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00:00 All right, we watched the film and it wasn't very nice,
00:05 but we have moved on.
00:07 24-hour rule has passed, and we're focused on Minnesota.
00:11 I'm open for questions.
00:12 I was just wondering what the response was
00:20 from the guys in practice today.
00:21 You've said all along during this
00:22 that they've been good about bouncing back,
00:25 but obviously last--
00:26 our Saturday's game was a little bit different in the results.
00:28 How do you think they handled it?
00:30 It was.
00:31 Once again, they came out there and--
00:33 you guys may think I'm just losing my mind or something,
00:36 but they come out and they're ready to go.
00:38 They're focused on the next deal.
00:39 They're communicating, and they're
00:41 doing what we're asking them to do.
00:43 So that's a positive.
00:45 That's a positive.
00:46 And so we got to keep going.
00:50 H, what'd you learn from the film
00:52 that you didn't know Saturday night?
00:54 I hate to keep asking this, but have you had any more guys
00:57 come in and say they're done?
00:59 So first, what did we learn from the film that we didn't know?
01:02 They did what they did.
01:04 To be honest with you, they didn't change up much.
01:07 They were who we thought they were.
01:08 And our guys-- some of our guys, I
01:11 think the moment might have been big for us, for some of us,
01:14 because we were young in some areas.
01:16 And so it was another learning experience.
01:18 We already had one with Washington
01:21 playing the top 10 team.
01:22 You would think we have learned a little bit more
01:24 than what we have.
01:25 But it's all a part of the experience.
01:28 They're getting better.
01:30 Far as your portal question, there
01:32 may be one guy that hops in that came up and met with me today.
01:36 And that young man is Simeon Barrow.
01:39 And it wasn't like a big shock.
01:42 We've been having discussions with him over the last several
01:44 weeks.
01:45 And he's been up front and honest with us the whole time.
01:48 So he's the young man that's looking
01:52 to possibly hop in there.
01:53 [INAUDIBLE]
01:56 I don't know.
01:58 Caden's game, first drive, you got moving,
02:02 and the turnover and downs.
02:04 But what happened with the rest of his game
02:06 that he was unable to move the ball?
02:09 And do you see any potential for Sam moving in and getting
02:14 more snaps moving forward?
02:15 Good question.
02:17 First of all, Caden, when we watched the quarterback play,
02:20 you've got to watch everything and make sure everything
02:22 is what you're really seeing.
02:24 You know what I mean?
02:25 It's not always all just on the quarterback, I would say.
02:29 That was the second game.
02:30 He played really, really good in the Rutgers game, I think.
02:33 And then not quite as well this last game.
02:37 But it's not always all on him.
02:39 He needs his teammates to step up and do their jobs as well.
02:43 And so he's still our guy.
02:44 Is there opportunity for Sam?
02:46 Sure, there's opportunities for Sam.
02:48 He's a good player.
02:49 And we're going to continue to evaluate and look
02:51 at it throughout the course of this week
02:53 and just see where that goes.
02:54 But Caden is still the starting quarterback.
02:58 I wanted to ask you about Sam, too.
03:00 Is it-- has he sort of indicated or is there
03:03 the assumption like he's good to play throughout?
03:06 You know, just with the redshirt rule and him,
03:08 does that have to be on the top of your mind
03:10 whenever you throw him in?
03:11 Or has he said, I'm good to play out the year?
03:14 Where do you sort of see that?
03:15 Good question.
03:16 That's something we haven't discussed, he and I.
03:18 But I think he is.
03:19 The young man just loves to play football.
03:22 And so I haven't heard anything where
03:24 he's thinking about redshirting or anything like that.
03:27 I was talking to the team last week.
03:29 And I was like, man, you guys-- a lot of you
03:31 guys crack me up with the redshirt thing
03:33 because a lot of you guys don't even like school.
03:35 So why are you going to add another year of school?
03:38 It doesn't make sense.
03:39 Like, what are y'all saying?
03:42 And a lot of guys want to go to the league in three years
03:44 and all this stuff.
03:45 So you're talking about adding a redshirt,
03:46 you're like, where is this coming from?
03:49 But he hasn't said it.
03:50 I haven't heard either way with him.
03:52 Maybe I need to talk to him about it.
03:54 But I know that he loves to play the game of football.
03:57 And so what did you see from him in his couple series?
04:00 And does he have any traits or anything,
04:01 I guess, that stand out to you different from Cain
04:03 or anything like that?
04:04 Well, I've mentioned before that Sam is very, very confident.
04:09 He doesn't lack for confidence.
04:11 And you love that about him.
04:13 Not that other guys aren't, but he's a confident young man,
04:17 believes in his abilities.
04:19 As you can see, he can run it, he can throw it,
04:20 and a really good football player.
04:23 So we'll see where that leads.
