East Lansing, Mich. - Charles Brantley nervously answered the first couple of questions during the first one-on-one media session of his college career.
At one point, he looked over at a member of Michigan State’s sports information department hoping for a quick end to the media session.
Brantley, a true freshman cornerback for the No. 3 Spartans (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten), received a supportive nod, smile and words of encouragement and realized he was going to be there a little bit longer than he wanted, answering questions.
“Hold on, give me a second, give me a second,’’ Brantley said during Tuesday’s interviews.
His reluctance and show of nerves were evident and probably justified considering that less than a year ago he was playing in front high school crowds of 6,000 to 7,000 at Venice High School’s Powell-Davis Stadium in Sarasota, Fla.
But when you make a spectacular one-handed interception to preserve Michigan State’s 37-33 victory over Michigan in a Top 10 matchup and bitter rivalry game in front of 76,549 at Spartan Stadium and a national season-high 9.3 million TV viewers, you’re going to get a little more attention than usual.
Despite the nerves Brantley fought through at the podium on Tuesday, he’s not a nervous person when it comes to football.