Watch Locksley's presser in the video below. Was asked some interesting questions about the situation at Missouri and pay for play at the end by a student.
And below is a partial transcript for anyone who wants to read it.
Opening Statement:
“Michigan State is one of the elite teams in this conference and has been for the past few years. When you look at them, the thing that stands out is their toughness and the way they go about playing the game. They are a “no-frills” kind of a team in terms of the way they line up, execute and play hard with good discipline. That’s how they’ve played the last few years. On the offensive side of the ball, they mix personnel up and do a great job of establishing the run. That’s one of the things that has become a trademark for them. They have probably one of the most talented quarterbacks in the country in Connor Cook: he’s a guy that has great accuracy down the field with his throwing and great mobility. We’re going to have to do a really good job in containing him in the pocket. They do do some quarterback designed runs with him which shows his athletic ability. He’s as good as any quarterback that we’ve seen on tape this year. Defensively, they are one of the top in our conference, they’re probably one of the top front sevens that we’ll face with their defensive lines and their linebackers. They’re as good as any of the front sevens we’ve faced here for the past five to six weeks. We expect it to be a great game and I know our kids are excited again to have the opportunity to play another ranked opponent. We’re excited to go up and try to find a way to come back with a win.”
On progress in the passing game:
“We were able to finally hit those explosive plays that call off of our play actions. We still missed a few shots, but compared to the week before when we did not hit any of the down-the-field shots, I thought we improved there. We need to continue to improve the consistency of our possession passing game - we just haven’t been as consistent in our base pass and attack with making the right decisions on the right kind of footballs.”
On any change in the team dynamic after seven losses:
“I said to the guys that obviously our goal is to prolong the season. We won’t be able to extend our season with the bowl opportunity, but as I told the guys, this is also the start for young players. I really feel that this could be the nucleus for a team that could contend for a Big Ten Championship, and that they have to continue to prepare, give the effort of that type of team, and as I told the seniors, this is their legacy. We still have the opportunity to make the best out of this situation. We’re not going to do much forecasting - we’re going to focus on the task at hand which is Michigan State. I think our guys have really bought into sticking to this thought process. We have a great opportunity against a ranked team, and our players are excited about it. They love the game of football, I love coaching these guys, it has been fun… and we’re going to continue to play as well as we can, as loose as we can, and play as if we have nothing to lose.”
On playing younger players and maintaining a sense of continuity:
“The young guys that we’re playing, we are putting them in roles where they play 10-to-15 snaps a game. If you get 70 snaps a game, 55 out of the 70 you’re able to maintain continuity. I do believe that the program has to develop the players that are within it. As I told our coaches, playing guys for 10 or 15 plays in a game is not going to make a big difference in the outcome of it. I think it could help the outcome because it allows the starters to maintain some endurance in the fourth quarter, but also it keeps everybody locked into having a purpose. We’ve had some situations where we’ve given some guys some roles where they haven’t always executed. We’ll continue to coach them through it, but also they need to know that if we are putting you out there, the expectation doesn’t change.”
On William Likely and Shane Cockerille:
“Any time Will Likely is on the field, he brings attention. We’ve tried to build packages for Will where he gets his opportunities to make plays, which he was able to do last week. But we also have some things where he’s used as a decoy because of the attention he draws. We’ll continue to feature him on the offensive side of the ball as long as he’s healthy. We don’t want to diminish his role as a returner, nor as one of our top cover-corners. We’re asking a lot of the little guy and he’s giving us everything he has, so we’ll continue to feature him from that standpoint. Obviously when we made the move of putting Shane [Cockerille] back at quarterback, with the skill set that we have with Perry [Hills], it enables us to just create quarterback-designed runs off of Perry and make sure he’s healthy to execute for us down the road. Shane is a big body and has the ability to make plays with his feet. Those two will definitely continue to have roles within the offensive scheme.”
On Michigan state’s defense:
“Their front seven is as good as any of the top-15 defenses we’ve faced in the last five weeks. They've had about five different rotations on the back end in the secondary, and I think that’s where they’ve had to adjust whether it’s due to injury or graduation. What I see from the way they’re playing at the end of the year is they’re playing as one of those top-15 defenses. Statistically it doesn't show, but I think the big difference from last year is the back end piece from them. Their front seven is as talented of a front seven as we will face.”
