April 21, 2008
How has the Blue-White Game evolved since your first Blue-White Game?
I really can't remember my first one. In fact we weren't in this stadium, we were over across the field. You guys have to be quiet up there (overlooking media room) because these guys sit on every word I say and I wouldn't want them to miss one word. It's hard for me to remember. It was a scrimmage and it's slowly developed into some of the things you see today. I don't know how many people will be here, but I had a tough time getting over here. I met with 3,000-3,500 people over at the Bryce Jordan Center and then trying to get over here the traffic was horrendous. I didn't realize how many people would be here but it's kind fun and exciting. I really don't remember the first one. It would be dishonest if I said I did. I was assistant coach and probably was more concerned about if a couple kids were ready to play or not ready to play and what kind of spring practice we had. In those days we had more time. We had six weeks of spring practice with no restrictions as far as when you put pads on and when you didn't put pads on. Now we have 15 practices. Three days you have to go without everything except helmets. So, it's a whole different environment and the amazing part, if you're asking me the difference, is the interest. You see so many people who come to see literally a scrimmage. It's not only here. There are a lot of schools across the country that are experiencing the same thing. Is that a tribute to college football? I think to a degree it is. So many people who graduated from a certain university identify with the football program as well as the university. I really haven't given it much thought to answering that question.
Jay (Paterno) has talked about using a spread offense. How do you envision the offense looking this fall?
I think people might make a mistake when they try to say what they're going to do. People think the spread offense is something new. I played in the spread offense in 1944 in high school. I was the quarterback in the shotgun. In 1944, my high school team never went into a huddle. The things we're doing now, we did then, except we did them from a little different angle and if we had a blackboard here I could show you how we ran the quarterback draw, the quarterback counter, the reverse, and all those kinds of things. I think you can do what you do best. I'm not sure yet where exactly we're going to be as a football team. I think we've got some great wideouts. I think we have the potential to have a couple great tight ends, we have young tailbacks. We have the ability to have a very diverse offensive team. There's only one football and there's a lot of guys who should get their hands on the football. Our job is to make sure we get it to the right guy at the right time and place, in the right situation. You've heard me say that statement several times. So whether we call a spread depends. If Daryll Clark's the quarterback then we can probably lean towards some things, but he doesn't have the job yet. I think Pat Devlin and Paul Cianciolo are good football players. We'll see who comes out of this, works the hardest this summer and come backs. We'll take it from there. There's no need to make a decision right now.
Do you think the recruiting will be hurt by this "one year at a time" contract?
That's ridiculous. You take a look at the wideouts. (Deon) Butler was a walk-on. (Jordan) Norwood only had one scholarship. The best freshman skill guy we have is (Drew) Astorino. Astorino was going to go to Kent State if we didn't give him an offer. You guys always get caught up with stuff. I think we've had a heck of a year recruiting. You're succumbing to the website mob. I think we're doing great.
What do you tell recruits about you possibly not being here?
You know what, some of the guys that tell you I may not be here are washing streets and doing dishes. I don't get into that. I tell them I hope to coach here while you're here. God only knows what's going to happen to me in the long run. I'm excited about the team I have. I'm excited about our prospects in recruiting. I'm excited about your being interested in Penn State and if I'm not here, the people you see around you, the facilities, the commitment to this program and the kind of attitude that Penn State has had about athletics will be. We have a whole mess of kids up here today, a lot of juniors, 40 or 50; Mike (McQueary) would know better than me. I say take a look at this place and say this must be one heck of a place. If I walk down the stairs, they may not even know me. I kept looking as I drove over, looking at those girls with those shorts; I hope they know me (laughter).
Are you hopeful one of your assistants would be your successor in a perfect world?
I would hope. I don't know. I think when I decide to get out of it, that will be up to some people who are more responsible for the program than I would be if I'm not here. I'm looking forward to having a good football team this year. You guys waste my time with all of this. It doesn't have a darn thing to do with whether or not I'm going to have a good football team this year or not. That's the only thing I'm worried about. I'm not worried about the years after.
How much does the loss of Sean Lee hurt? Are you still considering nominating him as captain?
Well, we're going to vote on captains after I talk to some of the seniors. Sean Lee is one heck of a football player. Lee's one of the best football players in the country and that's a big loss to us. It's not just the physical loss to us. He's everything you want in a football player. He's got poise. He comes to practice everyday. He works like a dog and the whole bit. When he got hurt it was a big loss, particularly in the drill. It wasn't even a contact thing. It's going to hurt us, but as I said to the squad, if you've got a good football team, somebody comes to the front. If you've got a good organization and somebody goes down, somebody comes to the front. That's the way I feel about a kid like Tyrell Sales who has really hung in the back. All of a sudden he's a real gung-ho guy. He had taken a back seat to Lee. As far as having a football player that can do the things Lee could do, Lee probably would have been as good a linebacker as there was in the country. I'm not saying he's the best because I'm not like that, but it would be tough for someone to tell me there's a better linebacker than Sean Lee in the country. Sales has come to the front and a walk-on kid from down the in the valley, Josh Hull are all of a sudden playing with a sense of "these guys need me." I'd still like to have Sean Lee, though.
