Nov. 20, 2008
Anthony Scirrotto, Senior, Safety
Q: Has it set in yet that this is going to be your last game in Beaver Stadium?
A: No, it hasn't actually. It's been a great year and we've been enjoying week-by-week. But, I don't think it's set in quite yet that this is our last practice week and our last game at Beaver Stadium for what seemed to be a very fast four-year career. I'm just enjoying day-by-day. Yesterday, a couple guys in the secondary, we were realizing all of us in the secondary are going to be moving on next year and we're like "this is our last Monday here". So, today will be our last Tuesday and tomorrow our last Wednesday and so on and so forth until Saturday comes. Like I said, were going to take it day-by-day and enjoy each day and get ready for Saturday.
Q: When you look back over everything the senior class has accomplished, what are your thoughts on everything you guys have done?
A: I feel like since I've been here it's been nothing but success for us. Coming in as a freshman, getting the chance to go to a BCS game and play in the Orange Bowl was amazing for me. That was just an experience in its own. And then going on the next two years and winning big-time bowl games has also been great. And just everything that I've learned throughout these four years, with the coaching staff and the friends I've made and the bonds I'll have forever with these guys. It's an experience that you look forward to and you'll never forget.
Q: What is your favorite memory on the field?
A: My sophomore year, my birthday weekend, started off with a pretty bad first half against Illinois personally, for myself. I wound up ending on a good note with a couple picks and a kickoff return for a touchdown. That will always stick in my head as a pretty good birthday.
Q: Saturday is going to be basically the Big Ten championship game. Do you guys feel the importance of this game and what's the atmosphere will be like?
A: This will probably be the biggest game I've played in, or all of us have played in, since we've been here. A lot is riding on this game and we're going up against a great opponent in Michigan State. These are the kind of games you come to Penn State for. You dream about this as a kid, to be able to have this opportunity and to be able to play for all the marbles. It's a great feeling, very exciting. We're looking forward to Saturday.
Q: How much do you remember about the game two years ago when Brian Hoyer threw 61 passes?
A: I remember that game pretty well.
Q: How do you prepare for a quarterback whose role is basically to be a game changer?
A: He's a great guy. He came in for a hurt Drew Stanton that year and did a great job. We had a couple big plays on special teams against them that year and our offense did a good job putting points up on the board. I think that's the key, as a defense to get off the field quickly and get our offense on the field and for them to be able to battle and put points up on the board. We know he's going to be throwing the ball a lot, but they also have a great running back in Javon Ringer, who can move the sticks as well. So we've got to be prepared for both aspects of the game. We're not going to change any of our preparation. We're going to prepare the same we have all season. Just realize we're going up against a great team with great players that can do some damage and go on and get ready to play.
Q: Last year's Michigan State game...Is the way you lost, has some of that bothered you this past year?
A: It was a pretty tough loss for us. But, I think we bounced back right away going in and playing against a tough Texas A&M team in the Alamo Bowl. We've moved on since then. Obviously, it's in the back of everyone's mind what happened last year. But you've got to put it behind you, you gotta learn from what we did wrong last year and just prepare and get ready to play, because we know it's going to be a battle. It's going to be a four-quarter game. It's going to be fun. It should be exciting and everyone should be excited to see this.
Q: When someone asks you what it's like to play at Beaver Stadium, what do you tell them?
A: I'm sure a lot of people say this but it's really true when you say it's hard to find words to describe how it feels. It never gets old. Running through that tunnel, even coming out when we first get here, just warming up and seeing the stands fill up already two hours before the game. You just realize how much support and how much people take pride in our football team. It's a great feeling and I'll never forget it and always appreciate everything the fans and everyone have done for us. Like I said, all of the support they've given us, so all I can say is "thank you" to them. We really appreciate it.
Q: How much of a challenge is the defense taking upon itself for this week based on past games like last year against Michigan State?
