the players.
11:44 Can you reflect and have some empathy for what they have gone through in the last calendar year?
11:50 Mission state, tunnel, mass shooting, and now this.
11:54 I can't imagine there's a collection of college football players ever who have dealt with what these players have to deal with and have had to.
12:01 No question, and no disrespect, but Virginia was a tough situation also.
12:06 Again, young people are very resilient.
12:09 You know, they just know how to push through.
12:12 I mean, it's the life that they're living in.
12:14 If you're on social media or whatever, it's something going wild and crazy all over the world that they're seeing.
12:19 It's almost like they're immune to it sometimes, but you can't let them just walk away and act like nothing happened.
12:26 You have to talk to them and dig it out of them, and they'll talk to you.
12:30 They'll talk with you.
12:31 But they are very resilient, and I pray for them all the time.
12:38 You played under -- and coached with -- but you played under some of the best coaches ever.
12:44 What do you take from them that helps guide you in this?
12:48 Attention to detail and discipline.
12:51 And from whom?
12:53 Nick and Belichick.
12:55 Nick and Belichick and then Coach D, you know, all along the line.
13:01 So those guys were on attention to detail and discipline big time.
13:09 And it's kind of how -- my father was never -- was my coach, but was very, very disciplined, very disciplined.
13:17 And so when I got with those guys, it was like, this is what I'm used to.
13:22 You know what I mean?
13:23 This is what I'm used to, very detailed in the things, how he would teach me and coach me up, my father.
13:28 And so that's the same way those guys were and are.
13:32 So I've been blessed to be able to be under such great coaching.
13:36 I mean, those two guys consider the best to do it in their college and world, arguably.
13:43 Hey, Harlan, over here, too.
13:45 I'm just wondering, the last few days with your conversation with Mark, aside from the football talk,
13:52 what kind of advice or thoughts has he shared with you about this opportunity?
13:57 Because it's certainly one that you guys have shared, I think.
14:00 Absolutely.
14:02 He's told me some things that you're going to go back to doing certain things that we did.
14:07 I told him, I said, I'm thinking about doing this.
14:09 And then he said, how about this?
14:11 And I can't share all this stuff.
14:13 And I don't want to share all of it.
14:15 But I'm glad he's here.
14:19 Love me some Coach D, man.
14:21 I love Coach D.
14:23 Again, I go back to '04 when he first hired me.
14:26 That was very equal when he hired me in 2004, January of 2004, to me getting drafted in April of 1990.
14:36 It was close to that.
14:38 I was that excited for him to give me the opportunity to coach down at the University of Cincinnati.
14:43 So that's my guy.
14:45 And we share a lot of things that I don't like sharing with everybody.
14:48 But we talk a lot and we share a lot.
14:50 And then just to follow up, have you thought about what that's going to feel like for you walking, running, whatever, out on the field on Saturday?
14:58 I haven't.
14:59 He just put it in my mind.
15:01 But I haven't really thought about it like that.
15:03 No, I haven't.
15:04 But when it comes, I can imagine it's going to be great.
15:08 It will probably be a little emotional, but I'm going to be cool.
15:11 I'm going to be cool, I promise.
15:13 Yeah.
15:14 H, we talked about conversations with Mel and Mark.
15:17 Have you heard anything from Nick?
15:19 I have not heard it.
15:20 But I'm not surprised, though.
15:21 That's Nick, man.
15:22 That's Nick.
15:23 But Nick is great.
15:25 I mean, my -- and I tell people this all the time.
15:28 My foundation of coaching defensive backs is Nick Saban all day.
15:33 Hence, Mark D'Antonio hired me.
15:36 Mel Tucker hired me.
15:38 We all speak Sabanese.
15:40 So that's what it is.
15:42 So that's how I got hired.
15:44 And so -- but he has -- but I know he's happy for me and will support me in any way if I call him.
15:51 Yeah, Nick, you just got to know Nick.
15:53 I know Nick since 1985.
15:55 He's 30-something years old.
15:56 Think about that.
15:57 We talk about coaches being busy.
15:59 Here's about as busy as you can get with this transition and team that's coming in here Saturdays and then.
16:04 Have you spent much time, you and the staff, talking with players who are pledged, recruits, how they've reacted to this news?
16:12 Yes, absolutely.
16:14 I've talked to all the defensive back committees, I'm sure, and all the coaches that handled their positions.
16:19 I'm going to then go behind the coaches at the other positions between today and tomorrow
16:24 and talk to those other committee guys.
16:26 Any reactions or questions that have come up a lot?
16:29 They were really good.
16:31 I can't say names, obviously, you know that.
16:33 But they were -- Coach, we locked in with you.
16:36 We're locked in.
16:37 We're with you.
