Pat Freiermuth | Tight End
Q. When you guys got word about Sean Clifford being your [starting quarterback] officially, can you take us through that, how [head coach James] Franklin addressed it with the team, and how did you approach Sean and Will [Levis] respectively once you learned of the decision?
PF: Yeah, me and Sean and Will are really good friends, and Coach addressed it in our offensive meeting room. He came in and told the offense that they're going to go with Sean. Obviously as an offense we're going to support him. Sean is a great quarterback and we're trusting him, and we trust Will, too. And obviously Will handled it really well, and yeah, I think we're just excited for the season to start.
Q. One more Sean Clifford question for you, but wanted to ask you, since you've been on campus. When was the first time that you saw Sean and you thought to yourself, yeah, this guy is going to be a starter one day?
PF: Coming into campus, probably summer routes we'd run. Me and Sean obviously were at the threes to begin with, the fours, and just kind of throwing the ball with him. He had a perfect touch, and he threw it wherever it needed to be. And that's probably when I realized, summer workouts when I first got here, he's going to be a really good quarterback here and probably our next starter.
Q. The whole thing with being named captain, what did that mean to you, and were you surprised at all because usually you don't see sophomores in that role?
PF: Yeah, it's a blessing and an honor. I mean, I kind of was expecting maybe next year to be a captain, but obviously being voted captain and having my teammates' support and the coaches' support and the whole program's support, that means a lot. I've been here for a year and some change, and just being voted captain that quick, again, it's a blessing. Especially being captain for a storied program like Penn State. I'm very excited, and I'm ready to handle it.
Q. How did you find out about it, and what was your initial reaction?
PF: Yeah, so we found out in the team meeting. And how Coach does it, he'll put our hometown up first, he'll click the clicker thing, and our name will pop up, and kind of like -- I saw my hometown, Merrimac, and I was like, this is crazy. And then the whole team room went nuts, and Coach Franklin called my parents afterwards, and my mom and dad got all choked up, and it was an emotional deal. It was definitely awesome. And being captain, again, for this program is going to be something that I'll remember for the rest of my life.
Q. Justin Shorter is right at the top of the depth chart at wide receiver. Why do you think he's starting, and what should we expect from him when game days arrive?
PF: Yeah, I think Justin is a really good player, and obviously you guys haven't seen how he's been putting the work in the whole summer. I think his preparation probably excelled this season more than last season. I think he's worked really hard in the summer, and I think it translated into camp, and we saw him make plays after plays after plays during camp, and I think he's ready for a breakout year this year.
Q. What's the wait like from maybe the last game you guys played, you have the whole off-season? Do you guys get anxious, and how do you handle it?
PF: Yeah, I think we just have to stay composed. I think Coach Franklin throughout camp kind of preached, "we're focused on Penn State." We're not focused beyond that right now and had better not look ahead. Obviously it's game week and we're excited to face someone else other than our defense because we're going to be real now. It'll be good. Going against Yetur [Gross-Matos] every day in practice is a struggle, but obviously it gets me better, and I just can't wait to hit someone else in a different color uniform.
Q. James Franklin talked about the player assessment rankings and kind of unique that you guys sort of assess each other. Just wondering, are you able to make a case for yourself? How does that go? Or do you vote for somebody else, or is all that classified?
PF: I mean, we don't really give an explanation of the why we put that person before the other person. We just kind of list it out and how we view it, so I mean, that's kind of how it goes.
Q. I seem to recall you at a camp in New Jersey, a Nike camp going up against Micah [Parsons] back in the day. What was that like? Was that the first time you went up against him, and I assume from what I gather you guys are very competitive now out on the field?
PF: Yeah, going against Micah in the Nike camp -- I was kind of fat back in the day -- and especially that Nike camp. I ran slow and it was an eye-opening experience. Like, "okay, well, yeah, I'm ranked this, but I'm really not that good," so I had to continue to work hard. And obviously seeing Micah and what he could do, I was like, okay, if he's committed to Penn State and if I'm going to play against him in the Big Ten, I'm going to have to get right.