A: We know that they have the capability of putting the ball in the air, scoring points that way. Javon Ringer is a great running back who's one of the top in the Big Ten, if not the top, as well as the nation. As a defense we know that it's gonna be a tough game. Big Ten football, it's what it's all about, "ground and pound" football. It's going to be hard-nosed and hard-fought. We're excited for it. We're taking the approach that this is just another game for us and just another week. We're taking it week-by-week like we have all year. We're just doing what we've done all year; we're not changing anything.
Q: A lot of people wouldn't think of Penn State-Michigan State as one of college football's greater rivalries. But, you guys play for a trophy, it's always the last game of the season, its always a Senior Day. Does that have any motivation and what are your thoughts on the rivalry?
A: Yeah, since I've been here, every time we've played Michigan State it's been for something big. My freshman year we went there and played for the Big Ten Championship as well. The year after that we played for the Land Grant Trophy. It's a big time rivalry. Last year, they took away our dreams of playing in a January 1st bowl game. Whenever we're playing Michigan State something big is on the line. That just makes it more exciting for everyone. It's what you dream about as a football player growing up, to be able to play in a game like this.
Q: What is it about Javon Ringer that makes him such a good back?
A: His explosiveness and I think he has great vision. He seems to find a crease and find a hole when there doesn't seem to be one. He's not the biggest guy, doesn't seem to be fast, but he pulls away. He's a strider and a very strong runner, too. We'll have a handful with him. Our front seven has done a good job all year stopping the run. We're just going to do what we gotta do, do what we do best, and get ready mentally as well as physically to go in Saturday ready to play.
Q: When your class got here Penn State had four losing seasons in five years. What did you and some of the other players see in the program that made you think you could get it back to where it is now?
A: You go through some tough years no matter what type of team you are, what your program is. But, you think of the tradition here at Penn State. Coach Paterno has been here a lot of years and has had many successful seasons and winning seasons and national championship seasons, undefeated, you could go on talking about the tradition here. We just felt like we had the guys that could get the job done. When I got here, the leadership that was here was impeccable. Michael Robinson, Paul Posluszny, Alan Zemaitis, all of those guys were the best leaders I've ever been around in my football career. I think that type of attitude, that type of leadership just wore off on the rest of the guys. After that year, we knew what it would take to get back on track and to keep that steam rolling. I think we've put a lot of things together; we had guys that believed in each other. Success happened for us.
Q: What would it mean to you to be the only senior class to win two Big Ten Championships in your time here?
A: That would be great. Obviously, that's a huge feat for us. It's exciting to think that but we can't think that right now because we still have the game to play to get to that point in our careers. It's going to be a tough game, so we're going to get prepared and get ready to go and just give it all we got. This is the last one.
Q: The "ground and pound" reference, can you elaborate on the mentality of Big Ten football? You look around the country and see 70 points being put up in some other leagues. Can you talk about "ground and pound?"
A: Those teams you see spreading the field around, spreading the offense, throwing up 60, 70 passes a game. You could say that some of the teams in our conference have gone to that type of game offensively. When it comes down to it, the Big Ten is all about just running the ball down your throat. You know - who's the tougher team? Just gonna line up and bang heads and whoever stays up is the winner. That's what it's been about since we've been here. We go against big running backs. Guys like Tony Hunt, Beanie Wells; they're all big guys who are tops in the nation. Well Tony was, not anymore, obviously. That's what I mean when I talk about "ground and pound." Just the physical nature of this conference.
Q: Did you think last week's call against you versus Iowa was pass interference?
A: No. I mean I want to be honest, and I'm going to tell you, no, I didn't think so. I thought I was making a play on the ball and I had just as much of a right to go up for the ball as the receiver. Watching film, breaking it down pretty closely, I've seen that there might have been a little bit of contact but, like I said, I feel like I had as much a right to go up for the ball as he did. But, it is what it is and the ref made the call. You can't change it, you can't go back, and you've got to respect his call no matter what. I don't think that was, it obviously it was a big play in the game, but I don't think that really had the final aspect, final touch on how the game ended.
