Amani Oruwariye | Cornerback | Gr./Sr.
Q. What have you seen out of Donovan Johnson?
AO: Donovan is just a kid that came in last year, obviously redshirted, but has developed tremendously since the spring. He's a guy that's caught the coaches' eye and caught my eyes, and is ready to make some plays coming up this Saturday, so I'm excited for him.
Q. The backfield -- is that a perception that you guys are looking to disprove in the next couple weeks here?
AO: Yeah, when we're here, we just take it with a grain of salt and play with a chip on our shoulder. We know what we're capable of and we have some experience back there. Nick Scott, Garrett Taylor has played a lot of football for us and John Reid has done great things here.
So we are ready to take that next step and be ready to make a name for ourselves.
Q. Looks like KJ Hamler starting in the slot for you guys. What makes him so dangerous and how excited are you to see him go up against a different defense?
AO: KJ is another guy that's come a long way. He's improved dramatically. He's just a very quick, speedy guy, and along with that, he's playing with confidence.
So when you put those two together, it's hard to stop. So I'm excited for him.
Q. What are your emotions on game day, and how do you kind of balance maybe nervousness with excitement or pressure?
AO: I mean, since I've been playing football since I was young, I've always had butterflies going into a game, so that's not going to change. But kind of just going into the game, just trusting my preparation, trusting my training and then letting the play speak for itself and trusting the game plan and going out and doing what I'm supposed to do.
Q. James was saying Cam Brown has separated himself. What have you seen from him and what does he do that makes himself so dangerous?
AO: Cam is just taking that next step in that linebacker unit. He's a guy that can move well and brings that physical presence, as well.
What he's done is taken that leadership role. He's been mentoring those younger guys, trying to bring them up the scale to where he is and it's paid dividends.
Q. Coach mentioned KJ Hamler's leadership skills, even though he's a redshirt freshmen. He compared him to Marcus Allen. What have you seen out of that?
AO: I would compare him to that, too. He's a guy with a lot of energy, regardless, even last year when he red-shirted he was just bringing energy to the locker room and that's just multiplied now that he's going to have a bigger role. He's just a leader by that energy just showing that he's coming out every day ready to work.
Q. When you look back, when you were here 2014, 2015, the state of the program, it's quite a bit different than it is now. How does it feel, looking back on those times and then also, you guys are trying to establish yourselves, making it three seasons in a row with 11 wins or something?
AO: Yeah, like you said, I've been here since the 2014 days when we were just happy to make the Pinstripe Bowl, and now to the past few years, two 10-win (regular) seasons. The program has come a long way but we're ready to put that in the past and cement something new this year and go for bigger goals.
Q. What about [linebacker] Jesse Luketa?
AO: Jesse, he's a young guy that's got a lot of leadership tendencies. He's a very vocal guy and what you look for in a Mike linebacker. He's still young but he's came a long way, as well. He should definitely contribute a lot and I'm excited for him, too.
Q. Some of your teammates have said that they have known at various points that Miles Sanders was going to be ready for this moment, maybe it was his freshmen year, maybe after that. Have you had a moment like that where maybe you've done something in practice that you're like, man, this guy could be something big?
AO: Yeah, I mean, he's had moments of practice, but I mean, even in the previous years, just being behind Saquon [Barkley], he's shown flashes of greatness that he's going to have in games, and the Georgia State game, he had a nice run.
He's had a couple runs throughout his career so far but in practice, he brings it every day. He's consistent. I'm excited for him. I think he's going to have a huge year.
Q. [Freshman linebacker] Micah Parsons, we've talked so much about him. What has he done that's impressed you, whether it's mental, physically or something else?
AO: Micah, he's one of those freak athletes, just a guy with natural-born talent.
When you put that together with all the fundamentals and stuff like that, he's just going to be a great player. I think he's a guy that you could put in a lot of different types of blitzes and stuff and he's going to make a play. He's a guy that has a nose for the football. I'm excited for him, too.
Q. What's the difference between playing with a bunch of old guys versus playing with a bunch of younger guys?
AO: Just that experience. That's the only thing I would say that's different is just the experience. We kind of have a standard here, regardless if you're young or old, you've got to mature and you've got to play like you're mature.
We kind of have put that on the younger guys to try to mature as quickly as possible. So we don't really feel that drop-off at all, that experience. We have done a great job of that.
Q. Who are the team leaders and how do you lead?
AO: I guess the older guys in the locker room: Me, Trace [McSorley], Koa Farmer, Shareef Miller, Mark Allen, all the older guys.
Just kind of leading by example, all the younger guys, seeing what we've done in the past years and wanting to get to that point so they just kind of follow in our footsteps, and I think we do a good job of leading that way.
Q. There's a lot returning on offense, even though you did lose a lot, and you've had a series of injuries on defense. Is there a sense on the defense of trying to get your feet wet and trying to prove -- you guys feel like you have something to prove, whereas on offense, there's maybe more what people know what to expect?
AO: I think as a team in general, we have a lot to prove. I think on defense, like they said before, in the secondary, losing a lot of people, we kind of play with that chip on our shoulder, but on offense, too, losing Saquon [Barkley], Mike [Gesicki] and DaeSean [Hamilton], we have a lot of young talent ready to step into those roles and play bigger roles. I think as a whole unit, as a whole team, we're ready to go.
Q. Do you remember your first-ever game here at Penn State, and maybe what is some advice you can give to the true freshmen who are about to play in their first-ever college football game?
AO: Yeah, all I would say is just, you know, trust your training, trust your abilities. You're recruited here for a reason.
Obviously you might be a little nervous, but after a play or two, you're going to be right back to what you've been doing your whole life. Just like I said, just trust that, play confident, and you'll like where you're at.
