All 11 on the Same Page: Omari Kelly’s key to Michigan State's success
MSU wide receiver Omari Kelly says the Spartans are ready to take on the intense atmosphere at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. He believes that the Spartans are prepared for Nebraska’s nationally-respected pass defense, and it’s nothing they haven’t seen before, but the offense needs to have all 11 players on the same page and playing at a high level in order to compete.
Michigan State senior wide receiver Omari Kelly explained that the Spartans are ready to take on the intense atmosphere at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln against Nebraska on Saturday (4 p.m. Eastern Time/3 p.m. Central Time on FS1).
He believes that the Spartans are prepared for Nebraska’s nationally-respected pass defense, and it’s nothing they haven’t seen before, but the offense needs to have all 11 offensive players on the same wavelength, and performing at the highest level, in order to compete.
Nebraska has had over 400 consecutive sellouts since 1965. That’s the environment awaiting Michigan State when they travel to Memorial Stadium in Lincoln to take on the Cornhuskers this weekend. Coming off a bye week, the Spartans have had a chance to rest before facing one of the Big Ten’s top defenses.
Kelly, who previously played at Middle Tennessee State and Auburn, is no stranger to raucous road environments, as he has played at places such as LSU and Mississippi State, but he is expecting a tough atmosphere in Lincoln.
“That’s crazy, so I’m expecting a good environment,” Kelly said about playing at Nebraska. “Obviously, going to be good competition, considering we’re in the Big Ten.”
Nebraska is also coming off of a bye week, so the Cornhuskers should also be well-rested and additional time to prepare for Michigan State.
The Green and White faced a recent test against another strong passing attack versus USC in Los Angeles on Sept. 20, which resulted in the Spartans' first loss of the season. It served as a reminder for MSU about the importance of execution in these competitive games.
“I say we started off a little slow,” Kelly said about the USC game. “We picked it up and kept fighting, even though we weren’t in a good spot, like score-wise. But,I feel like we did pretty good. Definitely some stuff we have to clean up. There’s always stuff you have to clean up. Personally, I was just trying to do my job.”
The last sentiment, “just trying to do my job,” has become a vital point of focus for each player on Michigan State's offense, as Kelly points to team unison as the driving factor the Spartans need to clean up. He believes the unit is doing a good job, but the small disconnects are causing the whole team to break down.
“Everybody being on the same page at once, ” Kelly said when asked about what the offense needs to do to get to the next level. “A lot of times, we’ll see when plays don’t work, it’ll be like 10 people or nine people doing the right assignment, and two people that might have been confused or did the wrong thing. We need all 11 (players on offense) doing their job, and doing it at a high level.”
