Oct. 18, 2016
Opening Statement
We just videotape a little segment that we do every week down at Nittanyville, which I think is awesome. I think we have a record 677 [students] down there in Nittanyville. Our students here are special and we really appreciate them.
Coming off the bye week, we've had some time to get guys a little bit of extra rest. Guys were able to go home and see their family, rest up physically, emotionally and mentally, and catch up with some academic work, as well, so all of those things are important. We got some extra work in with our young guys in terms of development which is going to be very important moving forward. Then, obviously, we got a little bit of a head start on Ohio State. All those things are good.
We are looking forward to this opportunity. It should be a great environment [on Saturday]. I think it could be one of the better environments come Saturday night at the White Out. Got the No. 2 ranked team in the country coming into our stadium and they have been very successful. It is going to be a big challenge, but I know our guys are up for it. We have been talking to them all week about preparing hard and working hard and then playing loose on Saturday. Do everything you possibly can all week long so you can go out and play loose, and you can go out and play confident and have fun and take advantage of one of the better environments in college football that will take place in Beaver Stadium on Saturday.
We're going to need our fans. We're going to need our alumni. We're going to need everybody. This is a tremendous challenge that we're facing all together and we're going to need the stadium to be the most difficult environment in the history of college football come Saturday night.
We're looking forward to it. Our guys are excited. Obviously we practiced on Sunday, had off on Monday like we always do and then get out on the field again today. We're hoping that we may get a few guys back, but we'll see how that plays out.
[Ohio State] is a challenge. These guys are as talented at every position as anybody in the country. I think their offensive line is really good. They have a veteran quarterback in J.T. Barrett, who is a huge part of their running game; a really big part of their running game. They have talent and speed at wide receiver.
On the defensive side of the ball, I'm amazed that I'm saying this name again, but [Nick] Bosa as a true freshman is playing and playing really well, as well is their defensive line in general. They are talented at linebacker, talented and long and athletic in the secondary. This is an athletic team and this is a team that hase tremendous depth.
Obviously they played a heck of a game from a fan's perspective last week. Wisconsin played them extremely well and we had a chance to watch that game, as well. Obviously for our offense, there's not a whole lot of value in the tape, because we are two completely different styles of play, but we are excited for Saturday.
Q. How did the bye week affect the overall health of your team?
JF: I think it helped a little bit. As you guys know, we've had a significant amount of injuries, specifically at some positions, but I think there's a chance we could get [Jason] Cabinda back this week.
Now we have to remember, he hasn't played football or practiced in a long time. So to think jumping back in there after missing that amount of time is going to be a challenge. It's the same thing with Brandon Bell and [Jake] Cooper. There's a chance we could get those guys back, but we'll see. We'll see how it plays out.
Like I said, it's not like last week they practiced and this week we're hoping to get them back. They haven't practiced, at all. So we'll work those guys in and see if they are ready to go or if they can go, as long as the doctors clear them. But, that would be a nice bonus. Obviously the more Koa [Farmer] and the more Cam [Brown] play the better. The more experience they get, the more confident that they become.
Blake Gillikin had a little something bothering him two weeks ago, but it shouldn't be anything moving forward and we expect to have him back full go. As we all know, he's been a weapon for us this year so we need him back full speed.
I think you focus on the guys that have been out but I would say just as important as the guys that have played a lot of reps, all camp, all season, and just for them to get a little bit off time off. We practiced last week but we didn't do any banging with the old guys. The young guys did some [hitting]. Just allowing those [old] guys to have a week where we didn't take the week off mentally but we did take the week off a little bit physically from the pounding perspective.
Q. With Andrew Nelson hurt, can you kind of just go through some strength and weaknesses for guys like Chasz Wright, Paris Palmer and true freshman Will Fries?
JF: I think [Brendan] Mahon is playing really well right now so we're pleased with him. He's done a nice job for us all season. Like all of us, there are some times where I think he would like to have a do-over but overall, I think he's playing extremely well.
Paris has played a lot of football. Not necessarily this year but he has played a lot of football for us. It's not like we're putting a guy in there that has not had experience playing big time football. So that's a positive.
