Stevens: I Am Not Going To Let Them Down
August 27, 2019 | Football
by Brandon Langlois, Associate Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – Five days after being named Mississippi State's starting quarterback, graduate transfer senior Tommy Stevens met with the media following Tuesday night's practice at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex.
Stevens, senior safety Brian Cole II and senior punter Kody Schexnayder joined junior linebacker Erroll Thompson and senior center Darryl Williams as team captains Monday morning. The captains are selected in a vote entirely by their teammates. Thompson and Williams were tabbed captains following MSU's spring game on April 13. Stevens, Cole and Schexnayder were revealed following a vote during preseason camp.
Below are quotes from Stevens' Tuesday media session:
On how he learned he would be named the starting quarterback …
"I got a text the morning of from Coach [Andrew] Breiner. It said to come meet with him at roughly 2:30 p.m. I got there and went in. After I got to Coach Breiner's office we immediately went to Coach [Joe] Moorhead's office and he just told me. He asked me how I thought I did in camp. I told him how I felt. He basically just told me I was going to be the starting quarterback."
On what Coach Moorhead said his expectations were …
"He really didn't say anything expectation wise at that moment. Knowing him, if he were to say something he would say something along the lines of 'These are the keys to the car. Now, this is not the end. You obviously need to continue to progress.' I guess that is more of the way I took it, I guess."
On his response when Coach Moorhead asked him how he thought he performed during camp …
"I thought I did well. I still think it was my best camp, all-in-all. I think I closed it out that way. I think I continued to play at a high level, higher than I have played before. I guess that goes to being in the system longer. I was able to play more comfortably. Those were the things that were said."
On how he is preparing for his first career start …
"I mean obviously it is there to think about. As far as things that I am doing I have not changed anything. I take a lot of pride in the way that I prepared for things at Penn State. Although I had never been given the opportunity to start a game there I took the same approach every week. I guess from the first game I prepared as the backup to now obviously things have changed a little bit as far as changing things here and there and making it a part of my week-to-week routine, but every week I try to prepare like the starter. Nothing will change from that."
On being voted a team captain by his teammates …
"It was awesome. A big goal of mine since I started playing college football. It is a huge honor. I am very proud to be a captain. I am very thankful to my teammates for thinking so highly of me."
On the feeling of getting the vote of confidence from his teammates …
"It was awesome. Like I said, I am very proud of that accomplishment. It is a credit to my teammates to being able to have faith in someone that is new around here. I never really tried to be the guy that is all rah-rah and speak too much. Especially being the new guy. I just tried to work and speak in given moments. Obviously I can't be too quiet. Some of those things have progressed the more I eased into things. The more I am around the guys the more comfortable I get. All-in-all I am very thankful for their thoughts of me being a captain. I am not going to let them down."
On if he has had a change of mindset since winning the job …
"No. As much as it is a game and you see it from that side of things, you love to have fun with it and all that but it is a huge responsibility. I have taken it seriously ever since I started playing the game at a high level. Starting when I was a junior in high school, when I was really starting to start the first couple of games in my high school career. Coming back to the question about preparation, it is a job-like mentality. I don't take it too lightly."
On what is it like from previous experiences to not win the starting quarterback job as a competitor …
"It is tough. It is very tough. I have lost more than I have won. That is for sure. This is really the first head-to-head that I did win. I remember losing one my sophomore year in high school. I lost the battle to a kid that was a year older than me. It was really tough on me at that point. Losing the job to Trace [McSorley] at Penn State was tough on me. At the end of the day you try not and make it too much about yourself, at least at that point. It is still a team first type mentality. My change of focus at that point turned to what I could do to help my team win. That was kind of my mentality."
On the first person he contacted after learning he would be the starting quarterback …
"I have a family group chat with my mom, dad, brother and sister. They told me right before we were going to a team meeting. I didn't have time to get on the phone with them but I sent them all a text. I said 'This is going to come out but I have been named the starter. I'll talk to you more later.' That was how it went."
