Oct. 1, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" The Nittany Lions finish the non-conference season on Saturday with a matchup against Army West Point at Beaver Stadium (12 p.m. on ESPNU).
Leading up to the non-conference finale, defensive line coach Sean Spencer talked with the media on Thursday to preview the game. Take a look at a Q&A with Coach Spencer.
Q: You seem to have a lot of unique personalities within your group, how do these guys complement one another?
Spencer: "Unique is a nice word. I've got some interesting cats in that room (laughter). I embrace each one of their personalities. One guys is not the same as the other. Honestly, my coaching style adapts to who I am dealing with at that particular time. AJ (Austin Johnson) is a guy that has a lot of detailed questions, what I call 400 and 500 level questions. You really have to talk to AJ and explain the 'why'. Other guys like Anthony (Zettel), you go over the game plan with him, and he's very intense about it. He wants to know how he can be the best on each situation. Carl is a guy who sees it from a cerebral viewpoint. He can see the game from outside the box at all three levels and how he equates to that situation. With the freshmen, they are obviously going to be a little more immature. This is more football than they've ever done in their life. When you have a lot of older guys playing in front of them, you have to keep those guys in tune to the ballgame. We constantly make those guys take notes, even if they are redshirted. And we give those guys the same test that we give the older guys because we never know when their preparation will be called upon in the game."
Q: Carl Nassib is a guy who started his first game at any level a few weeks ago at Temple. What do you think motivated him to become the player he is today?
Spencer: "Well, he is tremendously driven. He's a guy whose entire career has kind of been behind the eight ball. He came in to Penn State at 215 pounds. He's increased his body weight to 275. He's now 6-foot-7, 275. He's a menacing figure out there. His work ethic is what separates him from most people. He refuses to be blocked. He's worked so hard at his craft becoming great at what he does. It's correlated to success on the field. The guy is one of the most intense human beings on the planet. You're in a walkthrough and he's foaming at the mouth talking about making plays with his eyes bulging out of his head. He wants to be a doctor one day. And I told him if he's in the operating room, I'm going to ask for another doctor because I'm a little bit nervous about him performing the surgery (laughter)."
Q: There was a play on Saturday where Anthony Zettel covered a lot of ground to track a guy down from behind. Is that the type of play you use as an example for the other guys in the room?
Spencer: "I think both Anthony and AJ have that ability to chase things down from behind. A couple weeks ago, when we played Buffalo both of those guys chased down a screen and actually overran the guy the running the ball and beat most of the guys running to the ball. Coach Franklin pointed that out to the team. It was pretty impressive. That's the type of effort we are looking for. The expectation is to always play that hard. When the young guys see that and they're in the game, until the whistle is blown, the play is never over. When you have guys in the middle able to do that, it raises the expectations for everyone else on the team."
Q: How much did you enjoy seeing Austin have a big play on Saturday? He's a guy who maybe isn't talked about as much as Anthony.
Spencer: "Austin does a lot of things people don't see right away. When plays have to bounce outside, it's tough to run up the middle against him because he's such a physical presence in there. He's made a lot of plays. I think he's almost surpassed the TFL number he had all of last year...His presence was always known. I think people tend to look where Anthony is, but when you have a guy like Austin, he can reap the benefits of them concentrating on Anthony. And when you get them both going, it makes it harder to concentrate on either one of those guys."
Q: What has Garrett Sickels done to take the next step on the defensive line?
Spencer: "He's gotten better against the run. He's a guy that has always been a good pass rusher. He can go in on third down and pass rush because he is tremendously twitched up. He's a guy who worked on completing his game (during the offseason). He's a guy who understands the function of the defense and understands how to play the run and get off of blocks. I think those are two of the things in the offseason he's really done a great job with. He's a really, really good pass rusher, some of the best lean and bend that I've coached. He can come off the end and clear the tackle and really bend. He can twist well. He can explode at the point of impact. We are really excited about him moving forward. He's done a great job helping the young guys and has really matured. I'm excited about G."
Q: Your guys have been really successful in the fourth quarter. Depth probably plays a big role in that, but why do you think you've been able to play so well in the final quarter?
Spencer: "I think in those games and situations we've faced this season, No. 1, the depth is huge. You are able to play a lot of guys. They are able to play as strong in the fourth quarter as they are in the first quarter. Secondly, teams are having to throw the ball late, and those guys get to pin their ears back. Honestly, our crowd is unbelievable. And how loud our crowd is affects timing and what the offense is trying to do. That gives us an advantage, especially at home."