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TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com

Behind Enemy Lines: Chris Frey

Last season wasn’t a banner 

year for Michigan State. Chris 
Frey is well aware of that.

Frey, a senior linebacker, was 

one of a few returning starters 
for a team that went 3-9 as the 
Spartans fell off 
a 
precipitous 

cliff 
only 
one 

year 
removed 

from a College 
Football Playoff 
appearance.

At 
Big 
Ten 

Media Days in 
July, Frey made 
it clear that he 
wants to put that 
all behind him. 
He wants to leave East Lansing 
as he arrived — staring at a 
championship banner.

“We want to be able to put a 

Big Ten championship banner 
on the wall,” Frey said in July. 
“We want to take the last Big 
Ten championship banner off 
the wall and spray paint on 
it. … We want to be a playoff 
contender. We want to win the 
East. And that’s the legacy we 
want to leave behind as a senior 
class.”

The Daily spoke with Frey at 

Big Ten Media Days in July to 
discuss his team’s turnaround, 
the development of younger 
players and whether there were 
any structural changes made to 
Michigan State’s defense. 

TMD: Do you guys think 

you’re closer to turning this 
around than saying, ‘Oh, we’re 
3-9, we have a way to go.’ Do you 
think you’re closer than people 
think from the outside?

CF: Like you said, going into 

the season, we’re a 3-9 team. 
It doesn’t matter. We’re here 
to put that behind us. But last 
year we were in a lot of close 
games and we failed to contend 
in the fourth quarter, and I 
think that’s where a lot of our 
downfall came, not being able 
to finish games. I honestly don’t 
know the stats of how close we 
were and certain things last 
year and I couldn’t tell you, but 
I do think we have a really good 
chance at turning this around. 
Not even a chance — I think we 

have a really good opportunity 
to turn this around. We have a 
lot of great guys on this team, 
guys that know what it takes 
and are going to give everything 
that they have.

TMD: You mentioned before 

the sophomores who had game 
experience last year. What about 

the freshmen and 
sophomores 
who 

haven’t played in 
games — how do 
you 
bring 
them 

along on that fast 
track?

CF: 
It 
comes 

down to reps in 
practice, honestly. 
During 
camp, 

they’ve got to step 
up if they want to 

play. They’ve got to step up and 
make plays in practice. Getting 
to know the guy that’s next to 
you, learning a lot from him, 
will help those guys be able to 
become better players and learn 
more on the field.

TMD: Without a bowl game 

last year, did that place a 
heightened emphasis on spring 

practices this past year?

CF: We moved spring practice 

up two or three weeks this year. 
We finished last year at Penn 
State on a Saturday and started 
workouts on Monday. So it was 
way, way fast-tracked and we 
were able to put the past behind 
us right there and start working 
for 
this 
year. 
We’ve 
been 

working for this year for eight, 
nine months now, and we’re 
ready to go. We’re just ready to 
put the pads on and start hitting.

TMD: Is there any added 

pressure on the linebacking corps 
to be the lynchpin of the defense 
considering the inexperience of 
the line and secondary?

CF: I don’t think there’s any 

pressure. I just think every 
year that’s something that we 
have to deal with. I think every 
single year the linebackers are 
the anchor of our defense, the 
guys that have the most playing 
time, the most reps and most 
starts, so I don’t think it’s an 
added pressure. I just think it’s 
something we’ve gotten used to 
over the years.

TMD: Last year, you guys 

finished last in the Big Ten in 
sacks. Is there more emphasis 
this year on blitzing linebackers?

CF: 
Definitely. 
Not 
just 

blitzing linebackers, but more 
of an emphasis on pass rush and 
drills to better ourselves at that.

TMD: 
(Michigan 
State 

Coach Mark) Dantonio talked 
a 
fair 
amount 

last year about 
RPO (Run/Pass 
option) and how 
that 
gave 
you 

trouble at times 
as 
a 
defense. 

Has that been 
an 
emphasis 

this 
offseason, 

any 
structural 

changes, 
anything 
like 

that to try to defend those?

CF: I don’t think it’s a 

structural change. I just think 
it’s trying to figure out the best 
way to defend it. We’ve changed 
a few things, but no matter what 
defense you play, it’s going to 
be hard to guard the RPO. You 
always want to play the run 
first, you can’t give up the run, 

so the second you see that run, 
you’re going after it, and when 
they realize you’re biting on the 
run, they’re passing the ball. It 
doesn’t matter which defense 
you’re playing in. You’ve just 
got to recognize the flow and 
trying to get a feel of if there’s 
a giveaway to whether they’re 

going to RPO or 
not.

TMD: Is that the 

toughest 
scheme 

for a young defense 
to play against?

CF: 
Oh 
yeah, 

definitely. 
Especially 
our 

STAR, our outside 
backers, 
because 

of trying to read 
the tackle and the 

guard and the running back and 
the quarterback, you can’t tell if 
they’re pass-setting or if they’re 
handing the ball off because 
the running back’s doing play 
action. You can’t really tell. So 
it’s really hard on our outside 
backers to make our read and 
then try to decide on what we 
think it is.

ORION SANG

Daily Sports Editor

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Michigan State linebacker Chris Frey is leading Michigan State in sacks, contributing significantly to a defense that ranks 16th nationally in rushing defense.

The Daily sat down with the Spartans’ linebacker at Big Ten Media Days prior to the 2017 season

I think we have 

a really good 

opportunity to 

turn this around.

We want to be a 

playoff contender. 

We want to win 

the East.

