Michigan State secondary coach Harlon Barnett addressed the media on Tuesday to reflect on the Spartans' 2023 season-opening win versus Central Michigan and preview the upcoming matchup with Richmond on Saturday.

Barnett, who was a four-year letterwinner at defensive back for Michigan State from 1986 through 1989 and spent seven seasons in the NFL, was impressed with the secondary's performance against CMU.

While the Chippewas don't necessarily pose a strong threat in the passing game, the Spartans have struggled to defend the pass over the pass few seasons. Barnett was proud of his unit for doing what it was supposed to do on Friday.

"I thought they did a really good job (against Central Michigan), what we expected them to do," Barnett said about his defensive backs group. "They played fast, physical and aggressive. I was really proud of those guys. And then always, as we say, the biggest jump of improvement is from game one to game two. So, there's some things that they're going to even show better, we feel, this next week, this next game coming up because of the improvement that's gonna happen. Overall, I felt really good about those guys."

Barnett noted that the defensive backs still need to clean some things up "schematically" and for "communication purposes," but he was pleased with the group's overall effort and execution on Friday.

Michigan State's focus has now shifted to Richmond, a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) opponent out of Virginia. MSU, a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program, is expected to win the game by a wide margin, but the Spartans respect all opponents and will prepare for a full four-quarter battle against the Spiders.

Central Michigan challenged Michigan State in the first half, and Barnett believes Richmond can do the same this coming Saturday. The Spartans must prepare the same way as the team would for any other opponent.

"All the games that we play, we take very, very seriously," Barnett said. "We're not looking past anybody. (Central Michigan) was a good team. That quarterback was a good player. His dad was a former NFL player, (Bert) Emanuel (Jr.), I'm talking about for CMU ... That was a really good test for us. Just like this coming week (with) Richmond, another team that we've got to take very seriously. They're used to winning. They play hard, tough and physical, well-coached. So that's what we're focused on."

Richmond, which won the FCS national championship in 2008, is coming off of a playoff appearance in 2022. The Spiders are coming off a 17-10 season-opening loss to Morgan State, however.

Barnett mentioned the Spiders have some good athletes on the offensive side of the ball, and that the Spartans need to be prepared to stop their passing game.

"They've shown a spread attack (in the past) — they weren't as spread on Saturday (against Morgan State) as they were in the last year," Barnett said. "(They) got a new quarterback, but a big boy that can run, throws the ball pretty well down the field. And (they've) got good receivers. One receiver in particular (Ja'Vion Griffin) has the record in the 200 meters (in track) from his high school. So, they've got football players."

"That Virginia area (has) real good football, and they attract good players there at Richmond, so they do a good job," Barnett said. "They're used to winning and so they're gonna come in here fired up, I'm sure, and ready to go, but we'll be ready to go also."