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MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCEDecember 3, 2013Bennie FowlerQ. Can you talk a little bit about Connor's development and when you knew he would be okay as the quarterback this year? When in his development did you know it? BENNIE FOWLER: Well, throughout camp he had shown a lot of flashes that he had the talent and that he was ready to play. But I'd probably say in the Notre Dame game. He made strides as the game went on. He got better and better, and that was our first away game. Throughout the game he played in a hostile environment like that, he showed flashes that he was going to be that guy. And then Iowa he probably took off in one of his best games passing. Q. Connor was talking about so much talk about the defense, but hey, we have an offense here, too. Talk about kind of the growth that you guys have had on that side of the ball, and is there maybe a little bit of a chip on the offense's shoulder because the defense still gets a lot of the credit, and rightfully so. BENNIE FOWLER: Well, week in and week out we try and play with a chip on our shoulder because our defense is that good and they get a lot of the attention, which they should, and they deserve all the attention that they get. But we had a first couple rough games, first two games. We didn't do what we wanted to offensively. And then pretty much after that we took a little bit of a step back against Notre Dame, but throughout the Big 10 we've showed that the offense can play up there with the defense and that this is a team game. Even though our defense is that great, we've done well this year, too. Q. How do you think this team is a reflection or takes on the personality of Coach Dantonio? BENNIE FOWLER: Coach D is a guy that believes in discipline, a family atmosphere, and that's what we are as a team. If you looked at teams throughout the nation, throughout the country, it's about chemistry, and those are the teams that win. That's the reason why we win is we have a good chemistry with our team. It's not about the defense is better than the offense or things like that. It's about it being a team atmosphere and a family atmosphere, and that's what we take on from Coach D. Q. The discipline part, how much does he harp on that all year long? BENNIE FOWLER: We talk about discipline every day because discipline is what's going to win you the football game. It's not about being exciting, about this and that. It's about being disciplined and doing what you're taught. Q. I'm wondering, Mike Sadler was talking about the feeling of losing that game two years ago, and I think he said we had roses between our teeth and had them swiped. What kind of motivation can that serve, remembering that painful feeling you had after losing that game two years ago? BENNIE FOWLER: It serves as a great motivator, the fact that we were so close to our goal and it was taken from us. We have a lot of experience from that game, a lot of people that traveled to that game, played in that game. We're going to use that as motivation this week. Q. Going into this game a lot of the talk is about Ohio State's National Championship hopes, where the SEC fits in and everything else. Do you guys feel a little bit overlooked in this conversation heading into this game? BENNIE FOWLER: A little bit, but at the same time, Ohio State hasn't lost a game in 24 games, so they deserve some of the credit that they've been getting. I can see why people are looking at them that way. Q. A lot of games Coach Dantonio has taken a knee at the end, you guys have ran out 12, 13 run plays the last 10 minutes. When you look at Michigan State's offensive numbers, do you think they're a little misleading considering the way he's played out some of those fourth quarters? BENNIE FOWLER: I think our offensive numbers, they're pretty good, but at the same time we have run the clock out on certain teams in certain games. It's not really all about stats per se, it's about wins and losses, and we've only lost one game, so that's the most important thing. Q. Back to Ohio State, there is a lot of talk about what will happen in the event of an Ohio State win and Michigan State loss, people are saying Ohio State needs to blow you guys out, national title talk. Do you use that this week, that people are basically discussing the loss scenario for you? BENNIE FOWLER: We're not using that as motivation. We want to go out and win the game, and we need to play to the best of our ability. It's not about what they do, it's about what we do. We have to control what we can control. Q. Coach Dantonio mentioned last week about the possibility of that sixth season for you. Is that something that you are considering or have you made a decision either way? BENNIE FOWLER: It's a great opportunity, the fact that I have a sixth year of eligibility. But I'm not really thinking about that right now. Ohio State is the most important thing, and Coach D and I will talk about that after the season. Q. Can you kind of touch on your season? We saw the touchdown catch at Northwestern, and you had the one at Illinois, too, a couple crazy plays involved there. Talk about I guess what the season has been like for you and how you've grown this season. BENNIE FOWLER: The first couple games were rough for me, but I got going against Youngstown, did okay against Notre Dame, and throughout the Big 10 I've been able to make some plays, and that has to do with Connor, the offensive line and all my teammates around me. I feel like I've grown maturity wise and I've made a lot of big plays for this team. It's a team atmosphere, a team game, so I just appreciate all my teammates, the defense. We've gotten a lot of possessions because of our defense, so therefore we've been able to make a lot of plays. Q. We never really got to ask you about that catch you made. If you could just talk about that. You've made a lot of great catches in your career. Where does that one rank, and if you could just us through that catch? BENNIE FOWLER: It was definitely top five in my career. The wind was going crazy, and at first the ball seemed like it was going long, and then it was short, and then it was in front of the DB and then it was on his back and I was able to catch it. Just happy I was able to make that play for the team and happy Connor was able to make that throw and that read and that check that he made at the line. It's up there, up there with the Wisconsin and up there with the catch I had against Michigan last year. It's up there in one of my top five. Q.  Obviously Ohio State struggled last week, has had some ups and downs on defense. When you look at their secondary, what do you see on film? BENNIE FOWLER: I see some very good players, Bradley Roby, their safeties, the corner, Doran Grant. That's a good secondary. That's a good overall defense. We have a good challenge in front of us, and it's all going to come down to execution and who's going to out‑execute who. Q. When they have struggled, what's been going on from what you see? BENNIE FOWLER: I mean, I just see some coverage breakdowns, some people getting lost in certain spots or maybe they're not communicating the whole signal throughout the whole defense. I just see little things like that, but they're still a great defense. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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