Can you talk about the progression of Stefen Wisniewski? Does he remind you of his father (Leo Wisniewski) or uncle (Steve Wisniewski)?
He's going to be a good football player. He's still got some things to learn, but he's a true sophomore. That's one thing about this program and recruiting that you guys are worried about. I have a whole mess of kids whose old man played here, guys that you wouldn't even know. Tyler Ahrenhold, Joe Suhey had a father, grandfather, and great grandfather who played here and Rich Mauti has got two kids here from Louisiana. (Mike) Zordich's kid is coming here. When we went out to recruit people, we knew we would get those guys and as a result a lot of people didn't make a huge fuss over them because they couldn't come to get their picture taken. Stefen is one of them. He's very, a straight 4.0 academically in a very tough course. His father, Leo, was a great football player. We played in the Fiesta Bowl in '81, when he played against that Matthews kid and Marcus Allen, who won the Heisman; they still haven't blocked Leo. And Steve, what did he play, 12 or 14 years in the NFL? I think Stefen has a chance to be in that league.
How is Jared Odrick coming back from his knee injury?
He'll play today. He won't play a lot. Larry Johnson, his position coach, doesn't want to get him tired. So, he'll play some, but he's coming along fine. He's a good football player.
What has impressed you about Mickey Shuler this spring?
A lot of his old man (in him). His dad dropped a pass one day in practice. His dad would be the first guy on the practice field and he'd have somebody throwing passes at him. Young Shuler has a little bit of that in him. His grandfather was down here the other day and we were talking about how Mickey reminds you of his dad. He's a little bigger and maybe has a little more natural ability, but he's got the same attitude and is going to be a heck of a tight end. He works at it and he keeps his mouth shut. I sent a couple coaches down to watch Mickey play. With Mickey's dad, we didn't call recruiting coordinators but Sever Toretti, an administrative assistant who had coached at Williamsport knew that area. He went down there and said, "this kid's going to be a good football player," (I'm talking about the father) and our guys didn't think he was going to be tough enough. So I sent some guys down to watch him play basketball who then came back and said he's a good enough athlete. Toretti said, "look, don't pay any attention to those guys. I'm telling you, the old man is a football player." I had a lot of respect of Sever's judgment, so we went after him and recruited him hard. Obviously he had a great career here and in the pros. I think the kid is very similar. He's bigger than his dad, he's 6-4, 250 lbs.
You have a few players serving suspensions. When will you evaluate their status? What are they doing this spring?
Depends on their grades, to be frank with you. None of them have been out at practice. I've tried to wait out and see what the university decides to do with them. And wait to see if there were some things with judicial affairs downtown and wait until that's worked out. I have my opinions about different things, but I'm going to wait and see. They all know where they stand. They've got to do certain academic work. I've got to feel comfortable that they've grown up and aren't silly kids and that they can walk away from situations. When they do that, then we'll re-evaluate their situations.
Can you talk about the move of A.Q. Shipley to center three years ago and talk about him now?
Desperation, that's what I saw. We needed a center. Shipley wasn't happy about it at the time. He's a natural nose guard. Nowadays, Shipley can help us more on offense. I think it's worked out and I think he's happy with it. It was a good move for the team because Shipley has become a real strong leader. He's a bright kid, good worker, and we needed some leadership on offense.
Considering the injuries and off field incidents, has this been a tough spring?
I have thoroughly enjoyed working with this squad. This is one of the best squads I've even been around. I don't know if I'm getting mellow or what. I've really enjoyed them; we've had a lot of fun. It's a young squad in a lot of places. I would loved to have had the four or five kids who aren't with us but I think eventually, whatever happens to them, will be a plus. I've really enjoyed it. This stuff and crap about, "what are you going to do about this, and how will it effect that, and what's going to happen," that's a pain in the rear end to be frank with you. I just get tired of that bologna. It's got nothing to do with this football team. It's over, it's gone, it's past, and if I've got to make a decision, I'll make it. Right now we've got a good squad that's been fun to be around.
Any reaction to the charges against Austin Scott being dropped? Any regrets about suspending him?
