Michigan State defensive coordinator Joe Rossi training camp update (8-1-24)

the depth in your room yeah you feel pretty good about that you bring in a lot of pieces and seems like guys can do different things it linebacker you're talking yeah yeah you know I think when when we first got here I think there was like four active guys on the roster uh when I was going over things and uh was like you know we we got to add some bodies uh and then you know that was without some of the young guys coming in like pretz off and then we went out and got some transfers and some guys that have played football the cool thing is I I think there's a mix of abilities I think there's some mix of Ages you know we got a guy who's in his last year a guy who's got two years left we got a guy with three years left and we got a guy with four years left and that was kind of important to us that it wasn't like you know three guys with a year because then all you're doing is creating your own problems for the next year so yeah there's different skill sets uh they're all great people uh we got some years on them um so it's it's a good group what would you say is the prototypical linebacker you're targeting on the recruiting trp yeah I would say he's long athletic and smart that's that's that's that's what we look for and that's a sliding scale okay and what I mean by that if a guy's 6 foot and he runs 44 that's cool okay but if you're going to be uh a low 48 you know I like you better be 6 three and a half okay so like th those it's so my point is it slides but the ideal thing if I'm just giving you three it's length it's athleticism and its intelligence not necessarily in that order tell there's an old ter around there you probably heard it by now going back 40 or 50 years they call themselves Spartan dogs yeah are you starting to identify dogs on that defense yeah I think so you know I think the cool thing about coming here more than any other place I've ever worked you know I think the alums take a whole lot of PL pride and having played here um whether it's guys coming back um whether it's guys coming to practice you know we just had the Spartan dog conon and the golf outing and just to see all those guys come back and be around I think it's pretty cool honestly um and I think yeah as we're going you know we're getting a feel for um just a you know who the guys are and who the guys are but I mean there's the you put the pads on and and that kind of starts to establish s a little bit more but yeah I think it's been I really enjoyed that part of the program as Brian about this you mentioned about the offensive line being major piece for the success on that side yeah you guys had so much turnover interior defense line how how is that to navigate and what are you seeing from the guys that you got there right now yeah obviously you know you get turn over there's a change in the program you know people have an opportunity um and and to to make decisions on where they want to go and we wish people well the guys we had great the guys we needed to add let's go get them let's make sure we're getting the right people um who are going to fit us and fit our culture um and I thought we did a good job of that uh again I think we got some guys we traded out we brought some guys in with some years some of the guys in their last year but a couple of them have some years and uh then we go to work coaching them um so you know I think having been in the league for a long time you got to kind of build the thing from the line out uh if you're not able to stop the run in the Big 10 it's going to be a challenge no how no matter how athletic you are um so we got to make sure that we have guys that can go in there and do that um so first day in pads you know it's been positive the first three we'll know more info as we get more days and pads and we're tackling and all those things so does it put more emphasis for a guy like Maverick who not only has been here and played so much in the Big T but was here in the spring hearing the things you guys were teaching to kind of become that teacher yeah I think so like this is you know it's Unique football a little bit now like you could coach for a long time like I have you know but like the the way the game is is now is different right you know I you I don't know 10 11 guys who maybe more who weren't here playing Spring ball you know and then they're coming in and you're going to be counting on them uh it it it just it's different and so like the guys who were here played in the spring have a little bit more experience and what you're asking to do those guys are invaluable um so I I think that that part's important Michigan State stents for a long time had been like feared and feared by opponents yeah um but they had kind of lost that identity over the past few seasons what is it going to take for Michigan for the defense to get back to where it was yeah I I think the the things we want to see when we put the film on is we want to see guys playing with extreme effort but like I think any really really good defense is going to play really really hard I think there's got to be a really big emphasis on toughness uh on the ab ability to control the Run um control the line of scrimmage stop the run be physical in your tackling and then we got to be really really great with our technique um you know those defenses I've had a chance to see them over the years being in the league I think that's what you would say about them they they played their butt off