Podcast: What We Learned About MSU’s First Fall Camp Scrimmage
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Michigan State comes off its first scrimmage of fall camp, and now, we have a clearier grasp of where some things stand.
At the same time, more questions have been raised.
Jonathan Smith addressed the media following the Spartans' first practice of Week 3 of fall camp and spoke on what stood out in Saturday's scrimmage and where some position battles stand.
On this episode of the Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast, our Aidan Champion discusses what we learned.
You can watch the episode below:
Below is a partial transcript from Smith's media availability:
Jonathan Smith
Q: How are you managing motivation a few weeks out?
Smith: "Yeah, it's an important piece, right? We've been going -- I think it's, what is it today? 11 or 12 -- kind of hit them strongly on Sunday of this idea of not just kind of getting through it but truly improving through this week. And I was happy with today, coming off a scrimmage. We got a bunch of reps on Saturday. I thought it was crisp, and we'll go again in the next couple of days in full pads.
"Because we do, we need to improve. There's some competition. Kind of described it as a week of separation to the team in regards to, yeah, depth charts, but also just teams themselves. What team can separate in regards to getting better through these dog days of camp."
Q: What questions does Saturday answer for you?
Smith: "I thought depth defensively showed up. A lot of guys, a lot of reps there. Played sound defense pretty much throughout. And so, that kind of re-confirms some of our feeling. I think we took some steps in the run game, to be honest with you. There was some quality carries out of the backfield, offensive line doing some stuff. Especially in the middle part of the scrimmage, so that was good to see. I think we're progressing there. Still a lot to work on, though."
Q: What about cornerbacks? Did you learn anything about them?
Smith: "Lot of guys and a decent amount of rotation. On the corner piece, was really pleased with our tackling. They got guys on the ground -- balls on the perimeter and in space. Contested some. Actually caused a fumble on one. So, we were pleased with the physicality of the corners."
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