I remember it was nerve-wracking, my first road game, playing my first game special teams -- I was nervous but I just trusted that and tried to make plays.
Q. [Head Coach] James [Franklin] was here earlier and told us how much of a stickler he is of having a clean locker room. Are there any stories you can tell us about him getting on guys, and why does that matter?
AO: I don't know really any stories, but definitely him and our strength staff try to emphasize a clean locker room. Just because we have been blessed with a nice locker room like that and we've just got to be grateful and take care of that.
Then just that kind of transcends to other things, just cleaning your locker room, that goes a long way with the little things in football. We just kind of try to implement that.
Q. We've seen you on the practice field, circled around the kickers at different points. How competitive was that battle and when did it become clear that Jake [Pinegar] was the guy that was going to be responsible for kicking field goals?
AO: Yeah, we've got a lot of competition, a lot of good kickers, but you know, yeah, Jake's been good. He's been consistent. He's had his head down and just worked and tried to perfect his craft. Whenever you do that, and you produce, good things are going to happen.
Q. You guys have been grinding all summer. Talk about what it's like to get back in that stadium on Saturday and how ready you are to hit somebody not wearing a Penn State helmet?
AO: Yeah, we are excited. We've been training all off-season, all summer, all spring, and all camp, just to be able to go get somebody up. It will be fun to get out there in front of 100,000 fans and show off what we've worked for, so we're all excited for it.
Will Fries | Offensive Line | Jr./So.
Q. What's the biggest thing you got out of that redshirt year and why is it pretty much the norm?
WF: I think for me the biggest thing was just getting size and strength. I came in here about 280 and now I'm about 310. I think those years of development for offensive linemen when guys come in not as big and strong physically as they need to be.
Q. [Head coach] James Franklin said a little earlier that it will be a game day decision between you and Chasz [Wright]. How do you view that competition? Is it a healthy one? Are you guys friends?
WF: Yeah, for sure. We're definitely friends. We get along really well and I think that's a good thing for both of us. It pushes us both to get better. I think during summer camp, we both improved a lot. Definitely trust the coaches to make the right decision and make the better player play.
Q. Where have you seen the most growth between camps?
WF: I think just my knowledge of schemes and the playbook and understanding, you know, defenders, how they are going to play in certain situations.
Just overall, learning from older guys and things that they see that can help me.
Q. Can you speak about Yetur [Gross-Matos] and P.J. Mustipher, who Coach Franklin said he's going to be playing throughout his freshman year?
WF: Yetur, first off, he's been dominant all camp. He's a tall, long, strong, quick player. He gives you a variety of moves that's difficult to deal with at offensive tackle. He's been really impressive. Love competing against him.
P.J., another guy that came in here, big and strong and ready to play. He's been very impressive throughout summer workouts and camp, so I'm excited for him.
Q. Is there a leader among the offensive line, someone that kind of sets the tone for the group?
WF: I think Ryan Bates has done a good job stepping up as a leader with the departure of Andrew Nelson and Brendan Mahon last year. He's done a good job of stepping up. Guys like Chasz [Wright] have been a leader and Charlie Shuman has helped out the younger guys.
Q. How does Ryan do that?
WF: He's a pretty vocal guy. When things are down, he's kind of the guy that gets people going. He leads by example, his work ethic on the field and stuff like that.
Q. If you had a perfect offensive line, would it be harder for you to adjust changing the position you're in or jiving with a new guy who got plugged in for someone who came out?
WF: A new position. It's harder to switch from right-to-left, tackle to guard, than most people think because there's different plays you've got to know and different schemes. Right-to-left you're switching your balance and strikes and stuff like that.
Definitely switching sides is a little more difficult.
Q. What was it like to see a guy like Charlie Shuman get put on scholarship with all the work he's put in?
WF: That was awesome. We were all so excited for him. He's a guy that is more deserving than anyone. He's put a ton of work in this whole off-season, throughout his whole career and all the extra stuff that he does, this girl that he helps out, really excited for him and happy he's on scholarship.
Q. Coach said KJ Hamler stood out as a leader. How have you seen that and have you seen that?
WF: KJ is awesome. He brings a ton of energy. He makes those big plays and really gets the sideline going, the whole offense moving. He's just an upbeat guy and brings a ton of energy to practice.
Q. What was last year like for you? Could you talk about some of the challenges and how much you benefitted from moving around and that sort of thing?
WF: Last year was awesome as far as my development. I got to start at three different positions on the offensive line last year, so that was definitely a challenge and something that's helped me grow and become a better player. Just playing in tough stadiums on the road, playing in the White Out, just all things that helped me grow and become a better player.
Q. It was a point of emphasis to put these figures through as much pressure as you could on the practice field, not the same as the stadium, but what did you do to ramp things up on the field?
WF: At the end of practice we always do a specialists competition. Some of the things we have done is have the kickers and we all gather around him and yell at him and make it hard on him. That's a lot of fun, gets us involved and focus on special teams, and it's good for the kickers because they are going to be facing a lot of pressure. Good to get them broken in now, as opposed to in the game.
Q. Did they handle the mental aspect well?
WF: Yeah, they all did really well under the pressure. It was fun to yell at them. It was hard to hear the cadence but they still nailed them.
Q. What is the challenge when somebody rotates in -- last year it was whoever has the hot hand. What's it like if you're the guy on the field or on the side, what can you do to stay locked in when the other guy is on the field?
WF: You know, I think when you're watching someone from the sideline, it's good to see what looks they are getting from the defensive line, maybe rushes they are getting or stunts that they are moving, and I think that being on the sideline could be helpful so you can mentally prepare so when you're in there, you know what to expect and what's going to be thrown at you.
