It has not been easy for the players within the Michigan State locker room over the past couple weeks. Earlier this month, head coach Mel Tucker was suspended due to sexual harassment allegations. Then on Sept. 19, Tucker was served notice that his employment agreement with the university will be terminated, effective on Sept. 26.
On the field, the Spartans have now dropped two-straight games, losing in blowout fashion to Washington last week, and then turning the ball over five times versus Maryland in what ultimately was a 31-9 defeat.
Still, redshirt senior center Nick Samac is preaching togetherness for the Spartans. The fight and desire is still strong for players like Samac and several others on the team.
Samac noted that the team never gave up on Saturday. The effort remained strong and there was belief on the sideline.
"We were preaching all year that we're four-quarter team," Samac said after the loss to Maryland. "That's something that we hold our heads high about. Things might not always go our way in the beginning, and we're just going to keep fighting. I mean, you've seen with our university the adversity we've been dealing with, so this is nothing new to us. We're just going to keep fighting and I love my guys and I'm going to keep pushing them as hard as I can. And I've got no doubt in this team, and this is not going to define us, and I'm not even worried about it."
Now in his fifth year in the program, Samac is a team leader and somebody who the younger players on the team can look to for guidance. Obviously, there has been a turbulent situation in East Lansing, but Samac and his teammates have been doing their best to keep everybody connected and motivated.
"It's challenging," Samac said about the last couple of weeks. "It's just a new thing. It's adversity. But like I said, it's nothing that we haven't been through before. So, I'm just trying my best to keep myself positive and set a good example for my guys. I can't show them my weakness because then that creates weakness as a whole, as a team. It's challenging, but we're continuing to fight. I think we're very close to being where we want to be, and I know we're going to get there. It's going to be fun."
