Sept. 17, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" The Nittany Lions open the Big Ten season Saturday with a matchup against Rutgers at Beaver Stadium (8 p.m. on BTN).
Leading up to the conference opener, offensive line coach Herb Hand talked with the media on Thursday to preview the game. Take a look at a Q&A with Coach Hand.
Q: How did you measure the improvement from week one to week two?
Hand: "Each game is in it of itself. Each game is different. We obviously improved in that I think we did a great job of managing the game, establishing the run and obviously protecting Christian (Hackenbeg), keeping him clean. He took a couple hits during the game, but nothing major. It was a great improvement in that regard. The thing about college football is that each game is in it of itself, like I said. Winning is not easy. Some people think you can just roll your helmets out on the field and win. It doesn't work that way. Winning is difficult. I don't care if you are on the road or at home. It doesn't matter if it's an in conference game or out of conference game. It is a week-to-week deal. It's a challenge every week. On paper, it may look like one team is better than the other. But you still have to go out each week and do it when the lights are on and the stadium is full. You have to go out and execute. We were able to do that at a higher percentage in the second week than we did in the first week. But none of that is going to matter this week. So that's why our sole focus is on what we need to do to have success against Rutgers."
Q: How valuable is it to have a guy like Angelo Mangiro with his leadership and experience?
Hand: "I love Angelo Mangiro. You give me five Angelo Mangiros you are going to win a lot of games because of his approach every week from a preparation standpoint, because of his mentality. When he walks out on the field, he's ready to go. He's never had a bad day. He's as good as they get in that regard, plus, his versatility. He's taken game reps at every position on the line except for left tackle to this point going back to last year. He's played a lot of football. From an experience level, he brings a lot to the table. But that's what you expect when a guy is a fifth-year senior. Those are the attributes you want your older guys in the program to have. Angelo has all of those, as well as a great attitude and mentality that he brings every day. I can't speak highly enough about Ang."
Q: How did Brendan Mahon handle the switch to tackle last week and how do you think he played?
Hand: "As has been well documented in the past few years, we put a high value on versatility. We train guys in that regard. Brendan got his first game reps at right tackle. But our first spring here, he played right tackle during the spring game. He's played left guard in all the other games since then, but the move to right tackle was not a huge adjustment for him in terms of his preparation because he has been doing that for basically two years. But game reps are different than practice reps. Getting out there and playing in a game at that position, I was happy with his performance. It wasn't perfect by any stretch, but he will continue to develop at that position and any other place that we have him play at."
Q: When you watched the film, what differences did you see in how Paris Palmer played from week one to week two?
Hand: "At halftime of the game (last week), we had a talk with Paris about his opportunity. You never want to have an opportunity based on those type of circumstances with Andrew (Nelson) getting hurt. But nonetheless, it was an opportunity for him. It was an opportunity for him to go out and prove to himself that he can play at this level, to prove to everyone watching the game that he can play at this level, and most importantly as an offensive lineman, he wanted to prove to his teammates that they can count on him. It was a positive moment for him to have that redemptive opportunity. The confidence would be the biggest factor (from week one to week two)."
Q: We hear the phrase moving the pocket a lot, what are the responsibilities on the offensive line when you do that? And is it easier or tougher on them?
Hand: "Yes. It's all about launch point and protecting the launch point. When you talk about moving the pocket, every protection is based on the quarterback's launch point. You have the quick game where the ball is coming out fast and you have to set up firmer on the line of scrimmage. You have drop back protections that are in the pocket where you have to protect the point of a seven to five-yard launch points. There are some playaction shots in the pocket where you need more max protection where you have to protect nine to 10 yards. Then you have moving the pocket. There are a variety of ways where can move the pocket. There are sprint outs or what we call nakeds and bootlegs. There are half-roll type situations. It basically comes down to protecting the launch points. Sometimes on sprint out protections, when you are on the backside of the sprint out, it might be a little easier. On the front side of the protection you have to re-leverage your hat to the front side of the defender. That's a challenge. It comes down to understanding the launch point and protecting the launch point. The best thing about the moving the pocket is that the defense can't zero in on the launch point. The defense doesn't know exactly where the quarterback will be at the launch point."
Q: How much did you analyze last year's Rutgers game to get ready for this week's game?
Hand: "We studied that extensively. We know that each year every team is going to be a little different because of the makeup of their team and who the personnel is. Personnel changes, but unless you have a change at the coordinator position, generally speaking the philosophy is going to remain very consistent. We studied that film extensively. We looked at how we can improve upon the areas that we didn't excel at and how we can accent the areas where we did excel. To Rutgers' credit, they have some great defensive players. They are very athletic. They do a great job from a scheme standpoint to give you problems with movement with twist games and blitzes up front that you have to be on point with."