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MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCEDecember 3, 2013Isaiah LewisQ.  Just from what you've seen on film with the Buckeyes, with a quarterback like Braxton that can buy time in the pocket, how often are they able to get big chunks of yardage through the air with receivers improvising and find a way to get open? ISAIAH LEWIS: Yeah, they do a pretty good job of getting open down there. They pretty much know what he's going to do. They know he's going to make plays with his feet. His receivers know that he'll get the ball downfield. He'll make plays. He'll get yards with his feet. They're ready for him to throw the ball at any time. They know what kind of player he is. I feel like we have to be ready for that, too. Q. How does that make things more difficult for you, knowing that there's a chance that play is going to be extended with what he can do with his legs? ISAIAH LEWIS: Yeah, as a DB it's kind of hard to‑‑ it's hard to cover a man, stay with somebody throughout a whole play, especially when the play is extended. It makes it like that much more difficult for you. So you just have to know that your D‑line is going to have your back, they're going to put pressure on you, make you throw a bad pass or something. Try to stay with your receiver for a little bit longer, just know you've got to cover your man for that much more longer. Q. I know we talk about safeties and coverage all the time, but you come downhill an awful lot, almost as much as a linebacker if you're not in the box. Can you talk about the match‑up with Hyde, how important it is to get to him early? ISAIAH LEWIS: I mean, yeah, he's a big back. We're in the Big 10, and I'm used to tackling big guys. Not being a very big guy myself, I'm ready for the competition.  I've played against him before, so it's going to be a competition. It's going to be big collisions out there, but it's something I'm ready for. I've been experiencing it my whole four years here, so what's going to be different now? It's going to be a hard‑fought game. Q. Would you go so far as to say that's something that you relish? ISAIAH LEWIS: What, going down and making‑‑ Q. As much as we've seen you in the pass game, you've been pretty effective in the run game, as well, the big collisions. ISAIAH LEWIS: Yeah, most definitely. That's one of the things you love about playing safety back there, the big hits, going down, making big plays, getting the TFLs, making the crowd go, ooh, like the big roar from the crowd when you make a big hit back there. It's one of the things you love hearing. Playing safety, it's one of the things you love. Q. How special is this for you to play right there in your hometown in a game of this magnitude? ISAIAH LEWIS: It's special, man, like y'all don't even know, it's crazy for me because two years ago, like y'all know, it was a bad experience for me, bad ending for the game. Just to just get back in my hometown in front of people that I know, it's going to be fun for me. It's going to be the experience of a lifetime to come down there, and this year we're going to win that game, go out there and win. Just make sure it's not the same story as last time. Q. Is that a painful memory for you still? ISAIAH LEWIS: Yeah, you know, I try not to think about it much. But yeah, if I do happen to think about it, yeah, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I want to get back and win on that field, you know, get back, win that game, get to the Rose Bowl, and that's our main goal. It's not about me. I feel like it's not about me. I feel like it's about the team, getting the team to the Rose Bowl and winning that game. Q. Coach D didn't make it about you when that happened. Did that support mean something to you? ISAIAH LEWIS: Most definitely, yeah. Him and my teammates, the whole staff around here, I know they have my back. I know they're not going to leave me hanging, any tough times I have, I know they're not going to just leave me hanging out there. He's always been there for me. He's always been there for me whenever adversity has set in. Going back to this year when I had surgery, I was out for a few games or whatever, he had my back then. My teammates had my back, and they knew I was going to come back strong. They had my back the whole way. Q. Just to follow up, did that play into the circumstance, change you in any way, change your perception of football or life or anything? Was it that big of a deal to you personally? ISAIAH LEWIS: It was kind of hurtful like that whole year after that. You're talking about two years ago? Yeah. Yeah, kind of hurtful. I tried not to think about it for so long, I tried not to let it affect me going into the next year. I tried to forget about it before my junior year came up the next year. But yeah, it kind of lets you think about it for a little bit, just makes you think for a little bit, but at the same time you do have to let those things go so it doesn't affect you in your future. Q. You talked about your D‑line, forcing them into bad throws and everything. How much has the improvement of the D‑line getting pressure and sacks and all that this year helped you guys become a better defense compared to last year? ISAIAH LEWIS: I feel like our D‑line, they're more experienced, quicker. You know, they're fast on their feet, and they know what to do and they're more experienced up there. Getting pressure on the quarterback definitely helps the secondary to make plays when it comes to putting pressure on the quarterback and throwing bad passes.  You do have to have a good secondary to get back there, and I feel like we do a good job of taking advantage of the plays when the D‑line puts pressure on the quarterback, throws a bad pass, I feel like our secondary does a good job of getting interceptions and getting turnovers. Linebackers, as well, when they blitz they're almost as good as like the D‑linemen, getting pressure on the quarterback, forcing him to throw bad passes to allow us to make plays. Q. How do you balance the magnitude of this game with it is a big game but you don't want to treat it too much where you psych yourself out a little bit? How do you balance that? ISAIAH LEWIS: You just go into the week practicing, like Coach D said, treat this like another game coming up, don't try to force it. Don't try to force it, don't try to do too much extra stuff and do something you never done throughout the whole year, because we've been successful throughout this year, and if we keep on just like continuing to do what you've been doing, you will continue to be successful. Don't try to force anything, like I said, don't try to force anything, don't change nothing up, because we've been good, so we'll continue to be good if we keep doing those same things. Q. In preparing for this game, the scout team obviously plays a pretty big role and we heard some guys Saturday mention Damion Terry and how comparable he was to Devin Gardner. As far as his running skills, has that really made a difference? Does he present a good Braxton Miller in practice? ISAIAH LEWIS: Most definitely. There's been times he broke me down in practice. He done shook me a couple of times, and I don't think it's easy to do that. So he does a good job back there. Yeah, he might be comparable to him. I'm not going to say he's Braxton Miller, he's not Braxton Miller, but going back to playing on scout team, he gives the defense a good look back there as far as his running ability and his passing. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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