WATCH: MSU's Wayne Matthews III Speaks After Fall Camp Practice
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EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State is returning some key players on defense this season, including a number who transferred over last offseason and are looking to take a leap in Year 2 with the program.
One of those players is redshirt linebacker Wayne Matthews III, a veteran who was a standout at Old Dominion before transferring to Michigan State for his fourth collegiate season.
Matthews would miss the final three games of the 2024 campaign with injury after posting 33 tackles in nine games. Now, he's back and is anticipated to be a starter and a major piece of a defense that will be looking to be improved from last season.
The veteran linebacker addressed the media following the Spartans' practice on Tuesday.
You can watch below:
Michigan State defensive coordinator Joe Rossi spoke to reporters shortly before. Below is a partial transcript:
Joe Rossi
Q: Why did you practice in the stadium for first day of pads and what did you get done?
Rossi: "It was good work. We got an opportunity to do some tackling. So, we had some different periods -- we had some pass emphasis periods, we got some run emphasis periods, first and second down. So I think, really, the decision from coach (Jonathan Smith) was just to get the guys experience in the stadium.
"We have some new people that were additions to the roster, we're going to be scrimmaging later in the week, so it was, 'Hey, get them over there in the practice, let them see what it's like, and when we go over there for the scrimmage, create the most game-like situation as possible.'"
Q: How are you juggling the tackling throughout camp?
Rossi: "The reality is there's a limited amount of times you can practice now. Coach Smith kind of goes through and picks the days and then talks to the staff about, 'Hey, what are the days going to be?' I think there's different ways to practice tackling, whether it's individual, whether it's on bags, whether it's just tagging off, but then also, you have your live days.
"So, I think the thing we do as a defense is, ' What is the day, what is the emphasis? Is it an emphasis on tagging, is it an emphasis on thudding, is it an emphasis on bringing guys down?' So, I thought yesterday was great to get some live hits. We got the ball out on the perimeter on some 'now' screens, which are the hardest tackles in football, and put our guys in those situations, so it was good work."
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