Sept. 3, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" The Nittany Lions open the season on Saturday in an intra-state matchup against Temple at Lincoln Financial Field (3:30 p.m. on ESPN).
Leading up to the season-opener, assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Brent Pry talked with the media on Thursday to preview the game. Take a look at a Q&A with Coach Pry.
Q: Can you give us an update on Nyeem (Wartman-White) did during the preseason adapting to that new "Mike" linebacker role?
Pry: "I'll tell you, Nyeem did fantastic. He was excited about the position change. He wanted it for himself. He saw it as a great challenge filling in for Mike Hull, taking that spot by the reins. He really worked at it. It's very important for Nyeem. He had a great camp physically. Mentally, he learned the position. I feel good about where Nyeem is. And I'm excited about watching Nyeem play his first game at 'Mike' 'backer."
Q: Where did you see Brandon Bell improve during this camp?
Pry: "Brandon has improved significantly. He was a pleasant surprise to me last year. Brandon has what I would call game savvy and position savvy. His skillset is not off the charts. But he does a great job with angles. He's a great tackler. He's a very smart football player. Brandon's improved. He's gotten bigger; he's gotten stronger. There are certain points in a game where I ask him to play 'Will' 'backer when we go to some of our sub packages. He's improved dramatically there. He's a much better box linebacker this fall than he was going into last fall. That's going to help our defense."
Q: Are there one or two things you have seen Jason Cabinda really improve on from last year?
Pry: "There certainly are some things. Jason's strongpoint as a true freshman last year; he was very physical in the box. He had good instincts in the box. He was a liability in the perimeter. He's improved drastically there. He led our linebacker crew with interceptions this camp. He's done a really good job reading quarterbacks and leaning on routes. His transition is better. His movements are a little more in the framework. He's not so out of body when transitioning and reading routes. He's really cleaned that part up. He's been a big improvement there."
Q: How successful were you in establishing the depth you want at the linebacker spots behind the starters?
Pry: "We've got some guys working in the two deep right now. Gary Wooten (Jr.) has experience at 'Mike' linebacker. He's had two years soaking in the position. Gary's not a new guy to college football. He's a redshirt junior. He's 240 pounds now. He's plenty big and strong enough. He's studied under Mike Hull. He's studied under Nyeem. I think Gary is in a good position to be that second guy in (at 'Mike'). Von Walker has done a nice job out at the 'Sam' position. We use quite a bit of sub packages that take a little bit of pressure off the depth needed there when we get to our 'Star' and 'Dollar' looks. But Von has done a good job. He's playing his best football, not just on special teams, but on defense. He's learned the position. He's grown in the position. He's minimized his liabilities, so I think Von has put himself in a position to merit some reps to be ready to be Brandon Bell's backup. And then at the 'Will' position, Troy Reeder has overcome some injuries. He's positioned himself to be Jason Cabinda's backup at 'Will'. He's another guy who has good size and strength. He's got some areas he's better in than others on the field. Troy is a guy that continues to grow. He's a guy that will be playing his first snaps of college football on Saturday. I'm excited to see that."
Q: The 2014 defense set the bar high. How do those expectations impact this year's team?
Pry: "You love those expectations. That's what you want. I think they are here at Penn State anyways, but particularly with the year we had. We understand that when you watch the tape from last year, there are a lot of areas where there can be improvement. Statistics are one thing, but there is a winning formula for playing championship defense. There are some areas we fell short in, so there have been plenty of things for us to emphasize. It's great to have those expectations, but at the same time, there are plenty of areas we felt we needed to improve in."
Q: One thing the defense really excelled at last year was executing in-game adjustments. Can you take us through that process and how that works?
Pry: "I think it starts during the week in our film study and the conversations that we have with one another during the course of the week and conversations we have with the kids about the opponent and about the gameplan. We maximize the meeting time. We pretty much get right to business, whether it is the defensive staff or with our players. There is a lot of film study, a lot of preparation and a lot of dialogue throughout the week. Then on gameday, Bob (Shoop) is one of the best in the box at seeing things and recognizing what is happening. He does a tremendous amount of film study and preparation on the opponent during the week. I think he is an expert in the sky up there that can see things very well. We communicate well, the four of us on gameday, and to be honest, along with the graduate assistants. We use everybody involved. We pride ourselves on seeing things, making the adjustments and conveying things to the kids. We hope to continue to do a good job with it."
Q: What types of challenges does Temple pose for the defense, especially the linebacker corps?
Pry: "They do a fantastic job in their play-action, run game. There are a lot of run-pass conflicts they put on the linebacker position. They do a very good job spreading you out to make you defend the pass, but still have the ability to run the football. I think they do as good of a job at that as anybody we play. That's something that has been a big area of emphasis for us. The second part to that is how athletic their quarterback is. Anytime you face an athletic quarterback like P.J. Walker it is a challenge on your 'backers and your d-line. Keeping that guy contained and casting the net over him to keep his running abilities in check is something that will be a challenge on Saturday for sure."