'I just go out there and play, man': Jacoby Windmon keeps cool after monster Michigan State debut
EAST LANSING – For the duration of his six-minute postgame interview, Jacoby Windmon spoke in a monotone. His stoicism belied his spectacular play Friday night.
Windmon, in his first appearance at Michigan State after transferring in from UNLV, authored a dazzling debut, finishing with seven tackles, four sacks and a forced fumble in the team's 35-13 season-opening victory over Western Michigan at Spartan Stadium.
His sack total was the most by an MSU player in a single game in two decades (Matthias Askew also had four against WMU in 2003) and tied for the second-best showing in program history, just one off Travis Davis' school record of five, which came at Ohio State's expense in 1987. Windmon's four tackles for loss earned him another spot in the school's top 10 for a single-game tally, the best performance in that department by a Spartan since Malik McDowell had 4.5 TFLs against Maryland in 2015.
Putting Friday in perspective — Was it the best game of his career? — wasn't on Windmon's mind, though.
"I just go out there and play, man," Windmon said. "We look at the film the next day, and I just kind of go from there. I don't look at stats or nothing. I just play my heart out and then let the rest take care of itself."
On this night, he made it look easy, taking up near-permanent residency in the Broncos' backfield.
"He is a great player," Western Michigan coach Tim Lester said. "We knew their front seven (was) going to be great. "
Windmon accounted for more than half of MSU's seven sacks in the victory. It's a day Bronco quarterback Jack Salopek won't soon forget.
"It's a great way to learn when you get hit by a 300-pound guy," Lester said. "Seven sacks in one game is way too many. We have got to be better up front and we have got to make sure he knows where his checkdowns are so he doesn't take too many hits."
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The seven sacks matched the most the Spartans have had in one game in Mel Tucker's three seasons as coach, putting it alongside last season's total versus Nebraska.
"We have to have our rush and coverage working together, always," Tucker said, "in order for us to be able to play the type of defense we need to play here."
Tucker wouldn't allow anyone to downplay Windmon's play, however.
"Obviously he had a high level of production today in terms of sack production," Tucker said. "I don’t care who you’re playing."
Windmon's stellar start marked the second time in as many seasons a transfer excelled in Michigan State's opener. Last year, Kenneth Walker III took his first touch 75 yards for a score en route to 264 rushing yards in MSU's 38-21 win at Northwestern.
Compiling such a sparkling stat line in his first game as a Spartan is exactly what Windmon envisioned after joining the program.
"It was a great opportunity to get out there in 'The Woodshed' and defend our home. Go out there and do what we love to do best," he said. "I couldn't ask for a better atmosphere from the fans. They were all hyped, into the game. The guys on the sideline, they brought juice. Everybody had their own juice. So it was exciting to get out there and get it done with my brothers."
Friday's memorable outing was, in a sense, back to the future for Windmon.
During his freshman season at UNLV, he played defensive end. The following year, he moved to linebacker — the same spot he expected to play at Michigan State. Throughout the Spartans' preseason camp, that's where he lined up. But as camp began to wind down, he began taking more and more reps at defensive end.
Practice made perfect Friday.
"A few weeks before the game, we just made the change for me to play D-end," he said. "I was all in for it. I had that mindset to just go in and dominate whatever position I'm at on the field."
How he continually punished whoever tried — mostly in vain — to block him Friday, he couldn't say. Or perhaps he didn't want to spill his pass-rushing secrets.
"It was nothing serious. I was just doing my job," he said. "We go through those situations at practice, so I'm a firm believer that you practice how you play. We've just got to go out there and execute. Hat's off to Western Michigan. They're a very talented team, well coached. I couldn't ask for no better work than that. So it was a good opportunity to go out there and get better."
He told Tucker just that after the win.
"I just talked to him a minute ago, and he’s hungry. He just wants to get better," Tucker said. "We identified him in camp, and in the spring as well, as one of our best pass rushers — maybe our best pass rusher. And pass rushers are hard to find. You always have to be able to affect the quarterback."
Windmon aims to be a nightmare for opposing signal-callers all season long. Despite all the attention on his individual exploits Friday, his focus was elsewhere.
This was a team effort through and through.
"At practice, we go good-on-good (No. 1 offense vs. No. 1 defense). Even if the offense might make plays or the defense make plays, we all celebrate together, because at the end of the day, we're one team and we all have one goal," he said. "So for us to go out there and play complementary football, it was awesome. The defense made a stop, the offense fed off that and they scored. It don't get no better than that."
Contact Ryan Black at rblack@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU football: Jacoby Windmon keeps cool after stellar showing in debut