they were really really physical and they played with good technique and then they had good players um and so for us to play good defense that's kind of where it's starts um and so we went out and recruited you know the the guys that we believed were fit for us and and now we're coaching them so it it'll be a a process of getting better every day I know you know it comes off as coach beat but I mean anyone who gets good at anything has to get good at some get out get good at it like you got to you got to go through a process to get there and so we're in that process right now we all want it to happen as soon as possible and that's what we're working towards with the proliferation over the years of of law F and how they Chang pass happy offenses is it shut down defenses are way fewer and far between these days you can give up 300 yards and still Prett a pretty decent defense yeah I mean the the the yardage has changed you know the the the if if you were just running the ball in in in I Pro formations uh the yardage isn't going to be as high as maybe uh when you spread it out and you're throwing it more that's just the nature of the game um so I think you have to look at it through through the lens of now you know like you look at if you go look at the hall of fame quarterbacks in the NFL and look at their stats from the ones in the 50s and 60s and compare them to the mediocre quarterbacks now the mediocre quarterbacks have better stats well it's all about the era that you're playing in so yes I agree it's changed but obviously you're how you value success has to change too you returned four starters regular starters in the secondary but obviously added a bunch of guys from the portal I was wondering how how you see this that fit especially with the newcomers who ared this Summer that those guys coming together and who's who's maybe leading in a couple of those yeah I mean listen we're and and when I say this I'm being completely honest we're in the process of evaluating people like there there were guys that were starters here last year and and that's great but this is a a new program this is new coaches these are this is a new culture we've brought in new players um and and obviously there's new coaching techniques so you know I respect everything that the guys that started last year were able to do obviously but they're being evaluated on now in comparison with the other players on the team so we're so early with that right now um that we're still kind of figuring out that and we'll work different rotations we'll have guys that are in the ones and the next day in with the threes and we're just going to evaluate and then as we get towards the end of Camp you know we'll have a better feel for that guy like Malik Spencer he was uh working more started in safety last year I think he was working in nickel this spring is that he's playing multiple spots so he he's he's taken reps this spring at multiple spots so again we're looking for the the best combination of guys out there this may be a tricky question I me do you feel like you have the personal to run the defense the way us I always look at it as that we run the defense based on the Personnel we have so that wasn't so tricky so you go ahead J Thompson was a rush in the spring we at least the other day was with the with the strong guys is that yeah we're again same thing with Malik like we're when when you get in and you're coaching guys for the first time what you're trying to do is you're trying to evaluate where they're best at based on their skill set and so guys are doing multiple things and you know we'll get a picture of hey what's this guy best at and wherever the guy's best that's where we want to play going back back to that question I mean based on your track right here your history do you feel like you'll have to make any kind of compromise things to adjust to the Personnel that you have yeah I I I wouldn't say it's a compromise okay you know I I would say that you know as we evaluate what we're good and and and not good at you know if we're better playing man then we'll play more man if we're better at Zone we'll play more Zone uh if we're better at blitzing we'll Blitz more if we're not as good and we're just better at at playing Bas we'll play Bas so to me that's what it's all about in terms of the the evaluation of of your people uh we don't have just a set scheme we have the the the scheme that fits our guys the best now it's it within the structure certainly um but we got to call it based on what we think's best for the guys so what do you want to see from the player you're going to end up designating one of if not the Mike linebackers in this defense you know I think the the Mike linebackers there's got to be a a portion of it a leadership you know but from a physical standpoint you got to have guys that are that are comfortable uh you know in space you know and you wouldn't have think that I would say that to start with the mic but you know the mic ends up out of the box all the time in in 3 by one formations and so the guy's got to be physical and he's got to be able to stop the run and all those things I got it okay and um you know if you're getting recruited as a mic you got to have that skill set but you got to be comfortable in coverage it doesn't mean you're you're you're playing manto man on people all the time but it just means you got to be able to go out there and play in space and function so I think that that's something that's going to be big for us in terms