Sept. 15, 2015 Jason Cabinda | So. | LB
Q. Coach Franklin was talking about your mom a little bit. Could you describe her to us and talk about her a little bit.
JC: My mom is a saint. He's really sacrificed a lot. It sounds cliché, but I really wouldn't be here without her. It's the absolute truth.
Growing up she worked two jobs. She wasn't home a lot and when she was home, she was taking me from practice to practice. She never missed my games; football, AAU basketball, school ball, lacrosse. I really played a lot of sports. She was there taking me from practice to practice, tournaments all over New Jersey, [all] around the tri-state area. She was really doing it all. For me, that's my rock. She's really everything for me.
Q. Who was a better lacrosse player, you or Troy Reeder?
JC: That's an easy one, that's Troy [Reeder] (laughter).
Q. Coach said you were an extrovert, always have something to say. Has that been the case since you got here or is that within the last couple weeks?
JC: [I've been that way] since I got to Penn State. I've always been a very social person, kind of guy who can walk into a place where I don't know anybody and within a half hour I have a good feel for everybody in the room; made friends with a whole lot of people. That's kind of my personality.
Q. Talk about the atmosphere you're expecting Saturday night and also comment about all the students camping outside there.
JC: I mean, you have Nittanyville outside, they do such a good job. I think that's a testament to the fans we have here. We have people who camp out all week long in preparation for our game. That says so much about the fans we have, the craze about Penn State football.
The atmosphere coming this Saturday night, first of all, it's our Big Ten opener. It's a night game. We have this new deal going this weekend that's going to be the stripe out. I think it's going to turn out cool and clean; something new. I think everybody's really excited for how the atmosphere is going to be.
[The atmosphere could] Give the other team a lot of trouble with their communication, with the noise, how crazy our fans are going to be.
Q. You didn't play against Rutgers last year. Did you travel?
JC: Yes.
Q. From your perspective on the sideline, it was a physical game. We've heard after the game last year there was a lot of trash talking going on. What was different about that game than your normal game where it's not as physical?
JC: Every football game, especially college football, is very physical. I think having teams like Penn State and Rutgers go up against each other, it's always a battle. That's always a battle up front and being physical. It's a mentality. That's what it was last year: guys wearing each other down. Guys were really getting beat up and giving their bodies up. I think it's going to be very similar this year.
I was very into the game [even though I didn't play last year]. I was doing the best to try to pick up any calls, helping my guys, Mike Hull, Nyeem Wartman and Brandon Bell, out with what they [Rutgers] were doing. For me, I was as into the game as if I was playing.
Q. I believe it was your linebacker coach said a few weeks ago you're the hardest hitter on the team. What is your mindset when you're going to hit somebody? Has it always been like that? In peewee, were you the guy that hit the hardest?
JC: You could say [that]. I come from a place where toughness is really huge. Being a hard-hitter is about how tough you are, wanting to defeat the guy in front of you, never losing one-on-one battles. We talk about that all the time in our linebacker room, never give up one-on-one. Whoever comes to block, whether it be an offensive lineman, fullback, whoever, you can't lose that battle.
Being the hardest hitter, you have to be able to hit hard if you want to shed blocks. That's what I try to do best.
Q. Did you think back in high school that you would be starting and starting at the Mike linebacker as a sophomore at Penn State?
JC: Back home, the class that I had growing up, even the classes above me especially, that tradition we had at Hunterdon Central, everything was about hard work. Even guys who necessarily weren't that talented, those were always the guys who were working the hardest, putting everything they had in the weight room, that ended up finding themselves on the field doing very well.
I always try to find that track. The guy I modeled myself after, captain of my football team my sophomore year, Matt Ioannidis, who plays for Temple, defensive tackle. He's the guy I always modeled myself after and tried to follow in his footprints for the way he worked.
Q. When Nyeem [Wartman-White] goes down, how much does that become a football IQ test for you guys to sort of find out where you're at in terms of not having someone who can set you up and have that rock almost to lean on? How has that test gone for you?
JC: Nyeem did such a good job of always being right; making the right calls, right checks, putting everybody where they needed to be. If somebody was having a brain fart, Nyeem would say, 'You're supposed to be doing this,' or whatever the case may have been.
I think more than the football IQ aspect, Nyeem going down was the thought of, 'Okay, Nyeem is down and we might be in a little bit of trouble.' We were worrying about him and what he might have been going through then.
In terms of the football IQ, I think we have very high-level IQ guys in the [linebackers] room. I think Coach Pry does a good job of coaching us up. Whether you're [first team], the [second team], the [third team], he does a good job of putting everybody in the mindset of preparing like you're a starter. Because of the way we prepare, I think our IQs are all very similar to the top end.
Q. Through the coaching change, what led you here? Were there Penn State linebackers that you admired over the years?
JC: The coaching change was definitely a big deal. It was only a few days before signing day, maybe two weeks, when I got the call from [Bill] O'Brien. It might have been New Year's when he called to say, 'I'm leaving to go to the [Houston] Texans.' We had a group chat going at the time and we were asking each other, 'what are you going to do? Take more visits?'
We waited it out. We lost a couple guys, but for the most part everybody stuck together. I think that has so much to do with what Penn State is about. The kids we recruited, we were already talking about sticking together. When you look at the classes that went through that stuff in 2012, back when Joe [Paterno] was here, they stuck together. That says a lot.
One of the biggest reasons I came here was because this is Linebacker U, Paul Posluszny, Dan Connor, Glenn Carson, NaVarro Bowman, LaVar, Arrington. There's so many guys in this long line of guys that came here and did so well. I think that definitely played a big part in my recruitment as well.