So that's why I took pride in that, and obviously me and Micah compete every single day in practice, friendly competition going on who can win more one-on-one reps. The first camp last year, I got him, I got him in spring ball, he got me this camp. But I mean, we compete in everything, and we're very competitive and we thrive off each other, so it just gets us better and gets the team better.
Q. Back in 2017 you were on the field there in Jersey. You, Zach Kuntz and Jayson Oweh were in at tight end. I don't know if he knew what he was doing at the time, but he was very much just an undefined athlete. Now that he's a second-team defensive end for this group, what are your expectations? You talked about going up against Yetur [Gross-Matos]. Have you had a change to go against Jayson much and what does he present?
PF: Yeah, I go against Jayson a lot, too. He presents a mismatch nightmare. He's crazy athletic. He's so fast off the edge, and he's so strong. I think teams are going to be struggling to block him because he's just such a smart football player, so I think he's going to have a really good year this year.
Q. Two summers ago [Jayson Oweh] was working against you and where he is now, is that eye opening? Is he ahead of schedule where you thought he could get to this point?
PF: Yeah, I mean, working at tight end at the opening, me and Zach [Kuntz] kind of looked at each other like, who's this kid. But then obviously he committed to us as a D-end, and I mean, he's grown so much. He's huge now. Coming in he was a little skinny, but now he's jacked, and he's ready for a big year, and I think he can take himself as far as he wants to go. The sky's the limit for him, and he's going to have a really good year and continued success.
Q. Nick Bowers said earlier this month that he learns a lot from you, and what have you taken from Nick?
PF: Just how to handle adversity. Nick has been through a lot through his career, and definitely just the way he's handled it all, and I admire that from him, staying after it and not giving up hope. I just admire that with him, and when I go through adversity during a game or during practice, something like that, he always comes over and he's the voice of reason and peace of mind, being like, 'hey, it's not that big of a deal, just keep pushing, keep going through it.' I think that's one big thing I've learned from him is continuing to stay patient and don't get so down on a bad practice or a bad play because he's been through so much, and he's going to have a really good year this year. I'm very proud to share the field with him and be in the same room as him.
Q. With your development last year and catching eight touchdowns, leading the Big Ten, did you notice gradually as the season went on that you were getting more attention, becoming more of a focal point for what the defense was trying to do, and what have you and Coach [Tyler] Bowen worked on to kind of counter that?
PF: Yeah, probably in that Kentucky game, I remember we were in the red zone, and pretty sure Josh Allen, he looked over at me and was like, 'you're not scoring a touchdown on this one, we know what you're about in the red zone.' I was like, 'well, okay.' And then scored a touchdown, so I was kind of like, 'whatever.'
But yeah, it's definitely different coming into it knowing that teams will be game planning for me and all that stuff, and working with Coach Bowen and talking to him, I just had to know more coverages and where people were going to go and definitely just kind of figure out like how to win against man, and I've done that this off-season and ready to take what the defense throws at me.
Q. Who's the biggest trash talker on your defense? I think there are a few candidates.
PF: To me personally, it's probably going to be Cam Brown or Micah [Parsons]. Even Lamont [Wade] probably. We just always compete against each other and we always go against each other, and I think we thrive off that and it just makes us better and makes the practice environment better.
John Reid | Cornerback
Q. James [Franklin] spent a lot of time focusing in on some of the younger cornerbacks. Can you dive into that, because it looks like they're going to play an important role based on the depth chart?
JR: Yeah, we've definitely always played a young corner I would say every year even from my freshman year. Keaton [Ellis] has done a really good job stepping in. Joey Porter, he's looked good throughout camp, and Marquis [Wilson] has also played really well, so you could potentially see them all play this year. That's something that Coach [Terry] Smith is big on, always bringing new competition into the room, and they usually pick it up pretty well. Keaton has done a really good job with that. He's made a lot of plays throughout camp. I think we'll see him a lot early.
Q. John, you mentioned the young cornerbacks playing a lot with this program. You and Tariq [Castro-Fields] played as freshmen. What have you and Tariq kind of said to Keaton about getting to face competition as a freshman?
JR: We've said just like don't let the lights get to you at all your first game. Everyone always talks about their first game, stuff like that. But we've always scrimmaged a lot in Beaver Stadium. He played great competition in practice. Just making sure that if he has any butterflies, he tried to get them out of the way early, but I think he's pretty confident. He came in here competing really early, so I think he's going to do really well.
