Dec. 13, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
#22 Akeel Lynch
Jr./So., RB
Q: What is it going to be like to play in Yankee Stadium?
A: I am so glad that we have bowl games back. Having the game in New York City is exciting because a lot of people are going to be able to come. A lot of my family will be able to be there, which makes this experience that much cooler. I never thought that I would be getting a chance to play football in a baseball stadium.
Q: How have you guys, as a team, felt about this experience?
A: It is great to know that we have an extra game in this season. Being able to travel to New York City together will be fun. Its nice that the seniors have one more game and have this opportunity. All we are doing right now is trying to get better. I think once finals are done and the semester winds down we will be ready to take on Boston College. Hopefully we can get a win.
Q: Tell us a little bit about your history with Boston College. What is it going to be like playing them?
A: They are a very physical, good team; it is going to be a really good matchup. I committed to Boston College; I think I committed too early. Once I came to Penn State, I knew that this was the right choice and the right fit for me. Boston College's coaching staff was friendly, which made me like the team. They are no longer with the program now, but they have a great school, great football tradition. But, once I came to Penn State I just knew this was the place for me.
Q: What are you going to miss about a guy like Bill Belton?
A: We have a great relationship. His insight to the game, his friendship, and his leadership are what I will miss most. We had a handshake going through out the season to celebrate touchdowns; I will miss being able to do that with him.
#7 Geno Lewis
Jr./So., WR
Q: How have you gotten closer to Coach Donovan throughout the season?
A: Just having one-on-one conversations with him and him always encouraging us. We are just trying to get on the same page and accomplish what we are trying to do. We are all just trying to get better each and every day.
Q: What is one thing about Coach Donovan that we don't know, but should know?
A: Coach Donovan, no matter what happens, he always has our support. If something good or bad happens he always makes sure to tell us to keep grinding and keep trying.
Q: Coach Donovan said it was sometimes hard for the people in the offensive room to tune out the outside noise. Did you ever sense that?
A: We had some difficulties going on, but we all knew that we just had to come together and just keep grinding. We just had to remember that things would work out sooner or later.
Q: How do you think you've done with the wide receiver separation and what can you do better?
A: I feel like there were times when we were opened and sometimes when we're not. We need to get open more than we are just because you make more plays and be a resource for our quarterback and just to help our team more.
#1 Bill Belton
Sr./Sr., RB
Q: Are you excited about playing at Yankee Stadium?
A: Yeah. I've never been to Yankee Stadium so I'm looking forward to that and getting out there and playing another game.
Q: How important is the last game of your career?
A: Every game is important. It's not just one game that defines you, but it is the last game for me as a player [at Penn State]. I'm going to try to make the most of it.
Q: What does your future hold?
A: That's a good question. I don't think it's over for me. I think I need to be in the right situation where I'm used in the proper way.
Q: Was it ever hard for you personally to tune out the outside noise in the media and elsewhere?
A: No. To be honest with you, I don't care what people say. We have to go out there and play. As long as we do that everything will take care of itself. The coaches and team shouldn't worry about what the media says and stuff like that. It doesn't matter at the end of the day. Our job is to get better each day.
Q: How much do you think you've developed as a leader over the last couple years?
A: Guys have their own way of leading and I have mine. I'm not a guy that's going to be out there in the front. I pride myself on doing things in meeting rooms and giving people help on the field - a lot of stuff that people don't see. That's kind of what I am.
#5 DaeSean Hamilton
So./Fr., WR
Q: People have been talking about the wide receivers' separation in games. How do you use these practices leading up to the [Pinstripe Bowl] to improve upon that and change that?
A: To be honest, I don't think we had that many problems getting separation. Guys got open on almost every play - tight ends, wide receivers and running backs. Going through the bowl practices, though, we're just going in and running crisp routes and doing the right assignments and doing our job. When eleven guys do their job right, someone is going to be open.
Q: How do you think the wide receivers can improve during the bowl period and going into the spring and summer?
A: Guys will get better as individuals and we just have to bring guys together and hold ourselves accountable and to a higher standard. We have a year under our belt now and we know what we can do. Now we just have to hold ourselves to that higher standard.
Q: How much work goes into the fundamentals and techniques?
A: That's just repetitive stuff, like muscle memory type things. Coach Franklin and all of the coaches talk about the little things. When you focus on the little things, they just come along with the muscle memory and repetition and basically just doing everything right. In your own time you can fix little individual mistakes or you can get coached from your teammates or your position coaches.
Q: What was it like to get a little bit of a break after the regular-season?
A: It was a relief. That was my first time playing a 12-game college football season. It wore down on guys' bodies and myself. The time we had off afterward felt good. Then, getting back out there in practice guys were fresh and getting their legs back and things like that. The time off after the Michigan State game was very good for the whole team.
#66, Angelo Mangiro
Sr./Jr., OL
Q: How important do you see those extra practices and have you seen it help you in strides even the last two weeks?
A: It's really helpful. We'll get guys healthy and we get a lot of the younger guys a lot of good work that during the course of the season they're not able to get because you need the first and second string guys to get reps. We haven't been able to have that the past couple years, and it's huge for young guys and developing them.
Q: What strides do you think you guys made as a line this year?
A: I think we grew up. I think we definitely grew up. We had a lot of young guys, guys switching positions. We had four guys making their starts week one and definitely grew up a lot and learned a lot and throughout the course of the season progressed a lot from game one.
Q: Is there going to be less that surprises you, not just you but the whole line now? You played four different positions. Is there anything you're going to see next year that you haven't seen already?
A: Probably not. Throughout the course of the season, you get to see a lot of different teams and a lot of different schemes. Teams throw different wrinkles at you that they usually don't show on film, and early on it's like, "Oh wow. We didn't practice that." Toward the end of the season it's like, "Well we saw that week four." We have idea of what we've got to do. We draw up on the board again, refresh people's memories and then go and execute. That just comes with experience.
Q: What the importance of finishing this year with a win considering all the struggles?
A: We're 6-6, and we want to finish the season with a winning record and to finish the season on a win and win a bowl game, which everyone on this team hasn't done because of how old we are and due to the haven't been able to go. So we know we have a good team, me personally, I watch them often, but a good defense that rotates a lot and stays fresh that we have a big challenge ahead of us.
Q: How fortunate do you feel to have this opportunity?
A: I'm just real happy for the guys that stayed here throughout the sanctions, and that we get rewarded for our commitment. I think that it was Rutgers week when we got the news, and I just grabbed my teammates and embraced them and told them, "I love you guys, and let's go out and have a good year and get to a bowl." We've had our ups and downs, but we're bowl eligible and going to the Pinstripe bowl, and we're excited.