Michigan State QB Andrew Maxwell Talks Riley Bullough at RB, Offense and More!
Michigan State QB Andrew Maxwell Talks Riley Bullough at LB, Offense and More!
Q: How about the way you played?
A: I think I did a better job of moving in the pocket, of feeling things, of creating when things weren’t there. It’s becoming a little more natural to me now. It’s becoming a little more that I don’t have to think about it. I’m sensing the pressure as opposed to seeing it. When that comes it’s a little quicker in terms of moving the football.
Q: When you looked at the film, was it even better than you thought or about what you thought the first time around?
A: Some good, some bad. The funny thing about film is it’s never as good or bad as you think it is.
Q: What are you trying to get done here the last 1 ½ weeks of spring practice?
A: We’re just looking to finish strong, obviously. You only have 15 opportunities this spring, so you’re looking to build on each and every one because you have so few. This week we had a big fundamental practice. A lot of details, a lot of position work. If you can really master the craft at your position, if you can really master the details at that level, then it’s gonna become second nature and I think the game’s gonna slow down for you and you’re gonna be better on the field.
Q: When Coach Dantonio brought Riley Bullough over to running back, what was your first reaction to seeing that big back like that?
A: It was funny because the first time I really knew he was in there I was making a check at the line. I turned around to tell the running back and I see it’s Riley. I was like, I don’t even know if he knows what this play is called. But he got the check. He’s a back that fits our style of offense. He’s a big powerful guy. We’re a team that obviously prides ourselves on running the football and being tough. He’s a guy who’s big and strong. He can run through tackles, run people over, so we’re looking to see what he can do for us.
Q: What have you seen from him so far?
A: He’s got some natural running ability when he carries the ball. He’s got some good vision, he sees holes when they open up and he’s got some good speed to accelerate.
Q: It’s pretty standard stuff for spring though, just trying a bunch of different things? See if some new things fit or not?
A: Yeah, that’s one of the benefits of the spring when you’re so far away from the season and you have these opportunities you can kind of tinker with some position changes. Riley’s got the tools, if that’s gonna be a permanent move. That’s kind of on his shoulders to show the coaches that that can be a permanent move. But he certainly has the tools to do it.
Q: It’s sort of a unique position when you know there are several freshman coming in that are gonna be in the fall too, that’s kind of a we’ll just see how it goes for now, knowing there’s more guys in the mix.
A: It is unique, but it’s also exciting just because competition’s gonna bring the best out of guys. And when you have an open race and so many guys are getting opportunities, it just gives our offense the best chance to succeed knowing that the guy who gets on the field is gonna be truly the best one.
Q: I asked Max this the other day about motivation throughout the offseason. The first couple years he was here you had the 11 win seasons and the Rose Bowl in mind and all that. Has this offseason been a little different or maybe more difficult considering maybe it was a...not the season you’re looking for. Has it made the motivation different through the winter and into the spring?
A: It has been different because when you’re coming off back-to-back 11 win seasons your motivation is less ‘keep our standing, let’s continue the success we’ve had’. And then when you have seasons like we did last year where you go 7-6, you realize you’re not quite there yet. So when you climb those mountains to get 11 wins you find there’s another one to climb to stay there. You find out nothing’s promised. Just because you had two back-to-back 11 win seasons doesn’t mean you can just roll your helmet out there and get another one. We really just kind of focused on the details, focused on getting back to the basics and realizing we have to earn every one we get.
Q: How has that leadership role been a little bit different for you considering that quarterback battle and all that? Has it made you a better leader you think, having to go through those things yourself?
A: I think so. Being the quarterback on a team that doesn’t really reach its goals, you’re kind of put in those positions. But they’re positions that you can learn from. And I feel like I did learn from every one of those situations that we got put into. It’s kind of helped me through this offseason. It’s really helped me knowing that the mistakes we made and the reasons where we came up short were so small, the details and the little things. And that’s really a quarterback’s job, just to kinda really hold everybody accountable. And that’s really a team’s job, that we can hold everybody accountable on this team, player to player. And then I think we’re going to be able to avoid those things.
Q: Knock on wood, you still have a week to go, but how important has it been for you to be healthy this spring? Because it was last spring when you missed a couple of weeks and couldn’t play…
A: Yeah, that’s been huge. Especially because in the spring there’s so few opportunities. You only get 15 and I think I got hurt practice 9 last year, so I just had over half of the spring. And especially because spring is so competitive and the practices are full. You’ve got team periods, you have individual periods. You’ve got a lot of opportunities to improve. To be healthy this whole spring and to really be able to go through everything and grow as a player, grow as a leader, that’s been a big relief for me.
Q: How are those guys doing? Connor and those other two guys?
A: Yeah, they’ve done a great job. Those are guys who work hard every single day, coming to work every day, who wait for opportunities to get put in there, that they’re ready for it and they’ve filled in well. Connor Cruise… Jack Conklin has had a great spring. Most people don’t really know about him. But he’s a big, strong athletic kid. He’s explosive and he’s had a really good spring with us.
Q: When you look at your personal goals going into one of these things, what are a few things that you’re really focused on getting done tomorrow?
A: Well, some of those game like situations you’re going to be put into. Obviously when it comes to managing a game. I know the term game manager gets a negative connotation out there. Makes you sound slow, makes you sound unathletic. But being a game manager is really just knowing the situation, knowing the down and distance, knowing what it calls for, knowing the play clock, knowing your cadence, knowing the defense, getting in and out of checks. And these are all things that are really kinda hard to simulate in practice when everything is scripted and everything’s on a clock. But when you really get put in a game like situation, like in a scrimmage, those are the times when you really practice and really come along with those things.
Q: Is that something you feel you did well? Especially after the Boise game you cut down the turnovers completely for 7 or 8 weeks. Did you feel like as a game manager you were effective at the beginning or middle part of the season?
A: I don’t know. It’s something we put a stress on each and every week. Obviously when I had that string there of not having any turnovers that’s something that we as an offense pride ourselves on, and as a quarterback that’s what you wanna have. That’s what we’re shooting for each and every week and building towards.
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