Sept. 24, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" The Nittany Lions return to the non-conference season on Saturday with a matchup against San Diego State at Beaver Stadium (3:30 p.m. on BTN).
Leading up to the conference opener, special teams coordinator and running backs coach Charles Huff talked with the media on Thursday to preview the game. Take a look at a Q&A with Coach Huff.
Q: The special teams play has been noticeably improved during the first three weeks. What do you attribute that to?
Huff: "Patience. When we got here, we knew that special teams had an opportunity to be very effective. We knew the depth restrictions were going to hinder us. We also knew that some of the guys in the program either redshirting or growing had the ability. It's been very entertaining and very exciting to watch that growth. We knew we had a situation when we got here. Of course, we all like to have it happen sooner, but knowing that we had the pieces coming and the pieces maturing was exciting for us. Now, it's just a great opportunity to watch that growing on the field. We've still got a ways to go. We've still got some things we need to get better at. We need to be more consistent in some areas. But we are starting to see what we thought as coaches when we got here the capability to do down the road."
Q: Coach Franklin talked about you making some trips over the summer to monitor how some of the NFL teams operate with special teams. What did you get out of those visits?
Huff: "I did a world tour. I went to about seven places. It's just an opportunity to go pick up some new ideas, pick up some new ways to say things, pick up some new ways to organize things, and a lot of it was verification of hey, we are doing it the right way, it's just going to take time. Getting out to some of those NFL teams and NFL coaches and bouncing ideas off of them helped...Just ideas. You can get so much out of it. Then you come back as a staff and think about what we can install and what we can give to our players without kind of filling their heads up too much. It's a good way to bounce ideas, get verification that we are doing it the right. It was very helpful for me. It was very helpful for our staff. Some of it we used. Some of it we are holding on to for down the road."
Q: Where has Chris Gulla improved in the past year with his consistency?
Huff: "He worked his tail off this summer. At the end of the year last year, we sat all of our players down and told them where they needed to improve. We just told him that, hey, you have the tools to be a very effective punter here, but you've got to be consistent. Consistency doesn't come on gameday with how you punt. Consistency comes with how you work in the offseason, how you work on your own, ho much film do you go back and watch, are you taking care of your body, are you lifting weights, are you doing all of those things to put yourself in the best situation. He worked his tail off this year. That's the thing we continue to talk with him about. As great as your game was last week, you have got to be consistent and do it all over. We talk to the whole team about success being rented. You never own it. You have to go out and pay for it...I think the work he put in during the offseason is allowing him to have some success.
Q: Nick Scott is a guy who has had success on both returns on coverage. How do you think he has played?
Huff: "It's been fun. Sitting back and watching a lot of these young guys during spring ball and during the winter, we were excited as a staff. Now, we are getting a chance to see it. I think Nick is a great example of it. There are a lot of other guys ââ'¬" Nick Scott, Koa Farmer, John Reid, Troy Apke. Those guys are having some success on special teams. And it's allowing them to build confidence in their ability. It's allowing them to get a comfort level with playing college football. A lot of our guys on special teams weren't even playing college football last year. Some of those guys were on the sideline redshirting. So to be able to get out there and have some success and play fast, fly around lets them build confidence, gives them a role and let's them gain ownership over their certain area of their role. It grows into offense and it grows into defense. I tell Nick all the time that don't think because you are having success on special teams that you can't be the starting running back. And we tell all of those guys, your success is not limited (to special teams), it only opens doors for you."
Q: What do you look for out of your guys who you want to be on your coverage units?
Huff: "Whenever you are talking about special teams, the one thing we evaluate as a staff is spatial awareness because on special teams the game is played in space. Spatial awareness is big for us. You have to be able to run, break down and close on the target that is moving. On offense and defense, it is a little different because you are focused on one specific gap or one specific player. A lot guys can run straight ahead, but if you move left a little bit they are out of whack. A lot of our guys have spatial awareness. Teaching them how to come to balance, teaching them how to play fast and still be under control is the part us as coaches worked on all of the offseason...That's one of the major parts we are looking at when we evaluate guys for special teams...And those are the things you are seeing out of the guys who are having some success, Nick Scott, it's the spatial awareness."
Q: Looking at the numbers, San Diego State has a pretty strong return game. How would you assess their returners?
Huff: "Really good. It's a really good football team. A lot of times when you have a really good football team, you have a solid special teams unit. They do a very good job. They are very fundamentally sound. We are going to have to be on our Ps and Qs. They have some guys who can take them to the house for sure. We have to go out and be consistent in out kicking and be consistent in our coverage and our leverage and not allow them to get started. Because they do have some guys who can make some things happen."
Q: Saquon looks like a player who has a lot of things you can't teach. How has he done with those things you can teach, like pad level, picking up blitzes, routes and things like that?
Huff: "He's done well. He's got a ways to go. He's only been here four months. The one thing about him is that he is a very inquisitive young man. He has a knack for wanting to know everything. Whatever you tell him, he remembers. If you tell him something on day one, he remembers you saying that. Before he even came here and he would come up and visit practice or call us after one of his games, he would ask us why we are doing certain things in practice or what was that play and what is the read on that play. In his mind, he was already trying to obtain as much information as he could before he got on campus. As soon as he got on campus, he wanted to meet with (Christian) Hackenberg. He wanted to sit down with Akeel (Lynch). He wanted to look at film of last year with those guys. He wanted to do all of those on his own so that when we were able to meet with him he was a step ahead. If Akeel is doing something, he is watching him. If Mark (Allen) is doing something, he is watching him. He is asking questions. He's done a very good job picking up the system...The one thing about him is that he doesn't think he knows it already. He's always checking that, 'hey, this is what I'm supposed to be doing, right?' He doesn't have the I already know and just let me play mentality."