Michigan State LB Aaron Brule: next Spartan coach ‘has to take control of the program’
East Lansing, Mich. – As the clock inside Ford Field hit zero and Michigan State’s turbulent 2023 season officially came to a close, Aaron Brule walked off the field as a college football player for the final time.
A little under an hour later, inside the press room, Brule had trouble coming to terms with that prospect while addressing the media. But he had thoughts about the future for Spartan football and advice for Michigan State’s next head coach.
“They have to take control of the program,” Brule said. “Obviously keep some tradition, whatever the case may be as far as Spartan tradition. But bring in your philosophy. I’m sure they’ll bring in a pretty gritty type of coach and a guy who’s all about his business.
“The guys in the locker room, they’re a gritty group. I’m sure he’ll be able to watch the tape and things like that and his staff will be able to watch the tape and they’ll be able to make adjustments from there – bringing in guys, I guess getting rid of guys, whatever the case may be. I’m confident the next coach that Alan Haller hires, that they’ll do a really good job of getting this program back on track.
“The future’s bright. I mean, it’s Michigan State. There’s going to a great coach that comes in, there’s going to be players who want to play here. There’s always going to be that. I think it’s just that one little slump. I mean, it’s life. There’s a million more years to go. So two years out of how many more to go, I’m confident in this program (moving forward).”
But it will be done without Brule.
“I haven’t necessarily come to the conclusion that I’m done with college football yet, but I’m sure it’ll hit me probably on the ride back to campus or something like that,” Brule said. “But right now I’m just kind of numb to it. I really wanted to win today and it didn’t really go our way. So right now I’m still fighting against the feeling of losing. But once everything settles down and I talk to my parents and things like that, I’m sure it’ll all settle in and we’ll just go from there.”
Brule, a former Mississippi State Bulldog who committed to Michigan State out of the transfer portal in 2021, emerged as a dependable leader during his final collegiate season. He continued to produce against No. 11 Penn State on Friday, totaling five tackles and one sack.
But Michigan State’s 42-0 loss to the Nittany Lions signaled the end to a second straight disappointing season, just two years after the Spartans finished 11-2 and won the Peach Bowl.
Michigan State endured an underwhelming 5-7 season in 2022, Mel Tucker’s firing in September and a 4-8 finish this season following Friday’s loss. But Brule wouldn’t change his decision to come to East Lansing, if given the chance.
“I don’t regret anything,” Brule said. “I don’t regret ever coming here, don’t regret meeting the people that I’ve met. I’ve met some of the best people that you could ever meet and I’m sure those relationships will maintain. My teammates, the linebacker room, coach (Scottie) Hazelton, we all have a really, really close relationship. I definitely see big things for this program in the future. I’ll be in and out. I’ll be around helping in any way that I can with whatever anybody needs. Young guys, older guys, anything.”
A New Orleans native, Brule moved far from home to come play for Michigan State. Following a slow start to his first season in East Lansing, Brule soon embraced his role on the team and started making an impact on and off the field for the Spartans.
When fellow transfer Jacoby Windmon went down with an injury in September, Brule stepped up as a vocal leader not only among the defense, but the rest of the team as well. He noticed others start to do the same.
“We’re a gritty group,” Brule said. “It’s a group of guys that I think really, really loves each other. We fight, we practice as hard as we can for each other everyday. In the midst of whatever goes on, our focus was just to win games. Obviously the results may not have been what we wanted, but we will say we definitely learned and guys have gotten stronger throughout this whole situation.”
Playing through the 2023 season helped put things into perspective for Brule.
“Playing football in college was a privilege for us,” Brule said. “I think everything from here on out is not guaranteed. I think through football I’ve learned that. I’ve had a great group of guys. My parents and coaches and things like that, they’ve done a really good job of making us understand that people have it way harder than we’ve ever had it. After football, we could struggle for 5, 10 years. There will be things that’ll be knocking you down for the rest of your life outside of football that you’ll really have to deal with. I kind of take a lot on myself as far as football, but I know that for the rest of my life, I have to make things happen for myself, my family or whatever the case may be.”
And Brule believes those who stayed at Michigan State this year will be better for it.
“That’s life,” Brule said. “God clearly put us through that battle for something great to happen out of this. Whatever the case may be, there has to be something great coming out of this.”
Making an impact for the final time at Michigan State
Brule made his presence felt one last time for Michigan State when he sacked Penn State quarterback Drew Allar on third-and-seven from the Spartan 25-yard line, during the Nittany Lions’ opening drive. Brule dropped Allar for a loss of seven yards, which forced Penn State to kick a 49-yard field goal. The Ford Field crowd – composed of mostly Michigan State fans – erupted following Brule’s sack.
Brule said he could “feel” the noise in the stadium, especially in the early-going. But as the game wore on, and Michigan State’s defense wore down, Spartan fans had fewer opportunities to cheer that loud again.
Michigan State’s defense saw the field a lot Friday night, with the Spartan offense mustering just 53 yards of total offense – the fewest in a single game in program history. With Michigan State punting as often as it did, Brule and the rest of the Michigan State defense faced plenty of snaps against Penn State’s offense.
Still, Brule did not view that as an excuse for allowing 42 points.
“I can’t necessarily remember when it started happening but I noticed we were on the field a good bit,” Brule said. “But there’s no excuses. They still scored points on us so that’s still up to the defense to get those stops. We can’t necessarily blame anyone else for what we gave up.”
Photo courtesy SpartanMag.com.
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