04:26 And I had one last thing.
04:28 When you mentioned the conversations with Simeon,
04:30 is there anything you can share about that?
04:32 Because you weren't surprised.
04:33 So what was he saying to sort of lay the groundwork, I guess?
04:37 Or what were his thoughts, I guess,
04:38 on what went into all this, if he was sort of bringing it up
04:42 previously?
04:42 I got you.
04:43 I got you.
04:45 I like to keep the private conversations
04:47 private conversations.
04:48 That's OK.
04:50 So going into Minnesota, obviously a little bit
04:53 different team than last year.
04:55 But what did you learn from the way
04:57 that that game transpired a year ago?
04:59 Well, they're good.
05:01 They can run the football.
05:03 RPOs offer to run action.
05:05 So that was their game, especially last year versus us.
05:08 And they're still trying to do it again this year,
05:10 although they have a different quarterback.
05:12 So defensively, I'm coming from a defensive perspective,
05:17 against their offense, you're going
05:19 to see a lot of the same things.
05:20 Got a good running game, good quarterbacks and receivers
05:24 that understand the whole system.
05:26 And then on defense, they're going
05:28 to crowd the line of scrimmage and force
05:30 you to throw the ball and try to stop the run.
05:35 So good team, well-coached team.
05:38 And Coach Fleck's been there for a while.
05:40 And he has his system in place.
05:42 And they know what he wants.
05:44 And they try to get it done.
05:46 Two things, Harlan.
05:48 First of all, on Saturday, and I'll put it to bed,
05:51 did it catch your attention at all
05:53 that Michigan elected not to take a knee
05:55 and scored another touchdown with eight seconds left?
05:59 I told our guys on the headsets.
06:01 I say, they're going to try.
06:03 They're trying to score.
06:05 I said that.
06:05 I said that multiple plays.
06:08 I'm not surprised.
06:09 I'm not surprised.
06:10 Not at all.
06:11 Not at all.
06:14 Will you remember it?
06:15 Definitely.
06:16 I'll always remember it.
06:18 I'll remember everything about that game.
06:20 You've talked about how your team has responded.
06:23 How about Harlan Barnett?
06:25 This is five in a row.
06:26 You've had a couple of gut-wrenching losses.
06:29 And now this.
06:30 I see you're still standing.
06:31 But how are you holding up?
06:33 Thank you, Fred, for asking.
06:34 I'm holding up.
06:36 The 24-hour rule, I try to hold to that.
06:39 Sometimes it may go to 28, 29.
06:42 But I'm good today.
06:44 I'm good.
06:45 I get a lot of people asking me that.
06:46 I'm good.
06:48 I'm one of those people, man, that just keep fighting.
06:50 That's all I know.
06:52 That's all I know.
06:52 I'll never give up.
06:54 And so I'm going to keep coming.
06:57 I'm going to keep coming.
06:59 You have to kill me to stop me.
07:01 So that's the only way I look at it.
07:02 And that's how I try to get our team to be.
07:04 And we're going to keep coming back, bouncing back,
07:06 and giving everything that we got.
07:08 It's not easy, because I hate losing.
07:11 I hate losing.
07:12 But it's a process that we're currently going through.
07:17 No excuses.
07:18 And we're going to go out there and try to get a win against Minnesota
07:21 this weekend.
07:21 Is it tough for your staff, too, when
07:23 they don't know their futures beyond the next five weeks?
07:27 I'm sure it is for them and their families.
07:31 It depends.
07:32 From my personal perspective, it's your source.
07:39 So I know who my source is.
07:41 So I never really get too stressed out
07:46 about anything like that, because he's taken care of me
07:49 so long, for so many years, and through so many things
07:53 that, man, got off the chain.
07:54 So that's how I personally approach it.
07:58 I can't speak for everybody.
07:59 But I know that he will cover us all.
08:02 I'm praying for everybody and their families on our staff
08:05 always, and that he continues to provide and protect
08:09 for each one of them.
08:11 Harlan, there's no doubt that this team has fight.
08:13 And statistically on the road, you guys lost by 10 at Iowa,
08:16 even though the game was a little bit closer than that,
08:17 and three or five Rutgers when you guys lost at Rutgers.
08:19 So you got another opportunity coming up this weekend.
08:21 What's the message for that going into that?
08:23 And is there any factors going on the road?
08:25 What are you telling your team going into this game
08:27 when you're knocking on the door for a win?
08:29 Well, we still have to finish.
08:30 I'm going to stick with the same thing.
08:31 I'm going to still say discipline.
08:33 Everybody doing their job.
08:34 And part of doing your job is pre-snap communication,
08:37 post-snap communication.
08:39 All of that.
08:40 And then we talk about special teams, maximum effort,
08:42 offense score, defense three and out take away, and then finish.
