Mark Allen | Running Back | Gr./Sr.
Q. How comfortable are you and Miles [Sanders] and Ricky [Slade] in the rotation you guys have been going through the past few weeks?
MA: It's been good. Coach [Ja'Juan] Seider and the coaching staff does a great job rotating us. Whenever we get an opportunity, we take advantage of it, follow behind those big guys and take advantage of the plays we get.
Q. Is it just 'let's try and maximize this as much as possible' because you know that it's a finite kind of time that you're going to get?
MA: That's the thing; you never know if it's a finite team. Coach Seider stressed it; when you're on the field, play like you're going to be in there the entire time. If you play like it's a one-play mentality or you're going out after this series, you're not going to get the job done. So, you have to play like you're the starter and take advantage of all the reps that you get.
Q. You, Nick [Scott], Johnathan [Thomas] all came in together and focused on running back. I'm sure you all had ambition of being starting running backs for Penn State. How do you help each other as your paths have diverged and switched positions and sometimes even being buried on a depth chart? How have you helped each other through that process through the five years?
MA: Just stay level headed and maintain our work ethic and just keep pushing forward. Johnathan Thomas is a great example of that. He's a guy that the whole team looks up towards. He's been through a lot and it's paid off. Not paid off when you wanted it to pay off, but when it does come and if you continue to prepare the way that you should, you can take advantage of it just like Johnathan did. That's the way that we all have been doing it this entire time.
Q. How have you seen Sean Clifford develop? Everyone says he's competitive. Any stories that sticks in your head about his competitiveness, where he really showed that to you?
MA: I actually have a vivid story. This summer, in workouts, Sean Clifford was beating me in some hill workouts, which is kind of ridiculous, but he was working extremely hard. The kid has a great work ethic. He continues to wait for his shot as well and when he gets to the game, he takes advantage of it every time.
Q. What do you know about winning a game where a team gets punched in the mouth first that you didn't know when you got here? How hard is it to learn as a team, you're down 10-nothing and now you have to figure out how to win? You guys were good at that two years ago; you didn't have to worry about it last year. How does a team learn how to be tough?
MA: That's just the culture of Coach Franklin that he's brought to Penn State. He's had it where he was in the past and brought it to Penn State. It's embedded in every player, and now it's embedded in every player you can see as it turns over every game.
Q. What is that culture? What do you know how to do?
MA: Just as you said. I guess we know how to win. We know how to work hard, keep maintaining work ethic and going out and doing our job and executing which leads into winning games.
Q. After Ricky had a couple of fumbling issues at Pitt, as a senior, as a veteran, what did you kind of tell him? Did you pull him off to the side and let him know everything was all right?
MA: If you didn't notice, me and Miles are the first two people that came up to him. Things happen and mistakes are made, but you can't stay into those same mistakes the whole time, or keep letting it carry over to practices or games or it's just going to keep messing with him.
We told him to have the next-play mentality and keep working because he has tremendous talent and we all see it in our RB room.
Q. James said a couple weeks ago that he's turned this team over to you guys more so than usual in terms of; I think he said it was training on and training off, letting the upperclassmen dictate how things go. What does it mean to you that maybe he's being a little bit more hands-off with those kinds of things?
MA: That's just team policies. That's it. Not much I can say about it. It's just team policy and we just keep it within the team.
Q. One of the other things he brought up is the book "Legacy", that the locker rooms never looked cleaner, it's about doing the little things. When did he mention that? How did he relay that message?
MA: That's been like since he's been here. He's always preached that the little things are key. We actually watched a video not too long ago about Ed Reed preaching something similar, saying 'picking up your towels'. You don't want people cleaning up after you. It's like the little things you focus on will carry over to the big things and the big things will lead to greater things.
Q. Did you notice a big difference of the cleanliness in the locker room?
MA: Actually, yeah. The locker room has been better than it has ever been. People have been owning up to their stuff, picking up their trash and towels. You see seniors and freshmen, and it's just making the coaches better, I think.
Q. Big Ten play is upon us. What do you see from Illinois? And how would you describe Big Ten play to someone who knows nothing about it at all?
MA: Like I always say, we're just focusing on ourselves. If we continue to focus on ourselves, each game will care for itself. This week we have Illinois, we're going to focus on ourselves in practice, continue to work hard, execute in practice. And Big Ten play will be Big Ten play. Every game matters to us. That's how we approach it.