Q. If we would have told you two years ago you'd be in this position right now, starting, would you have believed us?
JC: It's crazy to think about that. That was just two years ago. I'm not sure I would have believed you.
I think if you were to say that I would have kept your same work ethic you had in high school, I'd believe that. If you would say I would be starting in the 'Mike' position, leading the defense, I don't know if I would have believed that.
I'm really happy for the opportunity and I am definitely playing for Nyeem and the rest of the guys in the linebacker group as well.
Q. You played a couple different positions here so far in your time at Penn State. Given your personality, your gregariousness, do you like being the Mike, the guy at the center calling the defense? Are you the guy that's going to play wherever they put you?
JC: I definitely like the 'Mike' position and making the calls, kind of being the guy to set everybody up. I think it fits. But at the same time, I'd be absolutely open to playing any position that Coach Shoop or Coach Pry wanted me to play, as long as it's for the best of the team, in the best interest of our defense.
Q. Looking at these rosters, 69 players from New Jersey on both rosters combined. How many guys do you know maybe across the aisle on Rutgers? How many have you played against or with or that you know?
JC: There's quite a few players [that I know]. Carlton Agudosi and I played against each other in high school. Their [running] backs, I know Desmon Peoples. We know a lot of these guys just from recruiting, and that kind of stuff.
I definitely know a lot of the guys. It's going to be very interesting to play against them, them being from New Jersey. We have a lot of players on our roster from New Jersey. It's going to be a special game for us being that was our home state university. We all have guys from New Jersey on the Penn State roster have a lot of buddies from [New Jersey], guys from Rutgers that we know, so we're super excited.
Q. Troy Reeder said on Saturday it helped you guys to have Nyeem as an extra coach for the linebackers. Did he give you any advice as you moved to the middle?
JC: Absolutely. That move to the middle, there's a lot more to see, a lot more things you have to feel. Nyeem has been a really good resource for us. I've brought him in multiple times to watch film with him, taken his pointers, being able to see the formation fully before you make any calls, all that kind of stuff. Being able to not just make verbal calls but also make the hand gestures to make sure everybody is on the same page.
Going down to the D-line, getting them set, if they don't know the play calls. For them, their head is in the ground so it's hard for them to hear. They have to be ready to go. Then to the back end and checking with the secondary. You have to be very vocal. It takes a lot of assertiveness. The offense is ready to go, snap the ball. There is urgency, making those calls is very important.
Angelo Mangiro | Sr. | C
Q. Coach Franklin mentioned that you being at center provides a calming presence to the rest of the guys on the line. Can you speak to that and how you remain calm when things might not be going your way.
AM: I think that's part of my role on the team. Being that senior that's been through some things, understanding there's going to be ups and downs during a game. We had a young group last year, inexperienced guys. This year we have more experience in some spots and not as much in other spots.
I like to try to keep cool, calm, don't let my emotions get the best of me on the field. We can get corrections and yell at guys not in the public's eye type deal. I think that's just my role to keep guys positive, tell them to move on to the next play, things like that.
Q. From an offensive lineman's point of view, what is your role in helping a running back in pass protection, picking up blocks, knowing who is coming from where, in game, in practice, in the film room?
AM: They're getting coached just as hard as the line is getting coached. Have that in mind. Off on the sideline during the game, telling them what we see from our position, kind of figuring out just what unfolded, things like that. So telling them what I saw. What the linebackers [are doing], where the safety is, where it's [the blitz] going to come from.
Just discussing who picked up who, having factual information. Making sure we're all on the same page there. Those guys do a great job. They're coming along really well.
Q. Talk about the type of atmosphere you're expecting Saturday night. Can you comment on the students who are out there in Nittanyville.
AM: I'm excited. I'm excited. I keep saying that I hope this season lasts for me. I just had my last [home] opener in the stadium. I was a little emotional after the game. It's going to be a night game. I don't know what the rest of the schedule is going to be like.
The crowd is usually pretty loud and excited. Everyone prepares in different ways. But I'm excited for it.
I know defensively those guys are excited. Our fans have the ability to really disrupt the opposing offense. As an offensive player, you don't necessarily have that, but you definitely feed off the energy. So when the stadium is loud, you feel that, you make a play, you feel the whole stadium shake, it makes you ready for the next one, to get that thrill again.
Q. Fifty-nine players on both rosters from New Jersey. How many of these Rutgers guys do you know personally? Does knowing somebody personally give you any kind of edge, where you know how to push his buttons? Is that a tactic that you use at all?
AM: I'm not really a trash talker. That's not how I was raised or anything like that. I'm a buckle my chin strap and go to work kind of guy.
With that being said, I'm a fifth-year guy. There are only six of us left at Penn State. I don't know how many fifth-year guys they have left there.
There are familiar names and things like that, for sure. But most of the guys I got recruited with to different schools, they're gone. There's a couple left. I'm sure I'll say hi to them at the end of the game and things like that. For the most part, no, that's not me.
Q. Do you feel as if the running game was starting to find something in the fourth quarter the other day? How much of a carryover do you think that will bring?
AM: I give a lot of credit to Coach Donovan and our offensive staff, for the way they called the game. Not only are you battling an opponent and situations during the game, they were also battling the weather last week. That's extremely hard to do.
We wanted to wear on Buffalo. Some of those two-yard, three-yard runs, started popping up to six, seven, eight yards. Then, you saw some of those big runs in the third and fourth quarter. That was kind of our mindset. We were able to execute that. Hopefully we can continue that this week. We're going to go out to practice this afternoon and get after it.