Penn State Football
Student-Athlete Postgame Press Conference
vs. Wisconsin – November 10, 2018
Trace McSorley | QB | Gr./Sr.
Q: Can you walk us through getting hurt again? What's going through your mind as you're on the field? Do you think you can get back in the game?
A: I thought I'd get back in the game. It wasn't anything super crazy, it was just got bent a little bit awkward and had pain for a couple minutes. I got back on the sideline and it was right at the end of the half, so being able to get into halftime and just keep it loose. I came back on the field and I felt fine after that. Really for me, it wasn't really a question if I was going to come back. At that moment, I just had pain and just had to keep it loose let the pain fade away for a minute.
Q: You guys appeared to approach this game with a warrior mentality, the way you went back to the running game, pound on the ball. Was that the mentality in this game?
A: I think it was definitely a mentality we wanted to establish. Wisconsin has a great defense and they pry themselves on being physical and that's something, for us, we wanted to prove that we can be a physical offense as well. With a team like that is the perfect opportunity to do that. Our offensive line was doing a really good job of getting a bit of movement off the ball, allowing Miles [Sanders] to have patience and find seams in the defense and being able to hit it. Miles [Sanders] did a good job of making guys miss. I think part of it was the mentality, but was also that we were efficient running the ball. We were able to get positive yards, especially on first and second down get us in some manageable third down situations.
Q: How do you think Miles [Sanders] has grown in these last nine to 10 weeks?
A: I think Miles [Sanders] keeps continuing to grow. The awesome thing, from my perspective, is that everyone sees his athletic ability, the more he gets comfortable, the more he starts making plays, jumping over people and all that kind of stuff. He's just showing his athleticism, but what's cool for me and from the rest of our team in our perspective is that we've been able to see him grow as a leader. See him get more comfortable in that role of being able to speak up and get guys going on offense and talk to guys on defense. His communication on the sidelines has grown the more we get into the year and that's been the coolest part for us and the biggest difference in his development. Seeing him step into that leadership role has been awesome for us to see.
Miles Sanders | RB | Jr., Jr.
Q: During the week you said that you guys were going to run the ball much better this week. What did you see, and how good did you feel to back that up?
A: Seeing the confidence in the O-line, I think everyone is seeing that today. I was talking to all of them individually, saying we played our best today. We struggled for a couple weeks. Even when the running game struggled it was the running backs and the O-line. Not just the O-line. Even though we struggled, I told them earlier in the week we were going to run the ball. We had confidence going into this game
Q: To eclipse 1,000 yards this season, what does that mean to you personally?
A: It feels good. I work hard, I worked really hard the last two years that I've been here and the off-season right before this season. It's something that I feel really good about, thanks to the O-line. It started with them. It was a really good game.
Q: Did you look at today, with Taylor and the other side, as a competition? He's leading the country in rushing. Did you want to show that you were a good back too?
A: Yeah, I love competing. I love competing. He's a great running back. He's one of the top running backs in the country right now. We talked after the game. I told him to keep doing him, and he told me to keep doing me. I respect him and he respects me. I like the way he played.
Michal Menet | OL | Jr./So.
Q: How do you think everything came together this week?
A: Our overall mentality was the biggest thing for us this week. We had it in our minds since Sunday last week that we wanted to be great this week. We led the way and had the mentality all week that we would be able to run the ball and be dominant up front. We have to give a lot of credit to Wisconsin. They have a great defense, they have a bunch of really great players. We had it in our minds all week so there was really no option for us.
Q: The Wisconsin offensive line gets a lot of press attention. Does that motivate you guys?
A: We just focus on ourselves and be the best unit that we can be.
Q: During the week Miles [Sanders] was talking about how you will be running the ball better. Did you guys up front feel the same way going into this week?
A: It was the mentality for us this week. Since last Sunday we have been saying all week that we need to be more physical and be able to run the ball better and I think we did that today.
DeAndre Thompkins | WR | Gr./Sr.
Q: How did it feel to get into the end zone today?
A: It's always good to get into the end zone. Doing your job right and having the quarterback trust you to make the play feels great.
Q: What happened on that play?
A: There was a cover-two and they played to the boundary and I had a read out so basic cover-two; I had to run a corner and keep it high. I did the job and made the catch.
Q: Can you talk about how the offense has changed over the last few seasons?
A: Not much has changed. Same mentality, same trust in the coaches and in the play calls. We have just learned to execute a little more. Finishing your plays and not being hesitant. We have become more assured in our assignments.
Q: Do you think there is anything that has prevented you from the explosive plays Coach Franklin has talked about?
A: Just execution errors. Little mental errors here and there. Guys who have been playing a lot of football have a brain fart. Not much has stopped us as far as the other teams, it's just ourselves.