Michigan State defensive coordinator Joe Rossi reflects on the start of the season and looks ahead to Maryland

Below is a partial transcript of his press conference:

Q: Was it positive to keep communication errors limited despite so many actors in a new system?

Rossi: “Yeah, of course. We always talk about it and we emphasize it. I want it to get better than it was, our staff wants it to get better than it was. We had a lot of players playing; a lot of players who were maybe under the lights for the first time or who were just playing their first game here in this stadium. I think overall we handled it well. There were a couple of times where we were able to speak up and we were able to do better, and we’re emphasizing that this week.”

Q: How do injuries affect secondary depth?

Rossi: “Yeah, I mean, those are two guys (Dillon Tatum and Khalil Majeed) who are good players who were in the plans to play a lot, and they’re not available for the foreseeable future. So, those guys get hurt and other guys have to step up. I think Aveon (Grose) did a really good job; he spent a lot of the week scouting, and then all of a sudden in the game, he has to come in and he has to play. That’s not going to be the last time that happens. It’s a football season. So, some of the younger guys are going to have to step up quickly and be able to give us meaningful plays.”

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