Michigan State QB Andrew Maxwell Gives His Assesment of Where the Spartans are After a Long Spring
Michigan State QB Andrew Maxwell Gives His Assesment of Where the Spartans are After a Long Spring
A: … I think it was competitive and that’s what we were looking for.
Q: Getting into that rhythm there… For you going into the summer after leaving this game, was that important at all or was that overblown? Did it feel good to come out of there like that?
A: Yeah. Certainly anytime you can finish well and end with a touchdown and then with a win, that leaves you with a good taste in your mouth. And it leaves you feeling pretty good about the way the spring game went.
Q: What happened…were you upset when you hit your helmet, were you just ticked off at an incomplete pass or a drive? What were you thinking? What went wrong?
A: The one I was really sick over was the one I overthrew the post to Keith on the 3rd and short, 3rd and 2. He had him beat, and we were pass to safety and I just overthrew him and I was sick over it.
Q: When you did the player draft you didn’t take a guy like Burbridge. As you watched a guy like that make plays did you start thinking…
A: That’s the kind of player we know he can be. But the guy I took ahead of him, Troup, catches the hitch and runs it for the game-winning touchdown. That’s what’s exciting about our receiver position. It’s so deep and so many guys that at any given time can make a big play for you. And it’s all over the board with DeAnthony, with Burbridge, with Troup. Bennie had some nice catches it looked like out there so that’s what’s exciting about our receivers.
Q: What are you happy with today? What are you unhappy with?
A: Well, obviously you don’t wanna start the way we did. Didn’t move very well offensively, didn’t sustain drives, didn’t throw it well. Had a couple big runs but just couldn’t keep anything going. But there’s a reason we put a big emphasis on finishing because last year that’s something that we didn’t do well. We just kind of seem to let things slip away there at the end. But anytime you can finish the way we did, kind of get in a rhythm, and then scoring towards the end…that’s what you look forward to.
Q: Is there a part of you, there in that first half especially, felt like we did this all out last year. Was it déjà vu a little bit?
A: Yeah, it was kind of frustrating. It wasn’t a good depiction of all the progress that we’ve made throughout the spring. We’ve really had 14 really good practices, and then to start the way we did... More than anything I was just frustrated with, this is not an accurate depiction of where we are and what we can do. But luckily we regrouped ourselves at half time and had a better second half.
Q: Is it harder for an offense in this kind of setup where you’ve got offensive line split up…ones on one side and some on the other? Is it more difficult for an offense to get into a rhythm and that kind of thing?
A: Umm, that’s certainly part of it. And there’s also a part of it that you also don’t have the whole playbook available to you for the spring game. So there’s some things that we weren’t gonna run today that you don’t have available to you just because it’s the nature of the spring game. So maybe those things could help. But I thought we did a good job of battling back. Coach D always says you gotta weather the storm, just kinda ride it out. And that’s what we did.
Q: Do you come out of this game still feeling like you have a firm grasp on that #1 spot?
A: I feel like I’ve done everything that I could do to make my case to the coaches to be the guy. I feel like every day I came out and got better. I took a competitive mindset to every practice and the ultimate decision’s up to Coach D.
Q: Were you happy with your performance on the last two drives or with your job as a general manager picking Troup?
A: Well picking Troup…when I was running off the field with Travis that’s what I said. That’s why we picked him, right there. I was pleased with the way the last two drives went, getting into a rhythm. It’s crazy just how all you need is one play, and then another play builds on top of that, and they just seem to kind of snowball on each other. So when you can kind of put together those nice drives and then it culminates into a big play from Troup, that’s the ideal.
Q: What did you think watching Riley run the ball?
A: He ran it really well. He’s getting better every day, better vision, better awareness out there, he’s got good speed, and he’s hard to bring down just because he’s so big and he runs with so much power. So it’ll be exciting to see if that’s a position change that lasts and what he can do for us.
Q. Your thoughts on Riley Bullough?
A: Riley’s a guy who, just physically, is a guy who’s well suited for our offense…his toughness, style of running. He’s also got a lot of speed. He’s getting better and better field awareness, field vision. There’s all sorts of things he could do for us.
Q: A lot of changes?
A: I don’t think there’s too many changes. I think it’s certainly been something that has been good for us. As we got to, I think it might have been week 2, we kinda started seeing the affect it had on the linebackers. We can get the same look, run six different plays out of it. I don’t think it’s gonna cause a change in our offensive philosophy or identity, but it’s something that’s been good for us.
Q: What do you think about the quarterback competition going into fall?
A: I feel like every one of us, each day, came out and got better. I think every one of us came out and made our best case to be the guy. The ultimate decision is obviously in the coach’s hands, but I’m going to continue to compete and I know the other two guys are as well.
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