Chasz is a guy we've been excited about and he is starting to come on, the lights are coming on for him. He is a big, strong guy, 6-foot-7, 340 pounds. He is really starting to get some confidence and understanding of what we do and how we do things and why. Then, Will Fries is a guy that we've been excited about since we signed him and since he got on campus. He's had a lot of reps with the travel squad and is ready to go if needed. We'll just see how this week plays out and who is going to give us the best chance come Saturday.
Q. Wisconsin looked to be the team that has had the most success moving the ball against Ohio State so far. What stood out to you about what Wisconsin was able to do on offense and can it help you preparing for this week?
JF: I don't know if it really [helps us]. First, Wisconsin is really good on defense. We've seen that all season long from the opening week. They are really good on defense. So I think that helps them. It helped them stay in the game and play the style of play that Wisconsin wants to play, traditionally year-in and year-out.
They [Wisconsin] are a traditional pro-style, pound-you offense and their defense is playing so well that it allows them to play that way and not have to drop back and throw the ball.
Obviously that's a different style than we're playing right now. So that film for our offense isn't overly valuable. What we do is we try to take formations and situations that are similar and break those down. When they are in 22 personnel ââ'¬" two backs, two tight ends ââ'¬" we don't do that, so none of those plays or formations really translate for us.
Q. You mentioned before about the atmosphere Saturday night, the White Out and such. What kind of effect have you noticed after the fact that these White Out games have had on recruiting?
JF: I don't know. I think if you talk to our players, a lot of the guys on our team were at Penn State for a White Out, either for an unofficial or for an official visit at some point.
It's interesting, I went back and looked at that Michigan, four-overtime White Out, and somebody had posted pictures of all the guys that were at that game and a bunch of guys that signed with us that are on our team. And you kind of look at them and they look like babies, it's amazing.
I think it has a factor. I don't think there's any doubt about it. Again, the most important thing for us right now is to continue to develop our guys, continue to make sure they are graduating and then go out and play well. That's the most important thing that we can do is continue to play well. The last two weeks, we've taken some really nice steps in the right direction.
This is a very talented team that we have coming in. But I think a White Out probably exemplifies what makes this place so special. There are not too many places in the country that can fill up 107,000-seat stadium. Even our weekly attendance is in the Top-10 in the country. You look at the other teams in our conference and what they are averaging; so it's just interesting when you look at all those things.
I think the White Out exemplifies what this place is all about. It's about our community coming together, the fans, the professors, our alumni and our players and going into that stadium and having fun together and representing Penn State the right way. It's special. There's no doubt about it. Everybody knows about the academics and all those things, but I think I've said this before; I think Thon and football, when you can get that many people pulling together for one common cause and to do something bigger than just themselves, it really connects and unifies this school and this community like very few places in the country. So it's special.
I think obviously if you talk about from a recruiting perspective, the people have a chance to get a taste of that. And when you see it and when you're around it, it's something that you say, 'Hey, this is something really special that I would like to be a part of.'
Q. Can you describe a little bit the impact that Tyler Davis has had on your team in the past two seasons?
JF: I'm really proud of him. He's not the most vocal guy. He's very mature for his age, which I think is important for that position because we do have some youth at that position with Gillikin and with Joe Julius.
So to see an older guy that kind of goes about his business in school, goes about his business in football, and doesn't get too high or too low and is very consistent in his approach; I think it's been really important, specifically for the specialists.
I use him as an example a lot with the other guys -- it's a little bit different because the rest of the team doesn't really interact with those guys a whole lot during practice, like the offense and the defense interact. The specialists, for the most part, are in the indoor facility when we're outside, or vice versa, and they are kind of working on their craft over and over and over again.
I think his demeanor, his approach in meetings and just kind of how he is on game day, I think people look at that and they look up to him and he gets a lot of respect. It's not like the defensive line is watching him at practice and how he works, because those guys are handling their own business during that time.
Q. The fact that you guys are going to be playing the No. 2 team in the country in front of a sellout crowd and a national TV audience, as a coach, do you get a little concerned about the guys peaking maybe a little too early, or do you feel like your guys can stay on an even keel leading right up to kick off and then let it all go?