16:38 And we had some questions and concerns early on, hey, you know, what's going on, what's going to happen, this, that, and the other.
16:44 But they're all in right now.
16:47 They're all in.
16:49 Harlan, over here.
16:50 You mentioned sitting down with as many of the actual players as you could individually.
16:56 I'm wondering what sort of questions and concerns, sort of what has been something that's come up repeatedly
17:02 or something that was an interesting question or concern that came up during those conversations.
17:07 Gotcha.
17:10 What they all kept saying was, I said, "How do you feel?"
17:12 My first question to them, when they sit down, "What's your feeling about the team?"
17:16 "How's the team?"
17:17 "We're good, Coach.
17:18 We're good.
17:19 We had a team-only meeting on Sunday prior to Allen Howard coming in to talk to us."
17:28 And then you had the meeting behind that on Zoom.
17:32 "We're good."
17:33 They all said, "We talked about, hey, we're on a mission.
17:37 We're on a mission.
17:39 And we're going to complete this mission.
17:41 And so let's do what we got to do.
17:43 Let's lead.
17:44 Let's support the coaches and go from here."
17:46 And they all said that.
17:48 So that was very, very encouraging for me because that's a sign of the unity that I was talking about.
17:57 But anything other than that interesting?
18:00 No.
18:01 I think if I had to say this, a couple of them might say, "When it first happened, I was a little like, what's going on?
18:07 But once we had that player-only meeting, it seemed like they all got back on solid ground."
18:12 They were a little shaky at first, and when they had the players-only meeting, they got back on solid ground.
18:17 Harlan, yeah, I just kind of wanted to go off of that a little bit just in terms of when you met with each player individually.
18:23 If anybody had said anything to you about they were sad or angry about what had happened and then just kind of rallying together in that sense.
18:32 Sad and angry never came up as the first 27 guys that I was spoken with.
18:37 And then those guys have all been the older guys as well.
18:40 We tried to work with the older guys and bring them down, way down to the younger guys.
18:44 But no sad or angry sympathy for Coach, but other than that, they were great.
18:52 And then just want to follow up real quick.
18:54 You do have a lot of religious players on your team this year.
18:57 They're very spiritual, the ones that we've been able to speak with as well.
19:00 So how do you maybe hope--
19:01 Clarity.
19:02 How do you hope then that maybe some of that--you mentioned everyone needing to come together to lead.
19:07 How do you think that can bring people together?
19:10 I think it would bring people together perfectly, the ultimate way to bring people together.
19:15 So something we used to do with Coach Antonio, when he was here every day, every time after practice, every day after practice,
19:23 everybody would come up and he'd say, "Who got it?" and somebody would pray.
19:28 And so we did that yesterday.
19:30 And so I'm looking forward to bringing that back.
19:33 And when I say, "Who got it?" somebody would be like, "I got it."
19:36 My time was quiet, and then we'd-- "Well, I got it then," you know what I mean?
19:40 But it was immediate.
19:41 So that's awesome.
19:44 Harlan, I understand from Sunday's press conference that Coach D is going to wear headsets.
19:48 Yes.
19:49 My question to you is, is his role less Xs and Os and more of a calming influence on his team than on you?
19:58 Bingo.
20:00 Bingo.
20:01 But you haven't been doing this for so long, I'm afraid, that you didn't consider things out.
20:05 Yes, yes, that's what it is more than anything.
20:08 That's what it is.
20:09 That's exactly what I consider better.
20:11 And he was open arms with this, right?
20:14 You already know, yes, yes.
20:17 Because he looked at me as one of my guys, so I'm going to come back and support one of my guys.
20:23 And so Coach D, since he's been retired in the summer, he goes around, he goes to Pitt, he goes to wherever Luke is, he comes here.
20:33 He was at some of your practices.
20:35 Yes.
20:36 So he's been doing that.
20:37 He supports his guys.
20:41 This is a two-part question, something you'll get used to.
20:46 The first part, I'm wondering, do you have any injury updates on particularly Winn-Mindberger and Mangum?
20:57 So I just told you.
21:00 This is why I even have to laugh, but I've been around Belichick.
21:06 So I'm giving Belichick answers to injuries.
21:10 He's day to day.
21:13 I anticipated that.
21:15 The second part of it was more a football question as well.
21:18 Your first challenge is to face Michael Pannix, who you've faced a couple times now.
21:26 In the overseer role, do you take more of an onus and emphasis on that, knowing what he did last year against you guys,
21:34 and how do you kind of get the guys away from their minds on the situation and more on the football at this point?
21:42 Well, like I said, after they had that meeting they talked about on Sunday, they've been focused.
21:47 They're locked in.
21:48 We know what the challenges are ahead of us.
