Things Discussed

• The movie 300
• A sort of injury update on Tarik Black
• Shea Patterson using his legs
• Rivalry games

[After THE JUMP: We waited over an hour for Shea. Please click]

 

Tyree Kinnel

 

What was going on with your — leg cramps or?

 

“Whole lower-body cramps. First time I went down, it was my right hamstring. Second time was both of my calves, and then my hip all just locked up on me. Terrible feeling, so I’m good now, but talked to the doctors, nutritionist and everything. And we’re gonna fix that, so hopefully I won’t go down again, cramping.”

 

Just a hydration thing?

 

“Hydration was good. Didn’t really eat much throughout the day. But now we’re gonna fix all that. I talked to the nutritionist, and they got me on a couple things that I’m taking. So hopefully I don't have to go through that again.”

 

…

 

What challenges does (Brian) Lewerke present?

 

“I mean, he’s good on his feet. He throws a good ball, quick release. I think this is like his third year in the system, so he’s really comfortable back there, and you can just tell watching the film, he’s gonna be a challenge for us.”

 

…

 

When you’re working as a captain, you and Devin (Bush), do you cross over with the offensive players, too, or do you just feel like you captain the defensive guys?

 

“Yeah, we have a lot of conversations together. Coach (Jim) Harbaugh gave us the choice of the team movie last week for the first time, so we had a good conversation to pick the movie, the captains.”

 

Which was?

 

“It’s actually funny, we picked 300. Spartans, so, but that was last week. Definitely won’t watch that this week.”

 

Why 300 last week?

 

“We thought that was a good movie to watch. Good war movie. Good fighting movie. Thought it would be a good movie to watch before a game. We didn’t realize that the Spartan thing — until it was on — that we played them next week. But we won’t be watching them this Friday.”

 

You really didn’t realize?

 

“I mean, some people might’ve, but as the captains, as we was discussing it, we didn’t realize it at first.”

 

…

 

Has coach Harbaugh given the captains any other decisions to make?

 

“It’s just, you just pretty much — we lead. We try to lead as captains, in the locker room, on the field, by our actions and what we do outside of football. Everyone is a leader on this team, everyone’s been following the right lead. So captain-wise, we try to do it by example.”

 

[Fuller]

 

Nico Collins

 

How has the offense changed now that Shea (Patterson) is becoming more of a running threat?

 

“I feel like ever since our loss at Notre Dame, we’ve improved on everything throughout the week, each game. And I feel like we — as an offense — we all came together as a unit, and we just continue to improve.”

 

Tyree said one thing that stood out about the offense is the confidence. How do you build confidence after last year’s struggles, and then you lose to Notre Dame, I guess how does that build?

 

“Just improvement. Each week we can improve on the small things, and we just came together as a unit. And we see whether we can do it.”

 

How much did that Northwestern comeback have to do with this?

 

“A lot. At halftime, we was losing. That’s when the captains stepped up in the locker room and said, let’s go out there and get this win. It’s a Big Ten game and we needed this win. So that’s when we all came together, and gave it our all.”

 

…

 

How close is Tarik (Black) to coming back?

 

“He’s coming back. He’s coming. We see him every day. Every day he’s improving, out there running routes a little bit, trying to get his groove back. But I feel like he’s gonna come back.”

 

How has he handled this?

 

“Handled what?”

 

Sitting out with a broken foot

 

“Oh, he’s been hurting. Cause he wants to come out there and join us bad. He’s just been telling us he’s gonna come out there, he gonna come and we all gonna come together. … But I feel like he’s gonna come back.”

 

He’s running routes? How close to full speed?

 

“I’m not sure. I don’t know. He’s doing rehab, but we’ve just seen him doing stuff on the treadmill and it looked pretty good to me. Hope he comes back soon — this week hopefully.”

 

…

 

Have you seen the captains act with a greater sense of urgency, starting from last week?

 

“Yeah. I have. It’s captains being captains. That’s what captains are supposed to do … and that’s what they’re doing. Telling us it’s a big week right here, so just continue to every day, practice and practice hard.”

 

…

 

How much did you know about Shea Patterson before he got here? What kind of quarterback he is?

 

“I really didn’t know as much about Shea. I knew he was a great quarterback, but watching him — he played at Ole Miss — watching him play against these big-time teams, what he can do with the ball, it’s pretty amazing.”

 

Is he where you thought he would be or better than you thought he would be?

 

“I feel like he’s better. I feel like he’s improved on everything. … He watches fil on the things he can do better. That’s what he’s doing.”

 

[Fuller]

 

Shea Patterson

 

(Shea walks in with an ice bag tied to his left hand)

 

Same thing from Saturday, the handoff?

 

“Yeah.”

 

How many stitches did you get?

 

“Five.”

 

…

 

Shea, you played rivalry games in high school, I’m sure at Ole Miss, probably, I imagine Mississippi State. Do you know a lot about this and does it feel different based on a couple days of practice?

 

“Yeah, I know it. Kind of grew up around the rivalry. I know how important of a game it is for both Michigan State and us. We just — we’re gonna attack it with the same enthusiasm we have been the last six weeks. Just take it one game at a time.”

 

…

 

Is Tarik Black possible (to come back)?

 

“Possibly, yeah. We’re not very sure yet. But could be this week, could be next week, could be the week after that, but no, I know, I’ve seen him every single day. He’s working his tail off to get back.”

 

…

 

Did you get the stitches on the sideline or after the game?

 

“After the game.”

 

Has it limited you in practice at all?

 

“Not at all.”

 

Shea, how much have you still worked on the timing — the clock in your head, in terms of when to bail, when to stay in? Is that still a process for you?

 

“Yeah, it’s a day to day thing. Each — every quarterback in the country has something that they need to work on, and that’s something I’m gonna continue to harp on. And ball security as well. Gotta protect the ball. Each day just get better at something.”

 

Do you feel like you made strides from when you were playing a year ago until now in that area? Maybe more than a lot of other spots?

 

“Yeah, definitely. I’m just gaining more knowledge about the game, just being around our players and our coaches who have so much knowledge and have been around the game for so long. You’re just around them 24/7, seven days a week. It’s definitely an advantage.”

 

…

 

You said on the radio a couple weeks ago — maybe it was last week — that you’ve learned more from Pep (Hamilton) and Jim in the couple months after you got here than you had your whole football life. What did you mean by that? What have you learned?

 

“Just knowledge about football. Knowledge about defense and coverages, football as a whole. And work ethic in practice, and just how to carry yourself during practice. Really with coach Pep, it’s just the little things that have gotten me a lot better. Just kinda staying loaded in the pocket, not bouncing around and trying to maybe throw. Just always being in that position to throw the ball.”

 

…

 

You talked about getting better at learning to throw the ball away and learning to bail out of the pocket. How do you think you’re doing (at that)?

 

“I threw a couple away last game. That’s progression. But yeah. Just understanding the situation, field position, and not getting us out of field goal range. I could have done a better job against Wisconsin of doing that. Just managing. Just being a manager in the offense. That’s one thing I’m focusing on right now.”