JF: I think it's kind of what I talked to you guys about in the past when we've had our lengthy discussions about rivalries or about conference versus non-conference games or big games. We don't change our approach. I think for the exact reason that you're saying right now, they know this is a big game. We don't need to tell them that. We need to prepare and we need to work hard all week long to give us the best opportunity to go out and play well on Saturday.
For exactly the points that you've made, that will help them not peak too early in the week or get too emotionally high too early in the week and run out of gas on Saturday. All of those things, consistency in behavior, consistency in play, that's what we try to do all the time.
Our approach won't change. They understand how big this game is. They see it all over social media, walking around town and on campus and from their families and ticket requests and all those things. They get it.
Q. You said that Wisconsin being pro style doesn't give you a lot of good film for your offense. Do you have good film on Ohio State from previous years, because I guess spread offenses are fairly common. Do you have film from previous weeks to go on?
JF: Yeah, definitely. This is no different than early in the season. You may even go back to last year and make sure you get enough plays by formation that you're looking for. There's plenty of games that are good.
Even the Wisconsin game, we still watch and we still study, and those things are great, but you're not pulling formations out to put into your cut-ups because there are just not enough similarities. Defensively, it's really good and they are playing really well on defense and have been all season long.
We have plenty of stuff to study and research. It's no different than every week. Every week you kind of have one opponent where maybe they play the wishbone or they play a spread or a pro or whatever style or even on defense, maybe a 3-4 or a 4-3, that maybe doesn't fit exactly what you do. But that's no different this week than it is any other week.
Q. J.T. Barrett obviously has been an effective player for a long time now but how is he different now than he was the first two years that you've seen him and why have so few defenses to the been able to slow him down?
JF: Yeah, it seems like he's been playing there forever, it really does. He's very poised. He's very mature. He has a lot of weapons around him and he has a veteran, talented offensive line in front of him. They are playing one freshman ââ'¬" who is playing really well ââ'¬" on the offensive line.
But he's [Barrett] a guy that can beat you in so many different ways. He can beat you with his experience and he can beat you with his accuracy and decision making and he can beat with you his legs. He's a huge part of their running game…week-in and week-out and he's shown that he's able to do that and has been a problem for people for the last three years.
Whenever you get a guy like that that's played as much football as he has and expects to win and those types of things, those things are valuable, probably more at that position than any other position on the field.
Q. In the Ohio State/Wisconsin game this past weekend, the Ohio State defense looked probably the most vulnerable it has in that first half. Did you guys look at that and what kind of things can you replicate to expose their defense again, and in general, what makes the Ohio State defense so good?
JF: I referenced that a couple times already that they are a pro-style, power offense and they are playing a young quarterback and they run the ball. That's who they have been for a long time and continue to be. That's kind of their game plan. So we are not running that style of offense.
I think they are a little bit different than some of the other defenses that we've seen this year. They are very skillful. They are very athletic.
The Wisconsin game for us, offensively, there is some value in it, especially on third down, when they get into 11 personnel sets , but the 22 personnel and 21 personnel sets are not as valuable for us as some other things.
We all know, Wisconsin is a good football team, from week one of the season, they made a mark by playing really good on defense. That's probably as impactful as anything, that their defense is playing so well that they keep play a lot of low scoring games. That allows them to play their traditional style of offense and continue with that the entire game. Where if the points get out of hand a little bit, and they have to change and become a drop-back 11- or 10-personnel team and throw it around, that's not really who they are.
So their defense and their offense are playing really good complementary football right now.
Q. Kevin Givens was moved to second team at defensive tackle. Can you discuss what happened, the thought process there and what he's done the first six games good and bad?
JF: He's done some really good things. We're really happy and impressed with Kevin. He continues to grow in every area of his life and he needs to continue to do that.
We think Curtis [Cothran] is doing some nice things for us, as well. We kind of look at it as we have three guys there: Curtis and Antione White and Kevin. They are all playing really well and playing at a high level.
So we're going to rotate those guys but it's not anything more than that. We just feel like Curtis is earning the opportunity to step in there and be the starter.