Q. Obviously, he's valued in your locker room, but do you think Blake Gillikin gets the amount of credit, maybe nationally, that he deserves?
MA: Blake Gillikin should get a lot of credit. The kid has a 4.0, never got an A-minus in his life. Punts the ball about 60 yards on average. We give him credit. That's pretty much all he needs. His teammates are behind his back and his teammates continue to help him push forward and make him a better player. That's all the support he needs, to be honest.
Q. Last time you traveled to Illinois, you were a freshman and it was a loss. It was the fifth loss in seven games. Can you compare the expectations within this program internally versus where they were in that moment?
MA: The expectations were the same, actually. We just didn't execute, I guess, back in 2015. But now we're just focusing on ourselves. As I said before, focusing on executing the game plan we have for Illinois and we can't wait to get out there.
Q. We heard a lot last week leading into this week how the Friday game messes things up in terms of preparation and all that. What's it been like so far for you guys with not being off Monday and the quick turnaround?
MA: It's game week, we just approach it the same way. It's game week, that's how we approach it. This is the game week we were dealt. They have the same week as us and that's how we have to approach it.
Q. Coach Franklin said he started preparing in the summer for all the little quirks that go into a week like this. Anything that surprised you so far about this week and just kind of how things have laid out?
MA: No, we've just as a team; we've had the mentality that this is just how we have to approach this game this week and we took it on 100 percent.
Q. Pat Freiermuth was elevated to a co-starter this week on the depth chart. A lot of talk about his ability as a blocker. As a running back, I'm sure you can appreciate that. Can you explain what you've seen from Pat, especially clearing rushing lanes? He sprung Miles on a big one against Pitt.
MA: Freiermuth is extremely good. I noticed that in camp. He's taken advantage of everything, every rep he's had and it's carrying over. And he's getting more. I've told the coaches that in the past, that he looks good and he's showing it again. And like you said, it's always good to have a good blocker.
Q. You have a lot of guys from the Maryland, DC, area on the team. How much kind of high school team pride do you take? Is there a lot of talk when your teams are playing each other, because your team was a pretty good team?
MA: It used to be worse a little bit, but not too many people who are on the team now can compete with my high school team. So, it's just not that much trash talk that goes on. If they want to, I'll just shut it down because it's DeMatha, but other than that, that's it.
Q. Is the team aware the last time you played a Friday night game was in 1982, when you won a National Championship? What does that mean to you?
MA: I'm actually not aware of that. Like I said, it's just a regular game week for us. Doesn't matter if it's a Friday game or not. We're going to approach it the same way, we'll go execute and do what we do on any game week. It's the game we were dealt. We've been taking advantage of it, doing the things we are supposed to do throughout practice and it will show up on Friday.
Nick Scott | Safety | Gr./Sr.
Q. You, Mark [Allen], Johnathan [Thomas], all coming in as the same position, ambitions to start. You ended up on defense. Those guys ended up having to fight for the opportunity long term. How have you guys made an impact on the program and from your point of view the way you persevered and stuck with the program and found your roles?
NS: I'd say first and foremost the biggest thing that helped us was that all of us had an extremely positive attitude. When you come in here, everybody has the aspirations to start and make a big impact.
Obviously that wasn't the case for us, but we found other ways to affect the team in different ways. So, myself, I felt that it was best for me to move the defense and have an impact there. Mark Allen, he's been extremely positive; a leader in the running back room for years now. Somebody that the younger guys could come to whether they were above him or below him on the depth chart.
Johnathan Thomas, Coach might have touched on it a little bit, but he's done anything asked of him by anybody in this program. He's excelled at it and been positive all the time and just been working. He's a guy, like Mark, where anybody can come to him. He has the utmost respect from everybody in this program. And, so, Saturday was extremely awesome to see him get his first career touchdown. We were all happy for him.
Q. Obviously captains with him this year, you were a special teams captain last year. Where have you seen Blake [Gillikin] grow in a leadership role and as a punter?
NS: So, one thing about Blake is he's always working. He's always trying to perfect his craft. He's always outside kicking balls. He's extremely vocal in the locker room, which is how he sort of stepped into that leadership role. It's really nice to see him grow the way he has. He came in, sort of, on the quieter side but as he got more and more of an impact on special teams. He's been an outlet and voice of encouragement as well as laying the hammer for the younger guys in executing what we want done on special teams.
Q. Were you on the punt team last year as a gunner or anything? What's it like when he's trying to pin someone within the 10, 20? On the punt team what's it like just trying to get down there? How do you think he holds it up?
