Middle linebacker Shane Jones, recently named a starter in place of injured Riley Bullough, got up and walked behind the cameraman interviewing redshirt-freshman offensive guard Tyler Higby.
First, he stared at Higby, trying to draw him in. Higby, trying to stay poised, glimpsed at Jones for less than a second. It was all Jones needed.
He broke out dancing, drawing a smile from Higby and laughs from the reporters interviewing him. It was all a ruse to keep the mood light. After back-to-back losses, MSU football hasn’t hit the panic button.
Instead, the team responded with increased intensity on the field and chose to remain themselves off the field, all in an attempt to turn the season around, especially from the guys on defense.
“We sat down as a defensive unit and looked each other in the eyes and told each other, ‘do we plan on going 10-2 or 6-6 or 7-5 and going to a regular bowl game?’” defensive lineman Demetrius Cooper said. “We just sat there and looked at each other and told each other something has to change, and if nothing changes it’s going to keep on going downhill.”
Cooper and the defensive front four have found sacks at a premium, picking up just 1.25 a game, which ranks dead last in the Big Ten. Even without the sacks, the defensive line and linebackers failed to pressure Indiana quarterback Richard Lagow enough, allowing him to lead the Hoosiers to three-straight come-from-behind touchdowns.
Dwelling on mistakes and miscues, however, was put aside at practice, almost as if to shake off the first four games and come with a renewed focus on winning the last eight games.
“I feel like today was a good, intense practice,” Cooper said. “I feel like everybody was moving around, flying around, and I feel like we’re going to get everything shaped up and we’re going to figure it out.”
The defensive line, however, will attempt to fix things without starting nose tackle Malik McDowell — at least for the first half of the game — and defensive tackle Raequan Williams. McDowell is out for the first half against BYU after being ejected for targeting in the Indiana game, and Williams is out with an unspecified injury.
The intensity of practice, however, spilled over to other units of the defense, something Jones alluded hadn’t always been there from the start.
“That’s the way we need to practice, to be a great defense you have to practice great,” Jones said. “That’s something that we needed to get back to and I’m glad that we did do it.”
Jones said the message following the loss to Indiana was not as verbal as it was mental.
“Everybody could look into each others’ eyes and we knew that things needed to get corrected and needed to get corrected now,” Jones said. “Today was a first step for us, and I think that was a step that we needed.”
The linebacking corps has been nipped by injuries as Bullough and junior linebacker Jon Reschke both incurred injuries following the Notre Dame game.
It is unspecified how long Bullough is out for, while Reschke is out indefinitely.
Jones felt the linebackers fared well against Indiana, having only to clean up footwork emphasizing that the wrong first steps can largely take one of the guys and sometimes the group out of the play.
But even with the details the overarching message was clear, cut the losing.
“Guys are sick of losing,” junior linebacker Chris Frey said. “It’s something we don’t do much or very often around here, so guys came out hot today.”
Frey himself came off the field with an injured arm against Indiana and was in a brace, but fully practicing on Tuesday.
“Everybody is out here fighting for wins,” Frey said. “That’s what we plan on doing, and like I said we don’t lose very often around here so guys are on tip right now ready to go.”