A.Q. Shipley, Senior, Center
Q: Anthony talked about taking Saturday as just another game. How difficult will that be with all of the stakes on the line Saturday? Can you talk about what that's like?
A: There's going to be a lot of emotions flying around that stadium on Saturday. There's 17 guys that came in five years ago that now you're coming down to your last game. So, all we gotta do is really just focus on the game at hand, really. That's what we're trying to get across from the top down to the bottom in practices. It's just another game, like Anthony said. Obviously there's a lot at stake, but, once you start thinking about the stakes, then things start getting out of hand. As long as we keep guys cool under pressure, keep guys realizing "just go out and play our game like we have been all year," then I think everything will be fine.
Q: After the Indiana game you said teams are stacking more guys in the box against you. If Michigan State does that this weekend, how will you guys be better prepared to counteract that?
A: We've got to be able to throw the ball. That's what it comes down to. You put eight, nine in the box when you've got five or six, maybe sometimes seven blockers, you can't get enough guys on enough people. So, we've gotta be able mix it up, we've gotta be able to do some different things to throw them off balance and we just want to keep them on their heels the whole game. That's been our plan every game is just to be as explosive on offense, run or pass, that we can be.
Q: How much do you want to see you guys run the ball? Would you guys like to see you just pound Evan Royster just a little bit more?
A: As an offensive lineman that's the mentality you have. You like to run the ball, you like to wear opponents down, you like to watch them give up in the fourth quarter. That's the mentality we have as an offensive line. We think Evan Royster is a tremendous back. He's done a fantastic job all year and we have the utmost respect obviously for him and would love to see him run the ball more. But, we also feel the same way about Daryll and throwing the ball. Again, we've got to be able to mix it up, we understand that. I think Evan Royster is a tremendous back, just getting back to that. I think we'd like to, as an offensive line, see us run the ball a hundred times a game if we could.
Q: Deon talked about this earlier. Did you guys have a discussion yesterday about play calling, or what do the guys discuss about not worrying about the play calling?
A: I know Deon talked to me, he talked to some other guys, and just said basically, "look, whatever's called we gotta go out and execute." And that's what it comes down too. You can't sit there and worry about "okay, we need to run the ball, we need to throw the ball." We can't worry about that stuff, we just gotta with what the coaches call and be able to execute.
Q: What are your thoughts on the rivalry with Michigan State?
A: It's a fun game. You look forward to it. It's the last game of the year. It's usually typical Pennsylvania-Michigan type football weather where it's cold, maybe a little snow. It's going to be a physical game. They have a great coach in Coach Dantonio. Coming in with his Ohio State background, he's obviously been there before. They've got great players. That's what it comes down too. They always have a big, bruising back on offense. They've done a great job the whole year. There's a couple guys on their team that have played in the Big 33, so we've had some rivalries there before, Pennsylvania-Ohio type kids. It's going to be a lot of fun; we look forward to it every year. We want to get that trophy back, obviously. Obviously, there's a lot at stake every year for this game. We definitely look forward to it every year.
A: Yeah, I know him really well, actually. They do a thing at the Big 33 where they pair you up with an Ohio kid for most of the functions and I was actually paired up with Brian Hoyer. And then I know the kid (Justin) Kershaw, the defensive tackle, pretty well too.
Q: Did you ever sense with any of the offensive players that there was some unrest or that they were getting carried away with the plays being called?
A: I don't necessarily think that guys were getting carried away with it. I think there were too many times that guys may have been saying, myself included at times, just thinking that we should have been running the ball a little bit more and maybe saying something on the sidelines and doing things like that. Again, like Deon said, we gotta get back to just going out and having fun. Whatever's called, go out and execute.
Q: Has anyone talked to the coaching staff about maybe running the ball a little bit more?
A: No, I don't think so.
Q: Looking back at your five years here, what is your most favorite memory? A: That's a tough question. There have been so many great memories over the five years. I think obviously winning the Orange Bowl and winning the Big Ten title my redshirt freshman year was great. Starting off the year like we did this year and putting ourselves in the position to be in that same situation again, those are probably the two best moments so far.
