Michigan State QB Connor Cook Shares His Post Spring Analysis of His Play and MSU Football
Michigan State QB Connor Cook Shares His Post Spring Analysis of His Play and MSU Football
Q: I know Maxwell’s viewed as kind of the leader coming into today. What were you trying to do in terms of closing that gap?
A: Just go out and have fun, compete, try to be better than everyone out there. Be better than O’Connor, better than Maxwell. You just gotta go out there and throw completions and make big plays. Be a playmaker is what Coach always says.
Q: Can you just talk about where your game is in terms of not making the mistakes or taking the big losses?
A: That last play of the game I think Coach D said the Big 10 coverage cut out…we were in a hurry and it was 4th down and there was 2 minutes left. I just tried to make a play and I think that was really the only time all day I tried doing that. But there were times in practice and in scrimmages where I was trying to create and trying to do too much, when I just need to sit back there and trust myself and trust my teammates. Throw it to a spot where I think they’re gonna be instead of trying to run around 20 yards backwards. But I felt like that’s what I needed to do at that time because it was 4th down and a minute or two left in the game and we had to make a play.
Q: Coach just said if you could clean some of that stuff up you’d be right there. Do you assess that the same way, that you’d be right there if you could clean up a few of those…
A: Yeah, if I just clean up some of the stuff I did. Trying not to do too much. I just gotta play within myself and trust myself and everything that I do and not try to create all the stuff that’s going on around me. I’ll say it again, I felt like that’s what needed to happen at that time. It was 4th down, end of the game, stuff like that. I felt like I had to make a play.
Q: Where do you feel the gap is between you and Andrew compared to the beginning of the spring?
A: I think it’s the same. The same.
Q: Connor, last year at this time you were the only quarterback playing, learning a lot. What’s the difference from that point to now for you?
A: I just feel so much more comfortable. The protection, plays, audibles, checks…especially going up against our defense. This is my third year in a row, including last year…spring, summer...this is my third year going up against the defense. There’s stuff that I see now that I never saw last year, or that I saw my first year. Just being with the same guys, being with the same offensive line, stuff like that. You just build team chemistry, build team bonds. There’s plays where you won’t even have to look. You just throw to a spot and expect your guy to be there. Stuff like that. That’s where I’ve come from last year.
Q: Do you think being live and taking hits helped all three of you guys progress this spring? And in what way did that help you guys?
A: It just simulates a game-like atmosphere, stuff like that. We’ve never been live in the past I don’t think. And then Coach D making us live for the scrimmages and making us live for practices really just gives us a feel for what it’s going to be like on a Saturday afternoon.
Q: Is that true for you? Are you Consistent?
A: I think Kirk was the most consistent player I’ve ever seen. Everything you saw in the game was what you saw in practice with Cousins. I think sometimes, I wouldn’t say all the time, you do tend to lose a little bit of focus in practice just because it’s the same stuff over and over. And practices are long, especially with the stuff we’ve been doing and dealing with the weather here in East Lansing. Two outside scrimmages and one outside practice, other than that we were indoors. So it kinda gets old. But I do feel like I need to be a little more consistent in practice but I’ve always…In high school, as soon as the lights went on, I did well. I just feel more comfortable in a game-like situation instead of practice, which is weird. It shouldn’t be like that.
Q; What do you need to do to overcome Andrew? I mean, he’s a fifth year senior which is automatically an edge, but is there something that you can do to beat him out of his job?
A: Probably just understand the defense more and try not to create as much. Try not to create too many plays like that one at the end. I keep saying that I feel like that needed to happen, with me trying to scramble around, just trying to make something out of nothing because it was 4th down. But I feel like in practices and in scrimmages and stuff I try to do that too much. So try not to do too much and understand the defense more, probably.
Q: Coach has been saying that all spring…they want that creativity too, when things break down, right?
A: Right, but they don’t want a 5 yard loss turning into a 25 yard loss. He wants us to create, scramble, find guys that are open, but he doesn’t want us to try and run 30 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
A: …And then Riley and Nick Hill at running back, I thought our defense was excellent. They got Max Bullough back there, Kurtis Drummond, Trae Waynes, Marcus Rush, I thought we got a sack team.
Q: It seems like Riley brings something to the offense beyond the yards. There’s something about a power back that excites teammates. Talk about that element and what it means to a team to have a power back.
A: I don’t think the defense likes tackling the guy that’s 235 lbs. That’s what I think. Differences from Nick…Nick’s small, Nick’s gonna fit through smaller holes that Riley couldn’t. Nick can maybe run around the edge that Riley can’t. Look at Le’Veon Bell, how much did he weigh? He was 230 lbs, coming down full speed, defense doesn’t like that. And I think that’s what Riley brings…smashmouth football. He brings a physicality. That’s what Michigan State’s been all about, power running.
Q: Did you ever look at the scoreboard and see it was 17-10 and you’re the quarterback? Remember there were two defensive touchdowns and I don’t think you were on the field for either one, right?
A: I was on the one for the fumble.
Q: So it was 17-17. Talk about that strike to Arnett. Looked like you really threaded the needle in there at the end.
A: Yeah, I threw it up, hoping DeAnthony would make a play on it because there were two guys right there. The corner was trailing on him and the safety was right there. Actually, I should have thrown to someone else instead of DeAnthony. But I trusted DeAnthony to go up and make a play and he did. So that’s what you gotta go sometimes in football. You just gotta put the ball out there and trust your guy to make a play, and that’s exactly what I think he did.
Q: As much as you felt you needed it, how much did DeAnthony Arnett need an opportunity to show everybody what he could?
A: DeAnthony really needed it. I felt so happy. He worked super hard. Sometimes he drops some balls here and there, but he didn’t drop one ball today. He made some great plays and I just gotta be happy for him, especially scoring that touchdown. He really needed that.
Q: As a quarterback do you feel you rise to the occasion, given the opportunity?
A: Yeah. I don’t wanna call myself a gamer, I wouldn’t call myself consistent in practice. I’m not good in practice and stuff like that. But the main thing is I think I tend to lose focus in practice, sort of. And then anytime it’s a game-like situation under the lights, I feel like a much different kind of focus than I do in practice. And that’s not good; I shouldn’t feel like that. I should be focused 24/7, I should feel the same way. But there’s just a different kind of feel that I get from games than I do from practice that I can’t describe.
Q: The last time we saw you play a game, you led a game-winning drive in Phoenix. How much different of a quarterback are you now with this second spring behind you, than the guy we saw out there in the bowl game?
A: I think just better in command. I have more control. My comfort level’s a lot higher than it was last year. And just being consistent for 2 ½ years. I just feel like I make checks I wouldn’t make last year. I would change protection and do all this other stuff. I just feel comfortable. I can go out there and lead my team.
