March 25, 2006

Head coach John L. Smith
On opening spring practice: "I'm really excited about the competition that we're going to have at most of the positions this spring. There are some first-team spots available, so guys will be fighting for those positions. We also have a number of second-team slots available, so guys will be fighting for those spots as well. I'm excited about the competition for positions because that's how players get better.

"I'm excited about the seven newcomers that enrolled early and are here for spring ball. We have three junior college players and four freshmen on campus right now and knock on wood, I hope that they're as impressive when they hit the field as they have been in the off-season workouts, the weight room and classroom. I know that all of these guys will bring more competition to the field.

"All of the guys have come out of winter conditioning in pretty good shape. I like what the guys have done in terms of gaining strength and gaining some explosion. If you look at the guys on the hoof right now, you'll notice that there aren't a lot of fat guys that need to lose weight.

"This spring, we'll continue to experiment a little bit offensively and we'll experiment a little bit defensively. In addition, we'll experiment some in the kicking game. We picked up some new ideas during the off-season and now, we want to take a look at different things on the field. It's time to go to the field and improve.

"Our scholarship numbers are finally starting to approach the 80 mark, so that only means the competition is going to be better. I'm excited about our new staff members. Congratulations to the coaches that have moved on, but I'm happy to have the new guys on board. Let's get rolling."

On the transition for the new assistant coaches: "The transition will be different for each coach. Take Blaine Bennett (wide receivers) for example. He has been in the spread offense. He has played in this offense and at Purdue, he coached in a form of this offense. Blaine simply has to get accustomed to the new terminology. For that coaching position, if I had brought in somebody else that hadn't coached this scheme before, the transition would be longer. The players will make the adjustment to the new coaches easier than anybody because they're resilient. I'm excited about getting the new coaches on the field, and I'm looking forward to seeing them teach."

On SirDarean Adams' move from bandit to free safety: "SirDarean Adams is going to line up somewhere in the back row. I'm not sure that he's going to be at the bandit position, but he could always go back there. This spring, we want to take a look at him at free safety. Those guys in the back row should be interchangeable.

"We want to see how CD (SirDarean) handles things back there. We're simply trying to get the best 11 players on the field. That's why you see Clifton Ryan listed inside at defensive tackle, rather than defensive end."

On the open starting positions: "There are a number of positions open on that offensive line. There are going to be a number of other position battles this spring. I'd like to declare that all starting positions are open, but let's be realistic. Behind Drew Stanton, those quarterbacks are fighting for a second-team spot. We don't expect anyone to be better than David Herron at his position (whip linebacker), but there are guys that will be fighting for that second-team spot."

On Mike Gyetvai's transition from right to left tackle: "We started thinking about this switch for Mike Gyetvai last season. The more experience he gains, the better he gets. His confidence level has gone up a ton, and he's actually turned into one of the leaders on the offensive front. It's nice to see Mike become more vocal. He's definitely athletic enough to play there (left tackle).

"I also like being able to get Jesse Miller into the lineup (at right tackle) because he's had a great off-season. He can really run for a big man. Jesse wins just about every race that he runs against the other linemen. He can move his feet, and he can run. Jesse has done everything that we've asked of him. He's gotten bigger and stronger over the winter, and I think that his play will be a pleasant surprise this spring."

More on SirDarean Adams' transition to safety: "For SirDarean Adams, it's a matter of backing him up and away from the line of scrimmage. At the bandit position, he played up closer to the line of scrimmage. At safety, is he going to feel comfortable working in space? Last year (as a bandit), he really got comfortable getting up toward the line and getting after people. As a safety, CD is going to have to realize that he's a cover guy first, not a hit guy first.

"CD can run, there's no doubt about that. He's in pretty darn good shape because he's had a good off-season."

On the decision to move Greg Cooper from free safety to cornerback: "That's an experiment too. This is another attempt to get the best 11 guys on the field. This spring, we want to take a look at Greg Cooper at cornerback because he has good feet and he has some speed. Greg has played a lot of football here, so he has some confidence. Quite frankly, it's easier for us to take a look at Greg here, than it was to move someone else from another position. He deserves a chance out there at corner, and hopefully, he can make us a lot better at that position."

On Seth Mitchell's recovery from major knee surgery: "Right now, I don't plan on Seth Mitchell being involved in any contact work this spring. If he gets some contact work this spring, that's a bonus. The biggest thing we want to do is get Seth out on the field and get him into the skelly drills, so we can watch him drop into pass coverage. He needs to become familiar with the game again.

"As you know, Seth can play, but we don't want to take any chance with goofing up his rehab schedule. We're going to do only what the doctors allow us to do with Seth. We want him on the field this fall.

"I'm shocked at how well Seth has progressed. He's been running on the knee and it's not swelling up on him like it did before. I still think that Seth can be an explosive player. As hard as he has worked to come back from this serious knee injury, he deserves another year of football. He's a great kid."