On earning the starting role …
"It is a good feeling. Obviously it is what I wanted coming here. I don't want to say relieving because there is obviously competition in every aspect of life and this isn't the end of the road either. I have to continue to progress but I am very happy that this is where we are at. I have to continue to grow from this point on."
On something he wanted to improve on at camp, and did …
"I wanted to be as efficient as I possibly could, not necessarily completion percentages but things like getting the protection set the right way. Just the details. I wanted to be very detail oriented. Kind of like I said in the very beginning I thought it was my best overall camp. Not because my completion percentage, even though it is close to the best it has ever been as far as a training camp percentage, but some of those little things like sliding the protection the right way and knowing when the defense is doing a certain thing. I think that is what I am most proud of."
On getting to do a walkthrough at the Superdome on Friday …
"It is going to be cool. I have never been there before. It is going to be cool. I am excited for the opportunity. At the end of the day all football fields across America are the same size so at the end of the day it is just football."
On support from people at Penn State …
"It is cool. I am thankful for those people that have said good things. I am happy that I was able to have that kind of impact on the people there at Penn State while I was there. I am very thankful they were able to say nice things to me and about me and my family."
On having an early kickoff on Saturday against Louisiana …
"Yeah it is cool. There is obviously a different, I don't want to say mindset, but I always say noon, three-thirty and seven because those are the times I have been use to on the East Coast. It is a little different now. Eleven, two-thirty, six. Same thing. There are different routines for each game. Like you said, we are waking up, eating a pre-game meal and going. There is going to be a lot of emotion, but I just have to continue to remind myself it is obviously what I wanted for a very long time. It is football. I am excited for the opportunity."
Season tickets, mini-plans and individual game tickets for the 2019 season can be purchased at HailState.com/Tickets, by calling 1-888-GO-DAWGS or in person at the MSU Athletic Ticket Office on the first floor of the Bryan Athletic Administration Building (288 Lakeview Drive), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU football on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateFB."
STARKVILLE – Five days after being named Mississippi State's starting quarterback, graduate transfer senior Tommy Stevens met with the media following Tuesday night's practice at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex.
Stevens, senior safety Brian Cole II and senior punter Kody Schexnayder joined junior linebacker Erroll Thompson and senior center Darryl Williams as team captains Monday morning. The captains are selected in a vote entirely by their teammates. Thompson and Williams were tabbed captains following MSU's spring game on April 13. Stevens, Cole and Schexnayder were revealed following a vote during preseason camp.
Below are quotes from Stevens' Tuesday media session:
On how he learned he would be named the starting quarterback …
"I got a text the morning of from Coach [Andrew] Breiner. It said to come meet with him at roughly 2:30 p.m. I got there and went in. After I got to Coach Breiner's office we immediately went to Coach [Joe] Moorhead's office and he just told me. He asked me how I thought I did in camp. I told him how I felt. He basically just told me I was going to be the starting quarterback."
On what Coach Moorhead said his expectations were …
"He really didn't say anything expectation wise at that moment. Knowing him, if he were to say something he would say something along the lines of 'These are the keys to the car. Now, this is not the end. You obviously need to continue to progress.' I guess that is more of the way I took it, I guess."
On his response when Coach Moorhead asked him how he thought he performed during camp …
"I thought I did well. I still think it was my best camp, all-in-all. I think I closed it out that way. I think I continued to play at a high level, higher than I have played before. I guess that goes to being in the system longer. I was able to play more comfortably. Those were the things that were said."
On how he is preparing for his first career start …
"I mean obviously it is there to think about. As far as things that I am doing I have not changed anything. I take a lot of pride in the way that I prepared for things at Penn State. Although I had never been given the opportunity to start a game there I took the same approach every week. I guess from the first game I prepared as the backup to now obviously things have changed a little bit as far as changing things here and there and making it a part of my week-to-week routine, but every week I try to prepare like the starter. Nothing will change from that."
