Watch: Michigan State DB Nikai Martinez Talks Spring Ball, More

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith spoke to reporters a couple weeks ago following the Spartans' first spring practice.

Below is a partial transcript from his opening statement:

"Excited to get started. We did Practice 1 this morning. A lot of work goes into that. These guys in the weight room, all of that, January, February and half of March with them. And so, it was great to get back out there with them. I actually told the team at the end of practice that I do. So many guys -- body changes, faster, explosions, you can see it, you can just feel it out in practice. So again, Coach Mack [Mike MacDonald] and his staff have done a great job getting us ready for this part.

"And it's always an exciting time. First look at 27 new guys. And it's not just all about the first look at those guys, the opportunity to see these guys that have been in the program every year. Some have played college football for two or three years. Across the board, on our roster, to see the development and excited about working with them for 15 practices."

"On that, kind of through the preparation of practices and thoughts going into it, want to take advantage of, really, all 15 practices. I think I might get asked about it today. We're going to kind of going to finish spring ball without a 'spring game.'

"And there was some considerations with that. Some of it, you only get 15 of these. Some of the logic is a little bit of, when you do those, you prepare for those in the back-half of the spring. We think the best for this current unit is to take advantage of all 15 practices, not leading into or prepping like you're going into a game.

"There was some logistics going on in the stadium, which we're excited about -- of course, the scoreboard, some things in the press box, and so, that can create some challenges.

"And then, yeah, you're always working with numbers and availability, what's best for the team."

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