Mike Jacobs press conference -- Aug. 31 (Michigan State)

Mike Jacobs press conference transcript – Aug. 31 (Michigan State)

Question: Two hundred sixty-two days exactly from the day you were hired; I don't know if you kept track.

Mike Jacobs: I knew it was around nine months, but not to that extent.

Question: How excited are you that this week is finally here?

Jacobs: It's been a long time coming, right? I mean, you know, again, you mentioned it, since the day it was announced on December 10th, the amount of work that's gone into, you know, really a complete overhaul of the building in the sense of the roster, the staff, the support staff, for the first time in a long time at Toledo. And so, to now see all of that work come together and to get a chance to…like, I love Saturdays because I love watching the players get to do what they love, you know what I mean? And so, I'm excited to see them play really good football. I'm excited to watch their excitement, and we're ready to get this thing going.

Question: You've played against a couple of Power Conference teams during your time at Mercer. What's something you maybe learned from just those experiences, and how do you kind of describe to the players that maybe haven't played against those caliber of teams just kind of what that environment will be like?

Jacobs: Yeah, I think just with anything, you gotta make sure the moment's not too big. You gotta make sure that they control their emotions. You can't get over-hyped or under-hyped. You gotta be right in that slot where you're highly focused, but you're able to play physical. You're able to play aggressive. It's still football. It's supposed to be fun. They need to not be worried about making mistakes. They should be confident because they prepared well, and they should just go out and play their best football.

Question: Just going off of that, you know, big environment, and for them, it's kind of the same, new team, new coach. I mean, just what's maybe like an underrated or undervalued area that's gonna be really important for you guys to do just in this caliber of game so early in the season?

Question: Sure. I mean, not just this game, but all of them week to week, right? Like hidden yardage, right? So like, you know, anything in special teams where you can flip the field or pin them back and force a long field, I think that protecting the football is gonna be critical. It's always critical, but hypercritical in the first week, especially on the road against a big opponent. And then, you know, I just think the special teams and the penalties, right? So turnovers, penalties, and then the ability to win some of that hidden yardage I think will be critical this week.

Question: Mike, now that you've really had a chance to dive in, what do you see from Michigan State?

Jacobs: Pat's a great coach, right? Like, I think they're going to be better because that's a gentleman that knows how to win football games. He knows how to win the Big Ten Conference. I think his philosophy is pretty similar to mine in the sense that, hey, you need to be physical at the point of attack.

I've heard him talk about wanting to run the football, right? He's one of the best linebackers to ever play in the Big Ten, so you know they're gonna have a certain demeanor about themselves on defense. He went out and hired LeVar Woods. He's one of the best special teams coordinators in the country, so I think you're gonna get a significantly improved Michigan State team.

I think the running back, the transfer from UConn, is a tremendous player. I think the defensive end, he was playing linebacker some for NC State. He's a tremendous player, number five linebacker. I mean, they got guys that have played, and, you know, really that's a team that has a couple of really close games down the stretch there. They were playing better football as the season waned in the Big Ten, so I expect a much improved, you know, hard-nosed physical team, much like their head coach.

Question: Just like you guys, an almost all-new team with more than 50 new players. How difficult is it in this era to prepare for an opener just by looking at the tape?

Jacobs: Yeah, it's what tape do you watch, right, at that point? So, you know, for us, obviously Coach Rossi, their defensive coordinator was on staff, so there's some continuity there. Their offensive coordinator, Emma mentioned that we had played Alabama when we were at Mercer, and their offensive coordinator now at Michigan State, he was the OC that year. So, you know, there's some things that you can at least take a look at, but they're going to be, you know, their own version of 2026.

You don't want to put, you know, too many eggs in one basket, but it at least gives you a starting point. I think, really, the first week more than ever, the in-game adjustments and the halftime adjustments will be critical as we all have new wrinkles.

Question: At MAC Media Day, when you were asked about wanting high expectations. Now that we're finally here, how are expectations meeting reality?

Jacobs: Yeah, I mean, listen, our expectations are that we're going to compete to win every week. I mean, that's, we walk into this building, and we expect to be highly competitive week in and week out. And, you know, I think that, what does that mean? That means we go there, we protect the football, we play our best football, and the process plays out, and we'll see where we're at. But we expect to play well each week and be competitive, highly competitive each week.

Question: Has anything stood out to you so far as a key strength to this team?

Jacobs: I'll be honest, how quickly they've bonded, right? I mean, there's a lot of new people. I think people ask, well, listen, I love coming into work every day because they're fun to coach. The makings of what good teams are, they come to work, they work hard, they're physical, they care about each other.

They do some of those intangible things at a really high level, and now it's about putting their best football forward. But some of those things I'm really excited about, and I like the way that we work. At this point, does it even feel like there's 51 new players? No, I mean, no, because they've done a good job blending, right? And I think the staff's done a good job.

I mean, for me personally, the staff continuity, there's not a lot of, I'm not feeling a lot of new people out. They know what to expect from me. They know what to expect from your day-to-day routine. I think the players we've brought in, I think, you know, certainly the Mercer players that have played for me before, and Khamoni Robinson, who was with me all the way back at Lenoir-Rhyne, they know what to expect, and they can be a sounding board for players that maybe have questions on why we're doing certain things, and I think that piece of it's been good.

Question: Connor Walendzak was named a captain. Obviously a local kid. Been in the program here for a while. How important is it to have someone like that that has been with Toledo, you know, you have new staff, the 51 new players, to have someone that maybe brings some stability, you know, with all the change?

Jacobs: Yeah, I think, one, I think our team, right, there's no greater honor than your peers voting you to lead them, and so I think they got it right with both Connor and John Alan. I think they got it right with Andrew Zock and Julian Fox. I think, you know, you get a good blend. You've got two guys that are highly invested or were highly invested in Toledo.

They saw the vision for what we want to do as a staff, and they decided to stay, and now they're getting to have their moment, and then you have two gentlemen who were with us at Mercer that, as sophomores, were voted team captains last year, and so to come into a new locker room, a new city, a new space, and quickly establish themselves as leaders, both by how they play and what they say, I think that says a lot, so I'm excited about the captain group.

Mike Jacobs press conference -- Aug. 31 (Michigan State)

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