Injury update: "We probably have nine guys that will be limited by injuries this spring, but hopefully, we'll get all of those guys back for the fall. The biggest question mark is Tom Kaczmarek's availability for the fall. He's still waiting for his (knee) operation to be scheduled because the doctors need a cadaver. The doctors need to wait for a part, they simply can't go manufacture it."

On what you want the team to accomplish this spring: "No. 1, I'm looking for great competition. Spring time is a time for competing because we're trying to give everyone an opportunity to win a spot, whether it is a second-team guy becoming a starter or a third-team guy moving up.

"Second, we're looking for some answers to what we want to do differently scheme wise on both sides of the football. We're going to experiment some in the kicking game as well.

"Third, we want to get better in all three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams. We're really looking for vast improvement on the defensive side of the football, but we're trying to take some big strides across the board this spring."

On Kaleb Thornhill's recovery from shoulder and knee injuries: "Kaleb Thornhill will be ready to go some time this spring. We don't need to rush things with Kaleb because we know that he can play the game. He'll be ready to go this fall.

"We have younger guys behind Kaleb and they need a lot of snaps this spring. We have some decisions to make, so we're going to take long looks at several guys. We also have two freshmen that are here for the first time, and they need a ton of reps as well."

On Matt Trannon's availability this spring: "We've talked about what Matt Trannon needs to accomplish this spring. We're going to hold him out of contact this spring, and that's okay. What Matt has to concentrate on is stepping up and becoming a great pass catcher. He has to work on going and getting the football when it's up for grabs.

"Every spring that he comes back from playing basketball, Matt has a better self image and better confidence. I again expect that to be the case.

"We want to include him in all of the pass-catching drills and seven-on-seven passing drills. Matt has to become an aggressive pass receiver. I'm not worried about the physical part of the game, like his blocking because he already can hold with the best of them. I do expect him to make huge strides as a pass catcher, and if he does that, then he'll become a legit guy (pro prospect)."

On experimenting with the kicking game: "We're going to take a look at punt protection this spring. Rather than zone protection, we're going to take a look at man protection. We also want to get back in the situation where we let Brandon Fields kick away. I want to kick myself in the tail for asking Brandon to do too many things last year. Since we want to let Brandon kick the ball deep, we better find some guys this spring that can run down field and cover the football. Our depth is better, so we should be able to identify some punt cover guys.

"We'd also like to return to the philosophy that we're a punt-block team. We've had great success blocking punts in the past, and we're going to strive to become a (punt) pressure team again.

"We've always been pretty good in the kick-return game, and if we can identify somebody that can consistently put the ball in the end zone, then our kickoff coverage should be good."

On Drew Stanton's involvement in the offense this spring: "We're comfortable with Drew Stanton in this offense, so we can focus on developing a second-team guy because that spot is open. Drew will get a similar amount of work to what he did last spring. We do have little more freedom this spring because we don't have to rush to get Drew out of the huddle. We'll give Drew as many reps as he feels comfortable with taking. Last spring, our focus was on keeping Drew healthy, so our attitude was `get him out of there, get him out of there.' This spring, we might even take his red jersey off and let the defense bang him. I'm kidding.

"We're going to let Brian Hoyer and Domenic Natale compete for the No. 2 job and hope that someone emerges. Last spring, these two fought it out but no one emerged as the clear-cut backup. We really expect someone to surface as the No. 2 guy this spring. Brian is listed No. 2 right now, but Dom has a chance to earn that spot because he brings athleticism to the field. If Dom develops the way that we'd like from a mental standpoint, then this should be a great battle."

On Cole Corey playing the bandit position: "We've played smaller guys at that position before. Cole Corey is physical enough at 200-plus pounds. Hopefully, Tom Dance will show something this spring. It's time for Tom to step up and become a major contributor because he does have a nice, physical presence."

On the development of a consistent pass rusher: "Off the top of my head, I don't have a clear-cut answer to that question. Nick Smith has the ability to be a pretty darn good pass rusher. Brandon Long has great quickness and great explosion off the edge. He's just a sophomore, but I'm expecting big things from Brandon because he does have some great get off. In fact, Brandon might have the best quickness among the defensive ends.

"Justin Kershaw is a guy that does everything right: in the classroom, in the weight room and on the field. Justin has worked hard during the off-season, and it's time for him to step up and deliver.

"If Jonal Saint-Dic goes out and practices hard every day, then he could push for playing time. He has shown some ability to rush the passer in practice, but he must become more consistent. Even a guy like Reggie Graham is capable of having an impact as a situational pass rusher. Reggie is still a light load of poles (215 pounds), so he's not going to be an every down guy yet. But he does have speed off the edge, so he could develop into a situational pass rusher. With his frame, Reggie needs to gain another 40 pounds."

On replacing three-year starter Chris Morris at center: "We certainly hope that John Masters fills that role. He will be given every opportunity to win that job. Somebody has to step up at that position. If we come out of spring ball and we're not pleased with what we've seen at center, we do have other options. Kyle Cook could move into that position; however, our preference is to leave him at left guard."

Clifton Ryan

Senior defensive tackle Clifton Ryan
On his focus this spring: "My main goals this spring are to get into the best physical shape possible and to improve in all aspects of my game.

