Oct. 19, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; -
D'Anton Lynn, Junior, Cornerback
Q: Since Nick (Sukay) has been out, who has been practicing in free safety for you guys?
A: So far, Drew Astorino has moved back to free safety and Andrew Dailey has been playing strong safety.
Q: Would you like to play safety more? And second, how has Powell been looking so far?
A: I like to play anywhere that I'm needed. Wherever I benefit the team most, I'm fine with. (Chaz) Powell has looked really good. He looked good in the spring; he looked good in camp. He picked up right where he left off. There were a couple of new defenses he had to learn, but he picked those up the first day and he's doing really well.
Q: Did you take any reps at safety when Nick initially went down?
A: No, I didn't.
Q: Is there something to be said about the game situation now as good as Powell has looked at practice, is he going to have to be eased into a game?
A: He hasn't played in a game yet and cornerback is definitely a tough spot. He's been doing well in practice, so we're definitely going to throw him in there in a game. If he keeps performing the way we think he will, he should be fine.
Q: What were the off-week practice sessions like?
A: They were long. They were tough. It was kind of similar to (pre-season) camp. They took away our starting jerseys -- everyone was in white and blue. They said all the spots were open again and it was pretty much an open competition all week. On Thursday, we even had a little scrimmage at the end.
Q: After going through that, do you think that the team really reaped the benefit from it?
A: Yes, I think we did. I think some people were just getting comfortable and I think that just woke people up. You have to pick it up in practice because it wasn't showing on game day.
Q: With you guys being 3-3 now, do you feel this game is another must win game?
A: I think every game is a must win game in the Big Ten. We're 0-2 in the Big Ten now and we can't afford to go 0-3. So, I think every game from now on is a must win.
Q: Nick obviously called a lot of plays on defense; he's very vocal as a leader, who is stepping into that role?
A: Drew is playing his spot now so he's in charge of making all the calls that Nick was making. Drew knows the defense just as well as Nick. It should be fine with him.
Q: What have you seen from Minnesota (offense) on the tapes so far?
A: Adam Weber is one of the strong (quarterback) runners in the Big Ten. They have two really big receivers, (Da'Jon) McKnight and their backup quarterback (MarQueis) Gray, he plays some receiver. Even if they're not open, Weber will throw the ball up and give them a chance to make some plays. We're definitely ready to get tested because even if we think the guys can cover, Weber is still going to give the guys a chance to make a play. They're a real tight-end oriented offense. They use their tight ends a lot, so we'll have to keep an eye on that, too.
Q: Do you expect Minnesota to play with a little bit more of a chip on their shoulders after losing their coach this week?
A: Yes, they are in a similar position as us; they aren't doing too well in the Big Ten. They just lost their coach and so it's a must win for them, too. We're expecting it to be a tough game.
Q: Describe what it's like to us. You're in practice, you're hanging out with the guys and they take away the blue and white jerseys. What's going on in everyone's minds? Was there a lot of talk about that? And how did all the players respond to that?
A: We really didn't know they were going to do that, so when we first got there, we all were kind of talking about it. I think it brings up the intensity level in practice a lot. If you're second or third string and you saw that, you take that opportunity for this to be your week to earn a starting spot. Once the second and third string players raised the intensity, it made the starters raise their intensity. It was just a very intense week of practice.
Q: Did anyone lose their job after taking away the jerseys?
A: Not on the defensive side. On the offensive side, I'm really not sure. I didn't pay attention to the offensive side yesterday. The defensive side is still the same guys. It was good competition, though.
Q: The impact of it is negligible than if no one lost their job, so was the point made to the players if no one lost their job because of it?
A: Yes, the point did get made to the players. Like I said, last week was the most intense week of practice we've had. Everyone really stepped their game up a lot. Just because no one lost their job, doesn't mean the point wasn't made because we definitely got a good week of practice out of it. I think if they hadn't done that, practice would not have been as intense and as competitive as it was.
Q: How did some of the changes in secondary with guys moving around, losing Nick and bringing Powell in impact the nickel at all, is there any difference at all?
A: I don't know yet. We're probably going to start putting in nickel today, but I'm not sure yet. All the safeties know how to play all the nickel spots, I know how to play the nickel spots, so whatever they do we'll be fine. I'm not sure how they're going to do that yet.