NS: Yeah, I believe I started on all four special teams last year. I think he does an extremely good job. We have some great gunners, a lot of speed on the outside, which you put that all together with Kyle Vasey, who gets a free release and I think we're pretty good. Of course, we want to improve in every area and keep taking steps forward in that area but Blake is a weapon for us. And we have some guys like Vasey, and our gunners, Lamont [Wade], Donovan Johnson, guys who can get down there and pin people deep.
Q. On special teams coverage, put yourself in the shoes of someone trying to contain K.J. Hamler, DeAndre Thompkins. How were those guys handling themselves in their roles? How much of a threat do they pose against every opponent this season?
NS: I think those guys are doing extremely well in their roles. They're very explosive, very electric. So, we're excited to see what they can do this weekend against Illinois. They've been consistent so far. And we've been following the game plan. We have some things in place for this weekend. We're excited to see what they can do this Friday.
Q. Last time you played Illinois you threw a touchdown pass, which was a very long time ago at this point, to [Christian Hackenberg]. Do you ever have these moments where you go: My goodness, I've played a lot of football here for a very long time?
NS: Yeah, for sure. I tell people all the time, I feel like a grandfather in the locker room, being 23 years old, being a fifth-year senior. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm actually the oldest guy on the roster. But, yeah, I look back and I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity I had and I only want to continue to be more successful this season.
Q. What do you think these young guys are going to learn in Big Ten play about getting punched by teams, going down in games. What do guys have to learn about that to get back out in front?
NS: I mean, I don't think we ever coach or prepare to be behind. But you just have to play four quarters of football. That's something we preach day in, day out. We've got to play a complete game and deficits, leads, that will take care of itself.
Q. How do you think the leadership is maybe different on the team this year? Yu said you've been around a lot of different groups. Is it different this year?
NS: Yeah, it's a little bit of a difficult question. It's different in the sense that we had some guys who have left and so that sort of; that's different leadership styles and personalities that aren't accounted for, but I would say in terms of respect, in terms of the message we're preaching and the goals we're going after, it's the same.
Q. Franklin said a couple weeks ago, he's turned the team over, more so, to the captains this year than he has in the past. He mentioned training on and off as an example of that. What does it mean that he's given you guys a little more leadership in that regard?
NS: It obviously means a lot in terms of trust. But in terms of details, that's something that we like to keep in house.
Q. He also mentioned this book "Legacy". Has anyone read this book on the team?
NS: I think some guys have read the book. He handed it out a little bit ago. The main takeaway he wanted us to get from that book is just the sense of ownership that those guys had. Whether it's a leader, the guy at the bottom of the roster, everybody takes ownership. There's no task too big or too small for anybody on that team and that's something that he preaches to us and that's something we want to live by.
Q. How competitive is Big Ten play? Do you approach it any differently?
NS: I'd say it's extremely competitive. You have to bring you're a-game all the time. There's no team that you can overlook. There's no team that's too good for you. There's no team that's below you.
You always have to approach each game the same as if it's your Super Bowl. If you're able to do that on a consistent basis and give everybody the respect that they deserve in this league, you have a good chance of being competitive.
Q. I think at one point on Saturday you had four true freshmen playing on the defense at the same time. How have you seen your group manage the youth movement? How are the experienced guys making sure they're doing what they need to accomplish early this season?
NS: One thing I like to preach to the younger guys is when you're on the field, you are the starter. Whoever is on the field, whatever their age is, how many years they've played here, if they're out there, that means that they have the coach's trust. What they want to do is they want to execute. They want to withhold the standard of their respective position group of their respective side of the ball. If they're able to do that they'll continue to grow as a player and obviously gain more trust from coaches.
Q. We were able to talk to Coach [Tim] Banks on a conference call and he said that Lamont is growing into the position after switching over from corner. Where have you seen him make strides so far this season?
NS: I would say just growing into position, he's definitely become a lot more confident. He's also understanding the game better and better each week, which is a testament to our defensive staff, Coach Banks, Coach [Brent] Pry, all those guys, and Coach Franklin. He's learning. He's learning every day. We all know he's extremely talented in terms of athleticism. The sky's the limit for him, but he has come a long way in terms of his understanding of the game.
Q. It's been a very long time since Penn State has played a Friday night game. How are you guys preparing for that in terms of changing up the schedule? Franklin mentioned some of the younger players it might be easy for them because Friday night games are a high school thing. How are the older players adjusting?