On being voted a team captain by his teammates …
"It was awesome. A big goal of mine since I started playing college football. It is a huge honor. I am very proud to be a captain. I am very thankful to my teammates for thinking so highly of me."
On the feeling of getting the vote of confidence from his teammates …
"It was awesome. Like I said, I am very proud of that accomplishment. It is a credit to my teammates to being able to have faith in someone that is new around here. I never really tried to be the guy that is all rah-rah and speak too much. Especially being the new guy. I just tried to work and speak in given moments. Obviously I can't be too quiet. Some of those things have progressed the more I eased into things. The more I am around the guys the more comfortable I get. All-in-all I am very thankful for their thoughts of me being a captain. I am not going to let them down."
On if he has had a change of mindset since winning the job …
"No. As much as it is a game and you see it from that side of things, you love to have fun with it and all that but it is a huge responsibility. I have taken it seriously ever since I started playing the game at a high level. Starting when I was a junior in high school, when I was really starting to start the first couple of games in my high school career. Coming back to the question about preparation, it is a job-like mentality. I don't take it too lightly."
On what is it like from previous experiences to not win the starting quarterback job as a competitor …
"It is tough. It is very tough. I have lost more than I have won. That is for sure. This is really the first head-to-head that I did win. I remember losing one my sophomore year in high school. I lost the battle to a kid that was a year older than me. It was really tough on me at that point. Losing the job to Trace [McSorley] at Penn State was tough on me. At the end of the day you try not and make it too much about yourself, at least at that point. It is still a team first type mentality. My change of focus at that point turned to what I could do to help my team win. That was kind of my mentality."
On the first person he contacted after learning he would be the starting quarterback …
"I have a family group chat with my mom, dad, brother and sister. They told me right before we were going to a team meeting. I didn't have time to get on the phone with them but I sent them all a text. I said 'This is going to come out but I have been named the starter. I'll talk to you more later.' That was how it went."
On earning the starting role …
"It is a good feeling. Obviously it is what I wanted coming here. I don't want to say relieving because there is obviously competition in every aspect of life and this isn't the end of the road either. I have to continue to progress but I am very happy that this is where we are at. I have to continue to grow from this point on."
On something he wanted to improve on at camp, and did …
"I wanted to be as efficient as I possibly could, not necessarily completion percentages but things like getting the protection set the right way. Just the details. I wanted to be very detail oriented. Kind of like I said in the very beginning I thought it was my best overall camp. Not because my completion percentage, even though it is close to the best it has ever been as far as a training camp percentage, but some of those little things like sliding the protection the right way and knowing when the defense is doing a certain thing. I think that is what I am most proud of."
On getting to do a walkthrough at the Superdome on Friday …
"It is going to be cool. I have never been there before. It is going to be cool. I am excited for the opportunity. At the end of the day all football fields across America are the same size so at the end of the day it is just football."
On support from people at Penn State …
"It is cool. I am thankful for those people that have said good things. I am happy that I was able to have that kind of impact on the people there at Penn State while I was there. I am very thankful they were able to say nice things to me and about me and my family."
On having an early kickoff on Saturday against Louisiana …
"Yeah it is cool. There is obviously a different, I don't want to say mindset, but I always say noon, three-thirty and seven because those are the times I have been use to on the East Coast. It is a little different now. Eleven, two-thirty, six. Same thing. There are different routines for each game. Like you said, we are waking up, eating a pre-game meal and going. There is going to be a lot of emotion, but I just have to continue to remind myself it is obviously what I wanted for a very long time. It is football. I am excited for the opportunity."
Season tickets, mini-plans and individual game tickets for the 2019 season can be purchased at HailState.com/Tickets, by calling 1-888-GO-DAWGS or in person at the MSU Athletic Ticket Office on the first floor of the Bryan Athletic Administration Building (288 Lakeview Drive), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU football on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateFB."
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