Q. J.T. Barrett had 100 yards rushing on you last year and 75 the year before. Are here things that he does that you've seen in those two head-to-head games that he does specifically well in their running game?
JF: They use him a lot. It's not like a quarterback where they may have one or two design runs or scrambles. They use him a lot. He's a large percentage of their running game in designed quarterback runs or read options, and then you sprinkle in some of the scrambles. So all those things factor in.
He has good size. He has good quickness. He's strong. He's very strong and plays that way. You see him breaking arm tackles and wiggling out of things. He has good change of direction, and like I said, he's been doing it for a number of years.
I think the biggest thing is they go into it each week purposefully in terms that he is going to be a part of their running game.
Q. When you look at possibly getting guys back, what are some of the challenges as far as lag-off because it's been awhile since they played? How much do you take into account them being experienced as far as trusting what they say.
JF: The medical decision has nothing to do with us or really them. The medical people make those decisions.
What it really comes down to is no different than what we went through in the beginning of the year with some other guys. We're excited about having the possibility of getting them back, and you think about their experience, but you also have to say, these guys haven't played. They haven't practiced. They haven't played. They haven't been in a game for a number of weeks. To think that they are just going to be able to jump back in and be the type of players they were when they left, I don't know if that's realistic.
We just need to make sure as coaches that we remember to evaluate the tape all week long, as long as they are going to be able to practice and be evaluated, that we evaluate it and make sure that we are not just throwing them back in there because we are excited that they are back and make sure that they are ready.
Depending on what the medical staff says and how much they are going to be able to practice and how much they are going to be able to do is really going to decide what we even do with them. It may be even a non-factor this week.
Q. Brandon Smith is a unique individual. Can you speak on Brandon and what he brings to the table, just how he stepped up from the role he was before to where he is now?
JF: I didn't talk about that at all. I kind of moved on because I knew you guys probably wouldn't want to talk about it after a week off.
Our Player of the Game on offense was Saquon Barkley, on defense was Brandon Smith, and on special teams were Ayron Monroe, who is really doing some nice things for us right now, and Nick Scott.
So Brandon, we're just really pleased with. He's a great example for all of us; all of our young players, all of our older players, scholarship players, walk-on players, players from all different backgrounds. Brandon is a guy that's persevered, worked hard, waited for opportunities and when opportunities came, he was ready.
I think a lot of times in life, you think you're ready for something, and then the time comes and you don't take advantage of it because instead of preparing the way you should have, you were spending time complaining and talking about you should be playing more or you should be doing this or you should be doing that.
Brandon never approached it that way. He just kept working and when that opportunity came he truly was ready to take advantage of it. He didn't waste any energy on anything else. He's doing great in school. He's doing great with his family. He's a great husband. He's going to be an unbelievable father one day. He's going to be a success in everything he does because of his approach, and he is respected throughout our program.
I'm really happy for him. He'll continue, even getting guys back healthy, he'll continue to have a big role for us week-in and week-out because he has shown that he can play, and play at a high level.
Q. How soon does the decision from the medical staff need to be made to give you enough time to evaluate guys from a fitness and preparedness standpoint?
JF: I think it depends. We've talked about this a little bit in the past. I think it depends on experience.
So if you have a guy like Brandon Bell who has played a lot of football and is a senior. He's probably going to be able to do things with a little bit less reps and a little bit less time than a guy like Cooper who is still a young player.
At the end of the day, I've been around places where coaches have rules where if you don't practice full go by this day [you won't play], but I don't know if I necessarily agree with that. I think you have to make the decisions that are the right decisions for your program and for the young man. That's going to be different for a freshman compared to a senior and everything in between.
We'll just see how it goes all week long. We have a staff meeting every morning and Tim Bream is in there and he goes through the medical report so everybody is on the same page. I can ask questions. The coaches can ask questions. The coaches will tell them what we have planned in practice and if he's okay with that and all those types of things.
So, it's not a blanket answer that I can give you. It's pretty fluid.
Q. Since Connor McGovern took over the right guard position, Chasz Wright got in a couple series in the last few games, if he doesn't make that start, if you make that determination, will there be any rotation at guard or tackle with him?
