Michigan State assistant head coach/co-special teams coordinator/running backs coach Keith Bhonapha knows the key to establishing consistency for his running backs is repetition in the basics and keeping a positive mindset.
"I talk to my group about being consistent runners," Bhonapha said on Tuesday. "It’s being consistent in the [pass] protection game. We’ve got to be consistent in the pass game and be able to catch the ball out of the backfield. I think the [lack of] consistency is what hurt us in the second half [against Boston College]. The second half hurt us."
Bhonapha went on to elaborate the importance of being consistent in everything that his players do.
"Consistency is an interesting thing," Bhonapha said. "Speaking from the point of view of my room and my guys, it’s really pointing out where we have gained ground and where we have gotten better, and then going back and looking at the process it took to get there.
"The process it takes is [asking], ‘What are we doing in the pre-snap?' We break down the pre-snap cycle with our assignment – our alignment. If it’s the run game [the question is], ‘What are our run keys? What is our aiming point?’ In the pass game, [it's], ‘What’s the protection? What are our rush threats?’ And just being able to go through that cycle over and over and over. I think being able to go through that discipline day after day after day is what produces that consistency."
Bhonapha points to that process mentioned above in times of adversity, such as the lost fumble by running back Kay'ron Lynch-Adams on the opening kickoff return of the second half against Boston College last Saturday. The Spartans went on to lose the game by a final score of 23-19.
"When we discussed the fumble, [we ask], ‘What is the process of how we hold the ball?’ You hold the ball high and tight. If we get in trouble, we double. We have to beat that dead horse – for lack of a better term – just to make sure these guys understand that consistency is not luck. Consistency is doing the same grinding, disciplined things over and over. And then the results come after that."
Bhonapha emphasized the importance of returning to a positive mindset after a negative play.
"I don’t want a sense of panic when a guy drops a ball, because if a guy fumbles a ball, that’s all he’s thinking about," Bhonapha said. "If you go up to him and say, ‘Hold on to that ball,’ they already know that part of it. The thing that you want to emphasize is, ‘Think about your ball security. Were you in the contact zone? Did you have the ball at your chin? Was it double?’ [It's] really going through that process that we started way back in the spring and really getting back on track and get the mind right."
A short memory is important as well, according to Bhonapha.
"One thing I always talk to these guys about is, in general, it’s not about the last play," Bhonapha said. "It’s not about the next play. The only play that matters is the play that you are in right now."
Bhonapha also talked about what an increase in pass receptions out of the backfield would mean for the offense.
"If there are opportunities to catch the ball out of the backfield, it can be back-breaking for defenses," Bhonapha said. "It gives the opportunity, if defenses are dropped back in a zone, we can drop it off to a guy from the backfield. He can run for the first down. It’s another element to the offense, outside of just running or blocking, that is sometimes forgotten about and can add a little bit of juice to the offense, as well.
"That’s what it’s about. At the end of the day, it’s about getting that fourth-and-one and [being] the guy we trusted to get it done. Between [Lynch-Adams] and Nate [Carter], they have that mentality. The mentality that when it’s time to get it done, we have to get it done."
Michigan State hosts No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday in East Lansing. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time and will broadcast on Peacock.
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