08:46 We have to finish.
08:47 And so we'll continue to pound that into them.
08:50 And they understand it.
08:53 They just have to do it.
08:54 We have to do it.
08:55 And we just have to keep pounding and pounding
08:57 and pounding it till we actually get it done.
08:59 So that's the message.
09:02 Harlan, not to keep harping about Simeon,
09:04 but do you expect him to make-- is there a timeline for him
09:07 to make a decision about the portal?
09:09 And do you expect him to be available on Saturday?
09:12 I think he may be gone.
09:14 I think he's going to jump in personally.
09:16 And that's what it's going to be.
09:19 Wish him nothing but the best.
09:21 And then you were here in '16 when everything kind of slid.
09:24 Is there anything you remember about that, that losing streak
09:27 that you can take and apply here?
09:29 That's something that--
09:31 different situations, but still.
09:33 That was tough, man.
09:36 That was really tough because we couldn't figure out totally
09:39 what is going on.
09:40 It felt like that.
09:42 And it does feel like this a little bit right now.
09:44 What is going on?
09:45 What's happening?
09:46 But all you can do is keep trying to get better.
09:51 I said to the coaching staff this morning,
09:53 let's just keep coaching these guys up, making them better.
09:56 Let's improve and get better week to week.
09:59 And then we'll probably start seeing the results
10:01 that we're looking for.
10:02 And we just keep coaching them up.
10:04 Don't give up.
10:05 Keep fighting.
10:06 Keep pushing.
10:08 Harlan, over here.
10:09 There was a game--
10:10 you were on the staff in, I think it was 2012 at Minnesota
10:13 that Mark D'Antonio used to talk about what
10:15 an important character game that was the year
10:18 before the Rose Bowl.
10:19 And off the radar, end of the year,
10:21 guys really decided they wanted to play.
10:23 And I'm wondering, is this sort of--
10:26 last week, sort of a season within a season
10:28 against Michigan.
10:30 Is this sort of the week where the character gets tested
10:32 and sort of revealing of who you are in that capacity?
10:36 It really is, Graham.
10:37 I believe that, absolutely.
10:39 This game is a game where the guys that
10:42 are out there playing for us, you know they are Spartans.
10:46 They want to be here and give everything that they have.
10:49 And so kudos to these guys that are currently with us.
10:54 They're still fighting and pushing through and showing
10:57 great resilience.
10:58 So yes, this is a game that will, in a lot of ways,
11:06 define this 2023 season, this game coming up.
11:09 Wondering about the running game.
11:14 Nathan struggled to get on track.
11:16 Notice that Jalen wasn't in there very much.
11:20 Between Jalen and Jaren, I guess,
11:22 kind of how you're viewing those two behind them.
11:25 Right.
11:26 Jalen is probably going to be done for the rest of the year.
11:30 I don't give specifics, but you saw him come off the field.
11:34 And we wish nothing but the best for him, obviously,
11:38 and his healing.
11:39 And it was good to see Jaren Mangum out there running hard
11:42 and big body, change up back, compared to Nate.
11:45 So it was encouraging to see him out there running the football.
11:50 I want to go back to Graham's question.
11:52 And obviously, a coach can only do so much
11:56 to keep the guys together.
11:58 But who are some of the players that have really stepped up
12:01 and been vocal in the locker room
12:02 and just trying to keep this season intact,
12:04 despite everything that's happened up to this point?
12:07 Absolutely.
12:09 Our leaders have been Trey Mosley, J.D. DuPlane,
12:13 Nick Samak.
12:15 Derek Harmon has been really good,
12:17 speaking up, Angelo Gross in so many ways.
12:21 Even though Cal Holliday doesn't say a whole lot,
12:24 but he does command respect around the guys.
12:28 And so those guys are doing a good job at keeping us together
12:33 and pushing us forward.
12:34 Aaron, obviously a big recruiting weekend
12:38 for you guys on Saturday, a lot of prospects on campus.
12:40 I was wondering how, given the obvious challenge
12:43 of the situation, how you thought that went,
12:45 and was there one kind of big push for this class?
12:49 It was good pre-game.
12:52 It was good to see all those guys
12:54 and seeing that they were here and showing genuine interest
12:57 in Michigan State.
12:59 And so that was really good.
13:01 Didn't get a chance to see a lot of them afterwards, obviously.
13:05 But they know--
13:07 I'm not trying to go in that locker room now.
13:09 But at the same time, you can look at it as a recruit.
13:13 There's opportunity for me to go there and help.
13:16 And so that's the way that I try to look at it
13:22 concerning the recruiting.
13:24 But it was good to see all those guys here.
13:28 When you play two teams in a row that
13:30 seem like there's some similarities, at least
13:32 offensively, with tight ends and physicality
13:34 running the football, is there a benefit from some carryover
13:37 from maybe some things that you emphasized last week that will
13:39 still be in place this week for a team that's
13:41 trying to get back on track?