I really haven't followed it that much. Austin and I talked a little on the phone last week and said as soon as you get through this thing, I want you to come in and talk about your future. He can graduate in May and I think he will. I told him if I can help him maybe get a better opportunity with a pro team after this thing is over with, that I will do that. It's up to you guys to judge. I don't know. There again, you get me involved in stuff that I don't know. If I took time to get involved in everyone of these things, I would not be able to sit down and figure out how we were going to practice tomorrow. My problem with Austin was the fact that it was three, four o'clock in the morning during the season. That was my gripe with him. He knows that. Regardless of the other incident, I probably would have suspended him anyway. (Andrew) Quarless went through that. He was out at two o'clock in the morning drinking. You do have certain team rules, believe it or not.
How is the quarterback race shaping up and is there a favorite?
I think we've got three really good kids. Last year, Jay Paterno, who coaches quarterbacks, kept talking to me about (Daryll) Clark, and I was reluctant to stick Clark in there too soon. I was afraid that if he wasn't quite ready it might affect his confidence in himself. He went to prep school and hadn't had a lot of really tough experiences. He's had a really good spring. Having said that, at times (Pat) Devlin lights you up and (Paul) Cianciolo has a little something about him. I don't know what to tell you. I'm going to try and make sure we give everyone of those guys an opportunity. If you said to me we have to start tomorrow, I'm not sure what I would I do. Again, you have to put the whole puzzle together. I was watching one of the networks that had one of the Florida spring games on and I was saying to myself, "you know what, he's got a problem; with that kid from Virginia, Percy Harvin, and he's got that good running back and he's got to do..." and then I start doodling and I can't sleep. Now, what are we going to do? We've got (Derrick) Williams, we've got (Deon) Butler, who nobody knows how good Butler is, nobody's giving him the kind of credit...and we've got Norwood. I think we're going to have a heckuva tight end, I think we got good tailbacks, now what do you do? I'm just going to wait and see what happens. But with the quarterbacks, we've got a good situation. That's a long answer, but I think we've got three good kids and I really couldn't tell you how it's going to go.
What are the pros and cons of playing two quarterbacks?
I think there are pros and cons, obviously. You wouldn't have brought it up if you didn't feel that way. Believe it or not, I have played two quarterbacks. I think it depends on the individual. If I could start Clark, Devlin, or Cianciolo without having it impact the other I would. We could play two quarterbacks. We've played two in a game. We put Clark in there in the bowl game (2007 Alamo) when it was appropriate. As long as I've been coaching, I've been through it all and there comes a time when something up here says, "wise up, play two quarterbacks." This thing isn't black and white. We should have played Michael Robinson sooner than we played him. People don't realize he was the outstanding player in the Big Ten at quarterback, coached by a guy who doesn't know how to coach quarterbacks...(laugher).
Do you have an assessment of the Big Ten Network after a year?
I get D & E (Communications). I've done work with D & E, so I get the NFL station and I get the Big Ten Network. Since we don't have Comcast and we don't have a network that has created a lot of exposure for us or is a good vehicle for the Big Ten as far as advertising dollars, I don't think we're on as much as other schools to be frank with you. Whether it's going to work out or not, it can't hurt. I know that Tom Izzo with Michigan State thinks that it's hurt us, but I couldn't answer that. If I turn it on and Indiana is playing Illinois in women's softball, do I watch it? Let's be honest. Is it good for women's softball? Great. If my daughter was playing and they were threatening to take it off, I'd be writing letters. I think if eventually they get can Comcast, it will be a good deal. If they can get somebody to just give us a little bit more exposure (distribution), it will be okay.
If Maurice Evans improves, how good of a player can he be?
I think Maurice is a really good player. I like to kid him about where he gets his speed in Brooklyn. I say he gets it the same way I did, running away from the cops (laughter). He's a Brooklyn kid, a good kid. I think he's a good football player. He's getting big and a little heavy. I'm getting worried about whether he's too much. They all want to be 275-300 pounds, I'm not sure he should get that big. I think he's a 255-260 pouind, quick player, like the kid with the Giants, Michael Strahan. He should be that kind of a player. He's smart and he really works hard. This team has been a lot of fun, a lot of guys really working their butts off. I'm kind of excited about them. He's one of them because I can kid around with him. He gives me a pat on the rear when I chew him out. It's been fun.
Did you learn anything from the 1998, '99 seasons with quarterbacks Rashard Casey and Kevin Thompson that will help you with (deciding whether to use) a two quarterback system this year?
I really can't remember, but I'm sure the same kind of logic would come into play. I think your point is well taken. When it comes time to say, "let's play Clark here, or Devlin here," then it would probably be for the same reason I did Thompson and Casey and I don't remember why I did it with Thompson and Casey. I'm being very honest with you. I can't remember. It's been 10 years and a lot of football games have been played since then. If I see that we're not getting as much as we should from what we've got, then we may have to change procedures.