of that position and now you're going to be on a microphone and a helmet that's going going to be new about that it is I mean it's it's it's good um obviously there there's a learning curve uh coaches there's a learning curve with players we've talked to a bunch of NFL guys I've talked to former linebackers of mine who wear the headset in their helmet um so it's it's kind of a work in progress you talk to other college coaches hey how you going to handle this so I think until you actually do it do it um it'll be a little bit of a work in progress I think at the end of the day it's a it's a benefit for the defense but I also think that um you know it's probably more of a benefit in the NFL to qu be quite Frank with you because in the NFL most of the teams still huddle um and and it creates a little bit of a different situation there than maybe in college um when no one huddles and they're going fast you won't have as much time maybe didn't give as much communication yeah and like you know and it just being able to get it all out to everybody you know so that that's what we're in the process of evaluating here you mentioned that you got stopped the run from inside out dcoin dson was a guy that looked like he made some progress in the spring I think he's added 15 or 20 lbs according to what the roster that we had handed out this week I imagine that was probably something that you talk spoke about with him or he already had maybe recognized that or maybe I'm wrong about that but is he a guy who's made some progress and now adding some MK yeah well he's he's he's added um and he's made progress he's added some strength um I think the the biggest thing with him um coming out of you know one scheme and then kind of getting into another scheme there's that you know ability to kind of get a feel for what it needs to look like I think uh coach Mack and our strength staff and our nutritionist do a really good job of valuating guys based on our body component what can they play at all those conversations kind of get had between those people and then they kind of give them a number and then they kind of work towards it um so he's worked hard in the weight room he's had a good uh summer and uh he he has we feel like added some good good Mass so but are there any uh guys in your room who have surprised you with their vocalness maybe non veteran type guy um no I I mean no one stood out I think they've all done a really good job to to to be honest with you um you know those older guys who kind of went through it the whole spring went through it in the winter went through it in the spring went through it in the summer I think they've been really vocal um so you know the guys that you kind of bring in and come in in the summer they're they're a little behind that's just the nature of it so how are you guys navigating as a staff the that line of teaching the concepts for all these new guys that you brought in versus the BL that comes with installed going into the first game yeah we just talk about it a lot and just there's a little bit of like here's the plan and then if we need to change the plan we'll change the plan you know I think how how are you feeling in your room how are you feeling with the install how are you feeling with what you're uh hearing from the players um if you're feeling good you you maybe press on if you're feeling not so good maybe you pull back a little bit lot of the defense is obviously about confidence I mean where did you get the sense of confidence level was uh amongst the defensive players I guess when you first arrived here based on you know all that happened the last few years yeah I think I think there was good confidence um I think confidence is the result of you know you know preparing I think confidence is the result of you know going out and having success and you know you do that through the winter and then you do that in the spring and through so I think there was a group that felt good about what they could do um and they felt that hey here's a fresh start and they felt hey let's let's go to work um so and now we're in the process of that like positive action of like you got to go out and have success of practice that kind of breeds the the confidence when it comes is Wayne a guy in your room that provides some versatility and can sort of shift you know almost make you guys like nickel without you know does he give you a little bit of that yeah well here's what I say I think Wayne is a really good player Wayne had a really good day today um Wayne I think does a nice job in coverage um so I think that he is one of those more modern day linebackers where you feel like he's he's able to go and work in space and and not be out of place um so he gives you some flexibility there for sure the helmet communication will that decision be player or position based and who gets it helmet uh it's going to be who's in the more in the middle of the defense so that's going to be linebackers and safeties um and I'm just telling you like we're we're rotating that through and then we'll ultimately make a decision on who it's going to be a little bit later I'm still feeling it out like it's my third day doing it we did it in the spring a little bit uh but now it's really really you got the exact equipment that you're going to be using in the spring it was a little bit of uh you know make it work cuz you found out right before Spring ball okay now it's like hey we got the equipment that we're going to be using so we're kind of feeling it out