"I also know that I have a responsibility to lead this team because I want to enjoy a successful senior year. I love my teammates, especially the seniors because we've been together for the last four or five years. I came in with guys like Drew Stanton, David Herron, Greg Cooper and Brandon Fields. I want to have a great last memory of my experiences in this program. I want to do the things that I set out to do when I first arrived on campus.

On the defense's focus this spring: "On the defensive side of the ball, we want to establish our identity this spring. We want to become an attacking, aggressive defense.

"At times last year, we were kind of soft up front. From the defensive line's perspective, we want to get tougher and begin knocking guys off the ball. This season, we want to carry the fight and play on the offense's side of the line of scrimmage. Only the strongest survive in the Big Ten. The league race gets tougher and tougher every year, so we must bring our A game every Saturday. This spring, we can't afford to waste a rep. We've got to go all out every practice. For the seniors, this is our last go around, so we're going to give maximum effort every time we step on the field."

Javon Ringer

Sophomore running back Javon Ringer
On his focus this spring: "I'm probably 95 percent comfortable with this offense, so I know that I can get a lot better. I'm looking forward to the scrimmages because as a player, you improve most in game situations, especially when you're going against the starting defense."

On this offense producing a 1,000-yard rusher: "I believe that this offense is capable of producing a couple 1,000-yard rushers. Obviously, it's more difficult here because we have a three-back rotation. A lot of offenses feature only one back, who gets the bulk of the carries. With the three-back rotation, we always have a fresh pair of legs in the lineup. I'm confident that at least one back will gain over 1,000 yards this year."

On A.J. Jimmerson's impact in the playing rotation: "A.J. Jimmerson is a real good back. He's got good feet, and he's a determined runner. A.J. is fast too, so it will be good to have another speedster in the backfield that can break a long run."

On his freshman season: "I didn't surprise myself last year. A lot of times, I felt like I could have performed better. With working my way into the three-back rotation, I didn't try to do anything outrageous when I was in the game because I didn't want to be taken out of the lineup. I did okay last year, but I know that I can do better."

On this recruitment: "Nobody really backed off after I got hurt. USC offered me a scholarship after I tore my ACL. However, my surgery prevented me from taking a lot of my college visits. My doctors wanted me to stay home and rest my knee.

"My college visit sold me on Michigan State. (Former defensive tackle) Brandon McKinney came from my high school, and we were already pretty cool friends. Brandon hosted me during the visit, so he took me around and introduced me to many of the players. I spent the majority of the time around the players, so I got to know personalities. There are a lot of cool guys here. We probably talked about football for an hour, and the rest of the time, I was just kicking with the fellas. I felt really comfortable in this environment, pretty quick. I felt a nice brotherhood with the players, and I really liked that bond."

Senior linebacker David Herron Jr.
On his expectations this spring: "I'm expecting us to have a good football team this fall, so spring ball is all about building confidence. We hope to become a dominant team on the defensive side of the ball. That's our goal this spring: win the daily battles against our offense. We have one of the nation's most explosive offenses, so if we hold our own this spring that will boost our confidence level. I know that we'll field a dominating offensive team this fall, so it's time for the defense to step up and make a difference.

"Our goal is to develop into a dominating defensive unit. We must be able to consistently stop both the run and the pass. We want to have a good spring and prevent the offense from putting a lot of points on the scoreboard. We want to become a confident unit and play our style of ball."

On Kaleb Thornhill's recovery from shoulder and knee injuries: "Kaleb Thornhill looks pretty good right now. He didn't do much during winter conditioning because he was doing his own thing in terms of rehabbing. His shoulder and knee are coming around. I'm sure Kaleb won't practice a lot this spring because the coaches don't want to risk anything in terms of his availability for this fall. He's a good player, and I'm sure that he'll be okay when preseason camp opens in August."

On the emergence of a vocal leader: "Clif Ryan and I know that we have to become the vocal leaders on defense. SirDarean Adams is starting to step up as a leader in the back row. I also think Kaleb Thornhill is going to make his presence known. A guy like Seth Mitchell can be a vocal leader even if he spends the majority of the spring on the sidelines. With what Seth has gone through in trying to come back from a serious knee injury, the guys really look for him to provide an emotional lift."

Greg Cooper

Senior cornerback Greg Cooper
On his transition from free safety to cornerback: "It's a challenging step, moving from free safety to corner, but I have the mindset that I can play any position in the secondary. I simply want to do what's best for the team and help us win games.

"I played cornerback a little bit in high school. One obvious adjustment is playing closer to the receiver, near the line of scrimmage. The communication is also different at corner. While playing free safety, I got to make the calls for the corners. Now, the safeties are telling me what to do.

"I'm going to work hard at corner this spring, and I will strive to be the best player I can be at whatever position the coaches put me at."

On the state of the secondary: "We should be pretty good in the secondary. We've got a lot of young guys back that gained valuable game experience last season. I fully expect the secondary to take a big step this year. This is my last year, so I'm going to do my part and carry my share of the load. It's time for the defensive players to come together as one and compete."