MSU's Harlon Barnett hopes fans will 'come out and show love for our guys'

Following Saturday's 24-21 win in Bloomington against the Indiana Hoosiers, the Michigan State Spartans were able to reclaim one of the four current rivalry trophies: the Old Brass Spittoon.

The Spartans will close out the regular season this Friday evening at Ford Field in Detroit. The game provides an opportunity to reclaim yet another rivalry trophy: the Land-Grant Trophy, which is current in the possession of Penn State Nittany Lions.

Let us pause briefly to bask in the breathtaking glory that is the Land-Grant Trophy.

At Monday's media availability, interim head coach Harlon Barnett talked a bit about the beautiful disaster of a trophy that his former coach, George Perles, helped to create. When asked directly to provide his assessment of the Land-Grant Trophy, Barnett smiled.

"My honest thoughts about the trophy?" he mused coyly. "I'm not a liar. I told you I'm not a liar. Honest thoughts about the trophy? It's nice!"

As for the opponent that the Spartans will need to defeat in order to claim the trophy, Coach Barnett also said some nice things about the Nittany Lions and especially their tough defense.

"They play hard, they understand the scheme, and they'll come after you a little bit," Barnett said about the Nittany Lions. "We know what to expect from these guys, and we just have to go out and execute our plan."

Barnett is clearly encouraged, however, by the spark displayed by his offense in last week's win. He believes that the success experienced by players like Katin Houser, Maliq Carr, and Montorie Foster will carry over into the final weekend of the season.

"When you play well, it can't help but build your confidence," Barnett said. "I'm sure those guys are feeling pretty good. (But they) understand what we're about to face again. Every week in the Big Ten, you're going to have to be ready to fight and play. So, here's another challenge for us to go out and fight and play and do our very best and execute and play with great discipline and then finish."

Both Carr and Houser received Big Ten Conference weekly honors following their performances in the win over Indiana.

One of the challenges, however, is that injuries are continuing to mount for the Green and White. Barnett was able to provide a brief update on several key players who went down during last week's game.

Barnett was clear that starting center Nick Samac "will be out." He was more optimistic about running back Nathan Carter, who he said "will have a chance to get back." The status of defensive end Brandon Wright was somewhere in between. "We'll see about him," Barnett said about Wright.

He also commented that defensive tackle Maverick Hanson is on a good trajectory to return on Saturday. However, Barnett implied that several other players who have been out for a while, such as receivers Tre Mosley and Jaron Glover and cornerback Chuck Brantley are all unlikely to return.

Despite all the injuries, Barnett mentioned that due to the time of year, the staff has not needed to modify the practice routine much relative to a more typical year.

"This time of the year in all of football, the hitting backs way off, because it is such a physical sport," Barnett said. "We are maybe backing off a little bit more than we normally have, but we would still back off because you have to just get the guys to the to the game.

"It's more about mental reps than it is the physical reps. That's what we're doing."

The game at Ford Field will also present a few minor logistical challenges for the Spartan relative to the originally planned home game at Spartan Stadium.

The Spartans are expected to bus into Detroit on Thursday night to stay in a hotel prior to the game. However, Barnett is not concerned that the game might feel like a road game.

"When we stay in this state, it feels like home games to me," Barnett said. "It's still 11-on-11 football no matter where you are playing."

Coach Barnett also commented that he has some practical experience playing a college game at Ford Field. He was on the staff in 2010 when the Spartans agreed to play Florida Atlantic in a "road game" in Detroit, while the Owls' home stadium in Boca Raton, Florida was still under construction.

Barnett mentioned that the subtle differences in the location of field markings, such as the hash marks and numbers on an NFL field, does present some minor challenges.

"You've got to understand those type of things,," Barnett said. "It does matter on how we align and do certain things, especially on defense. So, we'll be talking to our guys about that."

He does not expect that his team will be "overwhelmed" by the experience of playing in Detroit in an NFL stadium. Barnett noted that a few of his players have experience in the building from the Michigan high school state playoffs. He expects a home-like atmosphere on Friday night with plenty of support from the crowd.

"Our guys have been busting their butts all year long," Barnett said. "They didn't ask for this adversity that came upon them this season. So, I would just love for Spartan Nation to come out and show love for our guys.

"Show love for them and respect for them for what they have done this season. They never gave up. They always kept fighting and they will continue to fight through this game on Friday night. So hopefully everybody will show up and appreciate our guys for that."

With the season winding down and with reports of external candidates emerging to fill the head coaching position, Barnett was asked about his interest in removing the "interim" title and becoming the Spartans' permanent head coach.

Barnett confirmed to the media that he is interested in the job and that he asked to be interviewed.

"I was told several weeks ago that I would get the opportunity to interview," he said. "I do not have a specific date. You know what I know right now."

Coach Barnett explained how he has grown personally through his experience as interim head coach. He talked a lot about how it took some time, but that after the bye week and going into the game at Rutgers, he found his rhythm in the new position. That rhythm helped him gain confidence in his ability as the head coach.

Finally, Barnett was asked to give his "elevator pitch" for why he is the man for the job.

"There's nobody that they can go find that loves this place more than I do," Barnett said about Michigan State. "There's something to loving a place and caring about a place as opposed to just going there for a job ... I am a Spartan. I bleed green, and there's nobody that they could find to do a better job."

It is hard to know where Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller's head is at in regard to the coaching search and whether or not Barnett's message will have an impact. Either way, both the coaching search and Michigan State's season will likely be coming to an end in the next seven to 10 days.

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