Nov. 1, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; -
Joe Paterno Big Ten Coaches' Teleconference Transcript
Q: Can you talk about the development of running back Silas Redd?
He was a heck of a high school player. He struggled a little bit with assignments and still struggles with some of his pass blocking. He had a problem holding on to the football. He's worked hard to overcome some of the things that he didn't do well when he came here and obviously he can run with the football. I think he has come along well. He's still got a ways to go, but he's playing solid. He's made the most of the time when he's had some opportunities.
Q: With a two and half game lead in the Leaders Division, do you pay any attention to that race at all? ?
Not really. We have an off week this week, which will really give us a chance to take a little rest for some of the kids who have worked really hard. This has been a good bunch of kids that has worked hard to be good. I've had teams that have had more natural talent, but these kids have stuck together. They have worked hard. They want to learn. So having a week off is good for us, but we have to play Nebraska next week and then we have to go to Ohio State and then we have to go to Wisconsin. As the Purdue coach was just saying, the Big Ten right now is tough. There's good balance in it; great crowds when you play away. Well coached; I think we have more good young coaches in the league now than any other comparable league around. We have a lot of work ahead of us. We just happen to be a little bit of ahead of one or two teams, but we sure are not home free.
Q: Is that about as tough of a stretch you can imagine, closing with Nebraska, Ohio State and Wisconsin? ?
Yeah, but we're going to play them. We have to get better. We're not good enough. We'll practice for three or four days this week and next week we'll start to zero in on Nebraska after they get through playing Northwestern and we'll see where we go from there.
Q: What's your plan for Rob Bolden's future playing time?
I think he has to keep practicing well. He didn't have a good start (last week). We were obviously having troubles against Illinois. They were playing tough football. We decided we have to see if we can run the ball a little bit better and Matt (McGloin) did a good job. Bolden, he still has a great future; a big strong kid, he throws the ball well. He has not had a lot of good luck. He's had some passes that have been dropped in a couple of ball games that could have made a big difference. I don't see any problems as of right now. Maybe some will develop that I don't know about, but right now, he appears to be fine.
Q: Congratulations on passing Eddie Robinson on the all-time wins list. It seems this team isn't flashy and they are reliant on defense and the running game. How much are you enjoying coaching this style?
I like Saturdays and the competition is good; it makes sure you take care of the little things. As far as passing Eddie Robinson in the number of wins, it's really not something I've thought about. It's not something I'm thinking about right now. unless somebody brings it up. Right now, we have work to do and I have an obligation to the coaching staff and to a bunch of kids that have worked awfully hard. They have done some tough things in tough situations. I'm trying zero in on that and forget about all the other stuff. The day will come where maybe when I can sit back and think about it, but right now I haven't got time.
Q: Does the bye come along at a good time for this team? Do you plan to give them some time off this week?
We gave them yesterday off. We're going to meet today and the doctor wants to give them flu shots, so today is flu shot day. So today we will meet to talk about the Illinois game, which we have not done yet. Get that behind us. Get the flu shots, then tomorrow we will practice and we will practice Thursday and Friday. I will give them the weekend off.
Q: Does the bye come along at a good time for this team?
I don't particularly like bye weeks at any time because I think you get out of the routine. I guess if you have to have it, this is as good a time as any to have it. Even though I'm not crazy about it, I think we came off a good win against ...we were very fortunate against Illinois, that darn ball bounced off the goal post when it could have bounced any other way it would have been overtime. Illinois was tough. I thought they played a really tough football game and I'm sure their kids are disappointed. I would probably have rather just come off that, with the enthusiasm and excitement it created in the fans and have played another home game. But, that's the way it goes.
Q: Do you still see the quarterback position as a rotation?
We are still going to do it as a rotation. It wouldn't be fair to Bolden for me not to still consider him as one of the kids that we are going to depend on. He's worked too hard. He's made too many sacrifices and he's got too much ability for me just to just say in one or two football games, to say "hey, we're not counting on you." He's got to be ready to go and we'll play him. I'm pretty sure we'll end up playing him. But again, we've got this week and next week to go back to some basic things and we'll see what happens.