Q: The linebacker situation, how is that playing out so far without a few guys from last game or guys working their way back in who have been injured?
A: I think everyone is expecting to play, (Michael) Mauti is supposed to play, Bani *Gbadyu) is supposed to play, Gerald (Hodges) is supposed to play, too. So we have all the linebackers back and they are getting back into the rotation.
Q: What's the difference between the successful teams you've played on, the Rose Bowl team and last year's team, and this year's team that is struggling?
A: I think the difference is that they just executed better and they were more consistent. We've shown flashes of those teams in the past. If you look at the Iowa and Alabama games in the second half, at least on the defensive side of the ball, we've shown how good we can be. We just haven't been able to put that into four quarters of one game so far. I think in the past those teams were (able to).
Q: Has (Sean) Stanley or (Derrick) Thomas been practicing at all this week or last week?
A: Stanley has been practicing and Thomas hasn't been there.
Q: What does that do to the secondary?
A: We definitely miss them, but we really don't know anything about the situation. You have to ask the coaches what's going on with that, we don't know.
Q: What's it like to be the son of an NFL coach and how has that affected you? Do you pay attention to what it takes to get to that level?
A: I think it helps...I think I have a good idea of what it takes because I've been around it my entire life. He (his father, Anthony) went through it and now that he's a coach, I get to go to his work and I get to see what his players do and how much extra work it actually takes that you might not realize if you didn't have a dad like mine.
Collin Wagner, Senior, Kicker
Q: You're among the nation's leaders in field goals, but that means that the red zone offense is struggling. So which would you rather have; your name, number and year with the leaders or a team with more touchdowns?
A: Obviously we're playing as a team to win. I'll take the opportunities as they come, but as a team obviously we want to score touchdowns as opposed to field goals.
Q: What has been the most frustrating part of the season for you guys other than not winning? What's the attitude? Are people down?
A: No, I feel like as a team we keep each other up. It's important to not let each other get down. It's frustrating; we've had chances against some of these teams and we really just haven't converted.
Q: Why are you a much better kicker this year and what have you done to improve your game?
A: I feel like having a season under my belt gave me a lot more confidence heading into this season. Last year, the first few games, I was really nervous. This year, the first game I didn't feel any nerves or anything like that. As far as putting in work in the off-season, in the winter and spring I really concentrated on leg strength and weightlifting and in the summer, just repetition.
Q: What's your mindset like when you see your team in the red zone?
A: You have to be ready. You're pretty much going to go out there every time, whether it's an extra point or a field goal. So your mindset is you have to go out there, you have to perform.
Q: Does the (school season) field goal record ever cross your mind, you're only nine away?
A: No, not really.
Q: A lot of kickers have a guru, someone who really knows how to kick or punt. Do you have someone like that that you go to for advice?
A: Yes, I do. One of my dad's friends in town, his name is Tom Taricani, kicked at Virginia Tech back in his day. He works with me in the summer.
Q: We know Joe took away the colored jerseys as a competition; did he say or do anything differently in the last two weeks in addition to that?
A: Some of the guys that weren't in the colored jerseys got chances during practice. Like D'Anton said, it was pretty much an open competition to push some of the starters, to see if they can get better and there were definitely some younger guys that stepped up.
Q: Anything else in addition to that, anything you saw done differently?
A: No, not really. We have six games left. Win all six of them and you never know what can happen.
Q: Does it really do anything to take away the jerseys when the same guys go out there?
A: I feel like there was a lot more enthusiasm at practices. There were a lot more fights, a lot of guys going a lot harder. As a team there was a lot more jump to practice.
Q: You talked about repetition, how much kicking did you do over the summer? Was your off-season routine different this past summer from previous years?
A: No, it wasn't different. I kicked maybe three, four times a week in the summer. Then in pre-season camp I was kicking almost six times a week.
Q: You talk about the fights, were you out there getting mixed in them?
A: No, just a spectator (laughs).
Q: As a kicker you spend a lot of time watching practice because you can only kick so much during a practice session. Could you tell that there was a difference in intensity during practice last week?
A: Yes, definitely. Almost every play guys were mixing up at the end. You could just tell the way the offense and defense were going at each other that it was a bye week and that the coaches stressed enthusiasm at practice.