Q: You were redshirting in 2004. The team was obviously struggling a little bit, but did you get the sense it was about to turn the corner and maybe do some of the things it's done since?
A: I think so; I think that's part of the reason why I came here. I think we saw the leadership, we saw the types of players that were there. The coaching staff still had a great deal of respect for what was going on. I think they knew that maybe they were one, two players away, just maybe a season away for that matter. I think it proved that way. I think Mike (Robinson), Paul (Posluszny) and A.Z. (Alan Zemaitis) did a heck of a job that year really getting guys ready to go and really setting the tone for some of the younger guys as to what's expected. I think that's carried over since we've been here to now that we're seniors.
Q: As an offensive lineman, how have you seen Stephfon Green evolve as a player from the beginning of the season until now?
A: He's done a great job, he really has. With his opportunities that he gets, he makes the most of them for sure. He sees the hole, he hits the hole now. I think early on in the season he might have wanted to always break it to the outside. He's now becoming a more complete back. Being able to block in the pass game, being able to hit the hole a little quicker rather than always trying to bounce it to the outside when were running inside. He's running between the tackles. He's doing everything that's asked of him. I think most of all he's just become a more complete back.
Q: Do you have any thoughts on why Daryll fumbles so much?
A: You'd have to ask him. I have no idea.
Q: Does he fumble much in practice?
A: No. I mean you can't really hit the quarterback in practice.
Q: You're always the guy that you go up to him and seem to be pretty vocal, talking to him. Why do you take that role on yourself and does anybody else do that?
A: I think a lot of guys do. Deon (Butler), Derrick (Williams), I think (Rich) Ohrnberger does his fair share talking to him. I just think that to look at a player have his head down, to be upset, you gotta make sure he realizes that "look when we go back out next series you gotta forget about that". I think that's our job as seniors, as captains who have been there before who know that you gotta be in this game. You gotta be quick to forget. I know he realizes that too but I think you just gotta over-emphasize it sometimes and make him aware of it.
Q: Who do you think is going to be the most emotional of the seniors in that tunnel waiting to be introduced?
A: I don't know. There's going to be a lot of guys that are going to be emotional, I think. I don't know. On the bus ride over last week, Ohrnberger and I were looking at each other just saying "man, two more left". So I mean it's going to be an emotional time for all of us. I don't know necessarily who's going to be the most emotional. I'm sure everybody is going to have their fair share of tears ready to come out.
Q: What was that experience like in the Big 33 game when you got to know Brian Hoyer? What is his personality like?
A: Hoyer is a great kid. I got to be with him a little bit out in Chicago earlier this year at the Big Ten meetings. He's a great kid. He's a great quarterback. He went in there following a great quarterback in Drew Stanton and he went in there and performed well and done a lot of great things. He throws the ball as good as any guy in the Big Ten. He's just done a great job with that team being a leader, being a captain, being a quarterback for that team.
Derrick Williams |
Derrick Williams, Senior, Wide Receiver
Q: How quickly have the last four years gone by for you?
A: It's gone really fast. A lot of people keep on saying, "are you ready for Senior Day?" I'm like, "Senior Day, isn't it Freshman Day?" It's been a fast journey.
Q: Are you ready for Senior Day?
A: It still hasn't hit me yet. I think on Saturday, running out of the tunnel for the last time, with my friends and family, I think it's going to hit me then. It seems like I still have another year left. Time just flew by so fast.
Q: What's your most favorite of the past few years?
A: The best memories are off the field with my teammates. Just getting to know the guys, just being around the dorms and our apartments and things like that. Just being around my friends have been the best memories here.
Q: You guys have won eight straight senior day games and 17 of the last 18. Any thoughts on why this team is so successful in this type of game?