JF: The same thing [as I just talked about]. It's too early in the week to decide that. I will say that our tackle situation is different now. We felt like moving Chasz to guard because he had shown some really good signs; that we felt like we needed a little bit more mass and a little bit more length in there and he was doing some nice things.
I don't know if with Chasz's experience, we can bump him back and forth from tackle to guard all week long. I don't think that's fair to him or fair to our team. I think you have to be careful as coaches where you want someone to master one thing before you give him two.
I think right now, Chasz will be at tackle for this week and we will give him an opportunity to compete for that job. Obviously, in an emergency, he could move back to guard, but we have some other answers there, as well, with the Derek Dowrey and Wendy Laurent and guys like that. Gonzalez is another guy. This week Chasz will be primarily offensive tackle.
Q. How much do you think you can bring the Michigan experience into this game in a positive way, or do you think that it can be? Also, do you have much of a relationship with Urban Meyer?
JF: I know Urban. I've known him for a number of years. Obviously head coaches' meetings.
I'm going to say something; you guys are all going to freak out. But I've been on vacation with Urban. And what I mean by that is they do a Nike trip every year and I've been on that with him and his wife. I don't want you to think that Urban and I are going alone on vacation, but we have been on vacation before and spent some social time together. So yeah, I know him fairly well.
I think experience of games, all different types of games, from the Maryland game to the Michigan game and everything in between you can always learning something. You're always learning something. I think our guys focus this week is going to be on preparing really hard and practicing really hard so we can go out and play loose and confident on Saturday.
I don't know if we necessarily did that against Michigan. I think we're in a little bit different position right now, and all these experiences and all of these games, you learn something from. Whether you learn something from a loss or whether you learn something from a win; in life, just like the game of football, all those things are positive if handled the right way and I think our guys have really grown up from that.
I think we have a great opportunity on Saturday. I think all of the games that we've had this season, I think all the games that we had for some of our players last year, as well, all are going to help us prepare for what's going to happen on Saturday.
I would also make the argument, being at home in Beaver Stadium, being a White Out, that there's a big part of that, no different than us going on the road into some of these venues, as well.
We have a home-field advantage. There's no doubt about it, and we're going to need that. I'm going to go to the Quarterback Club on Wednesday like I always do, and I'm going to tell them on Wednesday that I hope the Quarterback Club the following week is cancelled because their voices are all gone and they can't talk, because that's the approach that we need.
We need everybody in the stadium screaming and hollering. It's no different than the election; every vote matters. It's the same way in the stadium: every clap, every yell, every scream matters. It makes a difference. All 107,000 people are going to make a difference on Saturday.
Q. With the offensive line, how concerned are you about matching up with them and how can Trace [McSorley] factor into opening up that running game and helping those guys out?
JF:I think whenever you lose a guy like [Andrew] Nelson, who we think is a very, very good football player and has played at a high level here for a number of years, whenever you take a guy like that away, it has an effect.
Especially on the offensive line where we've been somewhat fortunate to play with the same group of guys all year long, probably for the first time since we've been here. Now you take Nelson out of the equation and you add a new component. Luckily for us, Paris has played a lot of football, so that helps. Luckily for us, we did have a bye week to get a little bit of that chemistry going with those guys, as well.
I think it factors in. They [Ohio State's defensive line] are very athletic. They have good size. They have good strength and quickness. They have been very productive all year long.
I do think Trace's ability to run changes things. I think it really does. I think it helps your offensive line. I think it also affects the defensive coordinator in things that they are going to call and how they are going to call them and why they are going to call them and when they are going to call them.
When you know you have a drop-back quarterback who is not a threat to scramble compared to one that is, it affects how you do things. It affects how the defensive line coach is going to coach how they rush the quarterback all week long. When you have a pocket-style quarterback, you can be a little bit more reckless and take a few more chances in your pass rush than you can with somebody that can pull the ball down and scramble for a first down.
We need Trace to continue to be a factor in the run game with scrambles, with design runs, with all those things. That needs to be a part of what we do and who we are from here on out. So yeah, we are excited about it but the offensive line is going to have a real challenge, there's no doubt about it.