21:54 Pannix, sorry, he's a really good football player, really good football player.
21:59 Tough to keep bouncing back from injury like he does and go out there and play like he's been playing.
22:04 He's a player, and so we know what the challenge is before us.
22:08 We're looking forward to the challenge and can't wait for Saturday.
22:13 I've got two questions.
22:14 Obviously week five is an important time in the college football calendar.
22:20 It's coming up in a couple weeks, especially related to the transfer portal and the redshirt pool and everything.
22:27 How much are you involved in re-recruiting the roster?
22:31 How much of that is an emphasis just to kind of keep guys in the fold going forward?
22:36 That's always an emphasis.
22:37 I mean, you never stop recruiting, and so that's always an emphasis,
22:42 even through Sunday, Miami, I've only been doing this for a few days, but you never stop recruiting.
22:47 You're always recruiting.
22:49 Even the guys that, like you said, are already in the fold, you're trying to keep them in the fold and then going after others.
22:54 And so that's part of recruiting.
22:56 That will never change.
22:58 And, you know, I guess with Washington as it relates, I mean, you know, you're still a tiny team.
23:05 I've heard you guys kind of still playing quite a bit of off coverage, I guess, you know.
23:12 Do you see yourselves playing more press man going forward?
23:16 And do you think that particularly would be important against Washington in terms of re-routing the receivers and such?
23:22 Well, we'll mix it up like we've been doing.
23:25 I know what you've been seeing, but we'll mix it up.
23:28 We've been mixing it up pretty good, like we've always done.
23:32 We're going to try to put our guys in the best position to make plays.
23:35 So that's what it's really all about, and to be successful.
23:40 Arlan, I was wondering, you know, you kind of touched on Mark's role.
23:43 He was the head coach here with the Panicks, you know, when I was playing.
23:47 I mean, it seems like a million years ago, but how much input can he have with his knowledge
23:52 and obviously experience with a staff that has been defensively, you know, most of the staff he has not worked with?
24:00 What kind of role does he have in that situation where he has the knowledge of a very talented player?
24:06 Our staff is a really good staff.
24:09 We need staff.
24:10 That's what I told him in the meeting.
24:12 We have a really good staff.
24:13 And so nobody has an ego where they're not--always trying to take in information.
24:19 You know, I think that's what all smart guys do, in my opinion, people, taking in information.
24:26 So any information, you know, all information that he provides, people are locked in and listening
24:33 because we want the advantage.
24:35 We want to win, right?
24:36 And so everybody is open to hear what Coach D has to say at all times.
24:42 We have a couple more in charge.
24:44 Arlan, you obviously have a wealth of football knowledge based upon who you've played for
24:50 and who you have coached with.
24:53 I don't know how much these young men know about you as a player.
24:58 Did they know your nickname was the "Bang Stick," and have they seen any highlights of you hitting people?
25:04 I don't know.
25:05 That might fire them up.
25:06 I mean, nobody's had--I figure you and Charlie Thornton were the hardest hitters I've ever seen around here.
25:12 I--I--I don't--
25:14 We don't know the highlights, do we?
25:15 You know, I don't--that's not my personality.
25:18 What I did say the other day, I just went fast on my story with them.
25:22 So when I meet with them for five minutes, they at least have a knowledge background.
25:25 But all I had to say was where I was and I went real fast and got through it, and that was it.
25:30 I know you're a humble guy, but that might fire them up to see some of those tackles.
25:33 I appreciate it, George.
25:34 Thanks.
25:35 Yeah.
25:36 A couple more.
25:37 I'll see you then.
25:38 Jack, what happened?
25:39 Just going off an earlier question, just with the way college football is now,
25:43 has anybody in these last couple days come to you and said, "I am going to--you know, I want to redshirt.
25:48 I want to shut it down," and, you know, they want to sort of remove themselves from that?
25:52 Has anybody communicated to you at all?
25:53 Not one. Not one. Not one. Nope. Nobody has.
25:57 Okay. Thanks.
25:58 Mm-hmm.
25:59 All right. Go ahead, Jack.
26:00 H. Audrey talked about faith a minute ago.
26:04 Who and what are you praying for this week?
26:06 Who and what am I praying for this week?
26:12 This week in particular, you know, I'm praying for all those impacted by the situation,
26:17 all those impacted by the situation.
26:19 I'm praying for our guys to be able to come out and play to the max of their God-given talents, gifts, and abilities.
26:27 And I'm praying that--I pray this all the time, too, that the visiting team gets here safely and gets back home safely.
26:35 Those are my prayers.
26:37 Some of them, not all of them.
26:40 All right, coach.
26:41 We appreciate your time.
26:42 Thank you.
26:43 You're welcome.