MSU's Legi Suiaunoa on What Needs Improvement vs. Nebraska

Here's what Michigan State's defensive line coach had to say ahead of the Spartans' trip to Lincoln.

Michigan State DL Coach Legi Suiaunoa speaks to the media on Oct. 1, 2025 ahead of the Spartans' game at Nebraska. | Jacob Cotsonika, Michigan State Spartans on SI

EAST LANSING --- Michigan State is going to need to see some improvement from its defense sooner rather than later. Part of that will come down to the team's defensive line play, which didn't record a sack or a tackle for loss during MSU's last game against USC.

That unit is coached by Legi Suiaunoa, who spoke on Wednesday about what his players are working on and what they'll be looking to do better in Nebraska on Saturday afternoon.

The complete video of Suiaunoa's press conference can be found below.

Watch Legi Suiaunoa here:

Below is also a partial transcript of the beginning of Suiaunoa's presser.

Transcript

Michigan State's defensive line coach Legi Suiaunoa works with players during the first day of football camp on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Q: One of the things that is still maybe grumpy for you guys is generating more pressure. How do you feel, particularly on the edge, how much of that maybe has got room to grow still and how do you feel the interior guys are dealing with penetration? 

SUIAUNOA: Well, first of all, I think we've made progress. Not enough, obviously, for us to win a game last week here, but I think in terms of just getting pressure on the quarterback, I think the first thing we've got to be able to do as a defense is be able to dictate those situations. And obviously the last game (against USC), our guys are excited to get back on the field after looking at four games and obviously how the last game ended. We didn't stop the run, we didn't stop the pass, we didn't stop their offense at all.

So when we don't know exactly what's happening on the field and we're playing on our heels a little bit, obviously that doesn't help us in terms of our ability to get after the quarterback because obviously, hey, we've got to be able to defend everything. When you're in a position to defend everything, you're really not good to defend anything. So I think that's got to be the first thing.

Sep 20, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) throws against the Michigan State Spartans during the first half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Yes, we do have to be able to get a little bit more out of our edge players. I think our interior guys are doing a nice job here, but at the end of the day, we're not generating enough pressure on that quarterback to affect the game like we want it to affect. I think consistency, I think Coach (Joe) Rossi's talked about just the consistency and how we do things, consistency in terms of our daily approach.

All those things matter, obviously, after four games, identifying some things that we go. I am encouraged because I do think we got the guys to be able to get that done. 

Michigan State defensive line coach Legi Suiaunoa sits down on the bench to go over plays during the fourth quarter the NCAA football game against Ohio State University at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. Ohio State won 38-7. | Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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