I think being at home, one of the best places where you gain an advantage in a home field environment or being on the road in a tough environment is the offensive line versus the defensive line because typically, your defensive line gains an advantage because in a lot of these types of venues, you have to use a silent count if you're the visiting team and you can't communicate real well.
When you can affect communication, and you can go to a silent count where it's probably the offense's best weapon against a defensive line is being able to change the cadence up so they can't time up and tee off on you.
So that's something that I think is in our favor from that standpoint. Where if you're playing with an inexperienced line and you've got a new part in there, and you're going on the road and communication is going to be affected, that could be a challenge.
Q. How would you compare Ohio State's offense this year to last year, given the guys they lost?
JF: They have really recruited so well that -- and they play a lot of guys. If you look, they are playing true freshmen. Even if they are not getting a lot of reps, they play them. They have been able to keep this thing rolling, even by losing a lot of guys to the NFL. There's an expectation of winning there. They were recruiting at a high level before Urban got there and they are recruiting at a high level now since Urban has been there.
When you have a returning starter or a quarterback who has been very successful and productive, I think they have leaned on him heavily, especially early in the year, and now their running backs are really playing well, as well, and the offensive line, as well.
But when you have a quarterback that can make plays for you, it allows that youth around him to grow. Where in other circumstances, or maybe you have a veteran offensive line and an inexperienced quarterback, kind of like we just talked about at Wisconsin, they are doing the opposite. Instead of leaning on the quarterback, they are leaning on the run game; whereas Ohio State is leaning on a veteran quarterback and allowing all the other guys to grow around him.
Q. How much do you think the defense has progressed since week one against Kent State when they had a mobile quarterback that got out of the pocket and was able to scramble for big gains?
JF: I think it goes back to what we talked about all off-season. We lost four defensive linemen, three to the NFL. So getting those guys experience, building their confidence as early as we possibly can, I think that's the group that has probably grown as much as anybody, I think our defensive line is playing pretty well right now.
I think that's probably the biggest difference between now and game one is the experience of our defensive line. Those guys make plays and are more stout and aggressive as the season has gone on. Then the possibility of getting some linebackers back helps with that, as well.
Q. You've played Ohio State competitively the last two seasons despite a lot of reasons why maybe people feel that shouldn't be the case. Why do you think you guys have managed to show up at that next level against Ohio State the past two years?
JF: Yeah, we have; the first year we played really well. Mike Hull was really an eraser for us in year one on the defensive side of the ball on the defensive line has played well.
I thought one of the things we did really well that year was we got the crowd involved early in the game and kept them involved. Last year, we were able to do that, at times, but not as consistently as we would like.
I think a lot of it goes back to what we've talked about before with the matchups and style of play. There are going to be teams, depending on where you're at in your program, that are not going to be a good matchup against and vice versa. You see it every week when you're watching games on Saturday, a team that you think is going to dominate and they go out and just don't play as well and you wonder why. A lot of it deals with matchups.
We have played well. We have played hard. We have played aggressive and we've handled some of those things. I think the first year is probably the year that jumps out to me the most. I think the biggest factor is we made plays on offense and we made plays on defense. That not only kept us in the game, but kept the crowd involved, which is very important.
Last year, we didn't do that consistently enough and we had some big plays last year that penalties took points off the board, which you can't do. The margin of error against these types of teams is too small. So you have to play well. That's what we plan on doing again on Saturday.
We're one of the more disciplined teams in the country when it comes to penalties and we need to continue to do that. The games that we have not turned the ball over and protected the football and won the turnover battle, we've been successful. We're going to need to do that again on Saturday.
The last component is explosive plays. We have to limit them. They are a big-play team. We have to limit their explosiveness and we have to create big plays, which is something that we've done a pretty good job of all year long. We need to continue to build on that.
I think last week, if you look at the Maryland game, we had 15 explosive plays on offense and our defense gave up four. So when you win the turnover battle and you win the explosive play battle, you've got a chance to be successful; and, like I mentioned before, keep the crowd involved.