Everything WMU coach Tim Lester said about Michigan State
Michigan State football opened its 2022 campaign with a 35-13 home victory over Western Michigan on Friday night at Spartan Stadium.
Following the game, Broncos head coach Tim Lester addressed the media and was asked a few questions about the Spartans. Here's what Western Michigan's head man had to say about MSU.
On Michigan State forcing two fumbles:
We didn't get the job done. Our number one thing coming into the game was to take care of the ball and I don't think we did a good job of that. Obviously, we turned the ball over twice in the red zone, two lost fumbles. We need to be better to beat a good team like that. Good game for [quarterback] Jack [Salopek]. I thought, numbers-wise, he had a decent day. He probably wouldn't agree. He thinks there were too many things he missed. He has a high expectation of himself, and he is going to get better. I was overall happy with the effort and happy with the fight, but we have got to be able to take care of the ball and have to make more plays.
About Jacoby Windman and MSU front-seven:
He is a great player, we knew their front seven were going to be great. I was happy with the 141 yards rushing, I think if it was a closer game we could've rushed for more — 150 was the goal. They pushed us around early. It'll be interesting to see how many were on Jack [Salopek]. The two things that come with a first-time quarterback is red zone inefficiencies, they are a little slow with the ball, and then taking too many sacks early on. It's a great way to learn when you get hit by a 300-pound-guy. Seven sacks [allowed] in one game is way too many, we have got to be better up front and we have got to make sure he knows where his checkdowns are so he doesn't take too many hits.
On Tre Mosley's late TD catch:
You can't turn a guy loose. And I didn't feel like we turned a guy loose until the last one. They got us on a blitz, our WILL (weak side linebacker) has to roll with that guy and he had space.
On Daniel Barker's one-handed TD catch:
The one-handed catch in the corner is a one-handed catch in the corner, you know. We were in his hip pocket.
On pressuring QB Payton Thorne:
We knew we couldn't let him sit back there and throw it around, we had to get to him. And we did, he only took one sack because he is a great quarterback. But 12-for-24 for him is a pretty stout defensive day. But we've got to be able to cover in man coverage. We had four corners play today. We had a pick, which is huge. Against this team, we knew we had to get to him, with that receiving corps and the tight end and the skill positions they had. We respected them a ton coming in on their skill positions. The plan was to go get him and make him uncomfortable, but you got to play great man coverage and know that in man coverage, they could be a big one. I'm happy with how they fought.
On what he told Thorne, Jayden Reed after the game:
It's just good to see him. I just said good luck. He said it was a great game and our guys played hard. I asked him if he was all right. And he said he was. Told him I love him and I'm going to be rooting for him. And it'll be fun to root for him now, because we weren't today. It was good to see him and Jayden after the game as well. Jayden is a great kid, he just said thank you for helping him get his start and helping him grow. I wish those guys the best from here on out.