And below is a partial transcript for anyone who wants to read it.
Opening Statement:
“Michigan State is one of the elite teams in this conference and has been for the past few years. When you look at them, the thing that stands out is their toughness and the way they go about playing the game. They are a “no-frills” kind of a team in terms of the way they line up, execute and play hard with good discipline. That’s how they’ve played the last few years. On the offensive side of the ball, they mix personnel up and do a great job of establishing the run. That’s one of the things that has become a trademark for them. They have probably one of the most talented quarterbacks in the country in Connor Cook: he’s a guy that has great accuracy down the field with his throwing and great mobility. We’re going to have to do a really good job in containing him in the pocket. They do do some quarterback designed runs with him which shows his athletic ability. He’s as good as any quarterback that we’ve seen on tape this year. Defensively, they are one of the top in our conference, they’re probably one of the top front sevens that we’ll face with their defensive lines and their linebackers. They’re as good as any of the front sevens we’ve faced here for the past five to six weeks. We expect it to be a great game and I know our kids are excited again to have the opportunity to play another ranked opponent. We’re excited to go up and try to find a way to come back with a win.”
On progress in the passing game:
“We were able to finally hit those explosive plays that call off of our play actions. We still missed a few shots, but compared to the week before when we did not hit any of the down-the-field shots, I thought we improved there. We need to continue to improve the consistency of our possession passing game - we just haven’t been as consistent in our base pass and attack with making the right decisions on the right kind of footballs.”
On any change in the team dynamic after seven losses:
“I said to the guys that obviously our goal is to prolong the season. We won’t be able to extend our season with the bowl opportunity, but as I told the guys, this is also the start for young players. I really feel that this could be the nucleus for a team that could contend for a Big Ten Championship, and that they have to continue to prepare, give the effort of that type of team, and as I told the seniors, this is their legacy. We still have the opportunity to make the best out of this situation. We’re not going to do much forecasting - we’re going to focus on the task at hand which is Michigan State. I think our guys have really bought into sticking to this thought process. We have a great opportunity against a ranked team, and our players are excited about it. They love the game of football, I love coaching these guys, it has been fun… and we’re going to continue to play as well as we can, as loose as we can, and play as if we have nothing to lose.”
On playing younger players and maintaining a sense of continuity:
“The young guys that we’re playing, we are putting them in roles where they play 10-to-15 snaps a game. If you get 70 snaps a game, 55 out of the 70 you’re able to maintain continuity. I do believe that the program has to develop the players that are within it. As I told our coaches, playing guys for 10 or 15 plays in a game is not going to make a big difference in the outcome of it. I think it could help the outcome because it allows the starters to maintain some endurance in the fourth quarter, but also it keeps everybody locked into having a purpose. We’ve had some situations where we’ve given some guys some roles where they haven’t always executed. We’ll continue to coach them through it, but also they need to know that if we are putting you out there, the expectation doesn’t change.”
On William Likely and Shane Cockerille:
“Any time Will Likely is on the field, he brings attention. We’ve tried to build packages for Will where he gets his opportunities to make plays, which he was able to do last week. But we also have some things where he’s used as a decoy because of the attention he draws. We’ll continue to feature him on the offensive side of the ball as long as he’s healthy. We don’t want to diminish his role as a returner, nor as one of our top cover-corners. We’re asking a lot of the little guy and he’s giving us everything he has, so we’ll continue to feature him from that standpoint. Obviously when we made the move of putting Shane [Cockerille] back at quarterback, with the skill set that we have with Perry [Hills], it enables us to just create quarterback-designed runs off of Perry and make sure he’s healthy to execute for us down the road. Shane is a big body and has the ability to make plays with his feet. Those two will definitely continue to have roles within the offensive scheme.”
On Michigan state’s defense:
“Their front seven is as good as any of the top-15 defenses we’ve faced in the last five weeks. They've had about five different rotations on the back end in the secondary, and I think that’s where they’ve had to adjust whether it’s due to injury or graduation. What I see from the way they’re playing at the end of the year is they’re playing as one of those top-15 defenses. Statistically it doesn't show, but I think the big difference from last year is the back end piece from them. Their front seven is as talented of a front seven as we will face.”
