Almost exactly one year ago, the Spartan football team began preparing for an upcoming season that would begin in the national spotlight and end in a frustrating spiral of failure.
Monday, Spartan players and coaches took steps to assure the media that this year's preparation won't be in vain. Head coach John L. Smith and the team acknowledged the disappointment of last year's final games.
"I think that's the great thing about athletics," Smith said. "Yeah, we were upset. As a program we still are. The great thing about athletics is you get to line up again. We're very disappointed. We want to change that taste in our mouth. We want to get rid of that stench."
The annual media day is not only a public progress report on off-season workouts and training, but also an invitation to hear the team's plan for the new season. The staff spoke primarily about acknowledging last year's mistakes, learning and moving on.
"We always have to analyze ourselves. We always have to go back and do that," Smith said. "We start with coaches and then we carry out through our personnel. Basically it's analyzing yourself and executing the things that we have to execute. The conclusion is ? we still have to execute better. It's a combination of everything. It's not just one thing."
The players are even more aware of last year's blunder. After going 4-0 during a brilliant September, the team lost five of their last six games before the season completely dissolved.
"It seems like every November we get a monkey on our back," said senior wide receiver Matt Trannon. "This year, we're going to try to go the whole year without having that monkey at all. I don't know if it's a spell on us or something, but it's got to go this year."
Analysts and fans alike point to Oct. 15 as the turning point of the season. Right before halftime against Ohio State, the Spartans' lack of communication led to a blocked field goal that quickly transformed into an OSU touchdown. Many think that pivotal play transformed the entire Spartan season.
Fifth-year senior quarterback Drew Stanton spoke about the botched play and the faltering momentum of MSU's season.
"It wasn't a fluke. People want to look at that and say, you know, that play right there cost us our whole season. I don't think that play cost us our season at all. We were still up at that point," Stanton said. "I think after that game, the wind kinda came out of our sails a little bit. It was so hard because we felt like we couldn't have played a better football game. And I think at that point you have to realize 'OK, that was that week,' and we have to learn to move on and progress from there. That's all we can do, and hopefully it's good enough this year."
Trannon offered more input on last year's disappointment, where it went wrong and how to stay focused for this year.
"You can never tell what it is really," Trannon said. "We look back at (the botched play against Ohio State.) You never know what it was, it's just some games work out like that and some games don't. So you just have to play your best."
Monday also marked the first day of preseason camp. After the conference, the players suited up and started training for the upcoming season with the hopes of burying the past.
"For the first five practices, the focus is on implementation," Smith said in a press release. "We're going to cram a lot of material into that small hole in the practice schedule. We'll also spend extra time on the kicking game. In addition, we'll be evaluating the first-year players to determine how many of them need to be bumped up into the playing rotation.
"We have a lot of cramming to do in these next single days before we start double days," Smith said. "We have to cram into them as much as we can in a short period of time."
Smith made it clear that the fresh season will be an opportunity for success that the team won't miss out on. During the press conference Smith said this is the best Spartan team he has worked with and that they will make the most of it.
"It is new," Smith said. "It's a new year, it's a new opportunity, it's a new beginning — it's something worthwhile to show that we're much, much better than that."