NS: I don't think it's much of an adjustment. It's a regular game week for us. We're approaching it that way. Nothing to my knowledge has changed for us. It's just moved up a day. Everything is pretty much the same. Everything's in line with what we do each week.
Q. What kind of guy is Tariq Castro-Fields like off the field? What have you seen from him in his first two starts?
NS: Tariq, he's a real positive guy off the field. He's a guy that you can count on to do the right things day in, day out. He's very mature in that aspect. He's played very well these last couple of games.
It's no secret that he's threatened to be a starter. He was a true freshman last year and he's stepping in and playing his role well this season. I think like Lamont, the sky's the limit for him. As his knowledge of the game increases, he'll continue to play even faster than he is right now.
Q. We heard something from James Franklin I'm still trying to wrap my head away. Jayson Oweh, 6'5", almost 250, had the fastest 40-yard dash among incoming freshmen. He had two sacks on Saturday. You see him every day working out on the practice field. What do you think this young man can accomplish? I'm sure you're well aware he did not have much football experience before he got to college.
NS: I hate to say it again. The sky's the limit for Jayson Oweh. These guys that we have, the younger players, they're extremely talented. With that talent they need to accompany the understanding of the game and how to attack their direct opponent. One of the things I'm most impressed with is the amount of support Jayson Oweh has from the older D-linemen. They're constantly teaching him new things to add to his game, constantly working with him after practice, doing hand drills with him, just talking with him about how he can be a better defensive end. I think it's a huge testament to Shareef Miller, who is the leader of that group, sort of taking Jayson Oweh under his wing and Shaka Toney, those guys. It's very impressive to watch him. He's extremely athletic, like you said. I think if he just continues to buy into this program and how we want to do things, which he's been doing phenomenally, he'll be a great player here.
Q. You talked a little bit about Lamont before, what's his personality like out on the field? From where we're watching, it looks like there's a certain bounce in his step and I think you mentioned confidence. Could you talk about that a little bit?
NS: For sure. Lamont is a high energy guy, which we love about him. He does have a lot of bounce in his step. He's funny. Guys just want to be around him. He's got that sort of energy about him, which is great. He's a great teammate. He's a guy that can put a smile on anybody's face at any time.
You can see that reflected on the field with his speed, his energy, how he celebrates after the play. So, yeah, he's just a real cool guy. High energy guy. Lifts the team up when necessary and he's good at what he does.
Q. It's very rare that you see a player get called out by an opposing coach like he was in the Pittsburgh game. How do you think he reacted to that?
NS: Lamont, he's extremely mature. I think he's been reacting well to it. He hasn't said much about it. He's just been keeping his head down and working hard.
Q. We've gotten to see Jonathan Sutherland a couple times the past few games on defense. Where have you seen him grow this season, getting a little bit more snaps?
NS: He's starting to play a lot faster, which just comes with comfort. He's starting to know his role. He's getting better at it, identifying his assignment, how people want to attack him and where he needs to be at certain times.
Once he's able to do that, I think you guys will see, he's extremely aggressive in his style of play, which is something that defensive players as well as coaches love about him. So, I'm just excited to see him continue to grow and gain experience playing more snaps for us.
Q. You said earlier you joked around saying that you feel like a grandpa. Do any teammates actually call you "grandpa", joking around with you? Who has the best nickname on the football team?
NS: Nobody calls me actual grandpa on the team. But who has the best nickname on the team? I would probably say Mark Allen, some people call, he likes to call himself a dog, some people call him Big Dog Mark. We've just started catching on more to calling him Scooby. Like Scooby-Doo. I think he has the best nickname right now.
Q. I think it was maybe last week or two weeks ago that Michael Mauti was back on campus and he was at practice. Did he talk to you guys? Is there anything you'd say really resonate with you in particular?
NS: We were able to talk to him a little bit outside of practice and things like that. He's a great guy. He's a guy that I definitely look up to. I knew his name when I was recruited. I knew everything about him, watching him and all that stuff and I knew he was extremely respected around this campus and especially on the team. When he came here, he was definitely a guy that I was interested in picking his brain about and talking to him about his experience and ways I could be a better leader and things like that. I look forward to staying in contact with him, using him as a guy just to work on my growth.
Just his encouragement, just him telling me that to continue to lead and that people looked up to me and just doing whatever I could do that would better this team, being unselfish, things like that.