A: I've never thought about it. Every year it's a different team. The thing we've done this year is we haven't looked back at history, or what our record was. This is a new team. This is going to be a new Senior Day for us. We're just going to go out there and try to play to the best of our ability.
Q: You've been through a few of them. Is it the emotions that help throughout the day? Is it playing Michigan State or maybe playing a team that's not as good?
A: I think everybody wants to win out on their last game. We know that this one is going to be a tough one. We're playing a really great Michigan State team. We're just going to go out there and play to our best ability.
Q: I know you talked about this before, but back when you were in high school a lot of people probably said, "why do you want to go to Penn State? They're not doing very well." What did you see here or was there someone you spoke to or something you saw that said this is the place for me?
A: When I came here and got around the people, players, and fans, there wasn't another place like this. When I was a senior in high school I wanted to make a difference on a program. There were many teams that promised me to get the ball 15 or 16 times a game. That just wasn't me. I wanted to make my own stamp on a program and try to help a team and get them back to being a top team in the country.
Q: Do you think you made a difference and what do you want people to remember about Derrick Williams?
A: I definitely think I made a difference with my teammates, and putting Penn State back to where we are. The thing that I want people to remember is how I carried myself through the whole program and how I was a leader by example.
Q: What did it mean to you when you were named a captain this year? You've talked about leading by example. I would have to imagine that it was kind of a special thing that you were voted by your teammates?
A: It meant a lot. It's a great honor to be a captain on a Coach Paterno team. I'm pretty sure that anybody who had the opportunity would feel the same. It was just tremendous for myself and fellow captains. Coming in as a freshman, the only thing I tried to do was lead by example and being one of the guys that people looked up to.
Q: Michigan State has the third ranked pass defense. Have you guys had a chance to see on film what makes them so good against the pass?
A: We got our DVDs yesterday at practice and I watched a little last night. They have a great team and defensive line. The thing that helps out any pass game and pass defenses are the guys upfront, the defensive line and linebackers. They have a great all-around defense. We know that it's going to be pretty tough to get things done.
Q: How much pride do you and the rest of the senior class take in being the class to get Penn State back to its winning ways?
A: We take pride in it but I think it was more the guys that came before us. Michael Robinson, Paul (Pozluszny), and Dan Connor. They are the ones who really set the way for us and we just had to carry it out.
Q: Kind of piggy-backing off of that. You have the chance to be the first class to have two Big Ten championships. What does that mean to you?
A: It means a lot. That's something that can go down in history here. We're also a class that through our four years, come this Saturday, will have won 40 games total. There aren't too many teams in America that can say that.
Q: The National Championship hopes disappeared. If you don't win Saturday, is this not a great season? How would you view that if you guys don't get to the Rose Bowl from this point?
A: With our expectations for the whole year, we've proved a lot of people wrong. I remember reading things in the pre-season, when people predicted us to be fourth or fifth in the Big Ten. The guys and myself knew that we had a great team and could have a great season. I think that everything that we have accomplished so far has proven that we've had a great season and we're just going to take it as a Saturday, do our best, and try to come out with a win.
Q: Have you seen yourself shifting your focus from individual achievements and accomplishments to the bigger picture of team and how the team performs (during your career)?
A: I think that I came in with thinking about how the team performs. One thing that gets me is that being on a team might be the best feeling in the world. All my life I've been on teams. You never meet a group of people, like here at Penn State, that you wouldn't want to work with. My coaches before in high school and boys and girls club always told me that there's no "I" in team. I've always lived by that motto in just trying to get people better and by doing the best that I can do.
Q: You've had a lot of touches this year, carrying and catching the ball, returning the ball. How do you feel?
A: I'm good. Coach Paterno does a good job at making sure our legs are fresh and not doing too much. He wants us to know our assignments and as long as we know what we're doing, everything else is good.
Q: Do you have a secret to staying healthy and avoiding little injuries that (could) slow you down?
A: With this being my last year, I'm lucky to only have one class right now. Rest has been a big key and I've been resting up a lot. It's definitely been a tool for playing on Saturday.