13:42 Is that a benefit?
13:43 Absolutely.
13:43 That is a benefit.
13:44 You don't have many changes in the plan.
13:47 You just have to execute the plan better.
13:50 And wrap and squeeze.
13:52 Wrap and squeeze when you're tackling.
13:54 Run through contact.
13:55 Wrap and squeeze.
13:56 And so we're going to have to do that.
13:57 Because they do a good job of running the football
14:00 and doing things like that.
14:01 [INAUDIBLE]
14:02 They're holding up.
14:08 They're holding up well.
14:10 They're doing a good job.
14:11 And we try to take care of them throughout the course
14:14 of the week.
14:15 They're veterans now.
14:16 Even Jordan Hall is starting to become
14:18 like a veteran a little bit.
14:20 But we try to take as much pounding off of them
14:23 as possible, especially during this time of the year.
14:26 And so they're smart.
14:27 They understand.
14:28 They're still getting reps out there
14:30 and doing a good job for us.
14:31 So keep praying for health.
14:34 You mentioned about Nick being a leader.
14:39 I don't know if you saw the video of him giving a salute
14:43 to the crowd with two fingers.
14:46 Not quite.
14:49 [LAUGHTER]
14:51 Between him and Spencer, I mean, there's obvious frustration.
14:56 I guess, first, have you addressed
14:59 any of the frustration with those guys and others?
15:02 And I don't know, with Spencer's penalty,
15:05 does he have to miss a half?
15:06 Is that not like targeting for the flagrant?
15:09 Or is it because it happened in the second half?
15:11 Or is that a situation where he'll be eligible right away?
15:14 Haven't heard either way yet, to be honest with you.
15:17 And like you said, not that it's an excuse, because it's not.
15:22 We got to be able to keep our cool.
15:24 We have talked about keeping your cool
15:26 when you get frustrated, because that's life.
15:28 That's going to happen in life.
15:30 And you can't get all emotional.
15:31 Can't operate off of emotions.
15:33 And so that was a life lesson for those guys.
15:37 And I believe that they received it.
15:39 H, some things you can control, some things you can't.
15:45 But it's a very fine line, thin margin for error.
15:47 With the three penalties and the two plays back to back,
15:53 you tell your guys that there's no way
15:54 you can win any game with that?
15:56 No question.
15:58 It was like 40 yards.
15:59 So yeah, we cannot.
16:01 They understand that.
16:03 Like I said on, I think it was Saturday after the game,
16:06 we had 11 versus Washington, if I'm not mistaken.
16:09 And they had another 11 versus these guys,
16:12 and both top 10 teams.
16:15 You can't do that.
16:16 You cannot do that.
16:18 You got to be able to rise to the occasion
16:21 and play disciplined football, physical and disciplined.
16:25 That's what we talked about, being
16:26 disciplined and physical throughout the entire game.
16:29 And we just didn't do it.
16:30 We just didn't do it.
16:32 No excuses.
16:34 We had to get better at it.
16:35 Got to get better at it.
16:36 Do you know what's causing that?
16:38 Are guys trying to do too much?
16:40 Just frustrations?
16:42 Probably trying to do too much.
16:44 The game was a big game, and both of those were.
16:48 And I think they--
16:50 I don't know.
16:50 I hate to try to guess and figure out
16:52 what those guys were thinking and get in their heads.
16:54 But I do know, just as a former player,
16:58 that when you have these situations,
17:00 you live for these situations.
17:03 This is why you do what you do.
17:05 You don't come here to play Little Sisters of the Poor.
17:08 You come here to play in games like this,
17:10 this past weekend in the Washington game.
17:13 And so when those times come, it should
17:16 bring a smile on your face, enthusiasm, excitement,
17:20 passion, all of that.
17:21 And then being able to play a smart, physical, tough,
17:25 disciplined football game.
17:26 That's what you should be able to play.
17:28 And so our guys are learning.
17:29 We're young in some areas.
17:31 And hopefully, all this experience
17:34 will pay off in the future.
17:35 You've had some attrition at the defensive tackle position
17:42 now with Simeon out.
17:43 Can you talk about what's left and how
17:45 you go up against this physical run team?
17:48 Who do you have there at second string?
17:50 And what's that looking like depth-wise?
17:51 Yep.
17:52 We still have Derek Harmon.
17:55 We still have Jaylon Sammey, Maverick Hanson, and those guys.
18:02 And then Kentalli has to go in there.
18:05 We can bring him in there.
18:07 So we have those guys still available.
18:09 And we'll use what we have at our disposal.
18:13 They'll go in there and grind and fight
18:15 and do whatever we need to do to help us succeed.