Q. You mentioned about the ability to create more turnovers and maybe even score off of turnovers. How did that go for you guys during camp and were there guys who kind of stood out in terms of creating turnovers?
JR: I definitely think attacking the ball. We attack the ball a lot better. Our offense makes a lot better decisions. There wasn't always -- you're not really getting a lot of those forced throws in practice that you used to in camp, which is a good thing. You kind of had to work for them a bit extra this camp.
But that kind of just goes to show the competitiveness we have on both sides of the ball. But there is no lack of guys attacking the ball. We're all looking, attacking and playing the ball, and we did a great job of that this camp.
Q. You mentioned Keaton [Ellis] a little earlier. What is maybe the play that he's made or the practice he's had that's impressed you most this off-season, and why do you think he could maybe have an immediate impact?
JR: I wouldn't say a specific play. I would say for freshmen coming in, it's more so the playbook, the consistency and the little things like that. I think that he's really stuck out with that, with picking up the plays. He understands his job on every play. He understands where he's supposed to be at in the defense, which I think is very important, and he's kind of shown that since spring ball.
Q. How tough is it to learn that playbook as a true freshman?
JR: I would say the biggest adjustment is handling a schoolwork load at the same time as trying to pick up a defense you've never played before. But I think the team in general has done a great job of kind of helping young guys when they have questions and helping them just adjust to that, so it's more just a matter of being able to have that transition to college happen as quickly as possible so you can put as much time as you can into football.
Q. When you're playing with younger guys, is there something that they can do that makes you go, this guy has got it maybe more than other freshmen? Is there a way to tell that a guy at corner or maybe even safety is a step or two ahead?
JR: I would say it's really just a mentality. You have certain guys who come in and just work. They can be four stars, five stars, but they come in and just work. They're not really looking to carry that over into college. Whereas you'll have some guys who will look to carry that into college, and it takes them a bit longer to realize that players are really good here.
I think it's more so just adjusting to that because when you start to notice that fairly quickly, as a guy who's older in the program, you can kind of see certain players just from summer workouts, the guys who really have it, just their mentality and their approach to working and being pretty much in an environment that they're not used to, almost being uncomfortable.
Q. Coming back from injury, was there anything you thought was going to be easier than it was? Was there something that turned out to be harder in that process than maybe you anticipated?
JR: I would say the hardest part coming back from an injury is just your instincts that you have for football. I guess in my case since I've been playing football for so many years in a row and then to sit out a season, my instincts did end up coming back, but it definitely took a lot longer than I thought. I was expecting it to be almost instant, but that's not really realistic.
Q. You were talking about coming in and getting acclimated. With Lamont Wade, what have you seen from him the way he's developed since he came in obviously as a recruit? How has he grown?
JR: I think Lamont just in general has always been super competitive. Obviously he made the transition from corner to safety. He's played a ton of football. He's played a lot of special teams. But he stepped into that safety role really comfortably in the spring, and I had been telling him even since he transitioned to safety that I couldn't wait until we get to play the same side of the field, just the energy he brings, his love for the game, the excitement, the tenacity, things like that. I think he's super, super ready and he's been ready for a while now.
Q. What can you tell us about Joey Porter? We obviously saw Keaton [Ellis] and Marquis [Wilson] in the spring. What can you tell us about Joey?
JR: Joey is a lot faster than people think. He has really, really good length. I think hiss arms are like an O-lineman's arms, so he can touch you from anywhere on the line of scrimmage. He definitely has a really wide skill set. He's picked up the playbook really well. He's made some plays during camp, so I think he's done a really good job.
Q. James Franklin said toward the end of camp, a lot of the younger guys were able to rep with the first team. When that happens, you and Tariq [Castro-Fields], do you turn into kind of coaches on the sideline when they come off and give them feedback? How does that work, and how important is that for those kids to get those reps with the first team?
JR: Yeah, I would say that when they start taking those reps you make sure that we let them play and then we kind of help them out, because as a freshman they're already thinking about a million things, like guys are already telling them, you need to know this, you need to know this, so our job as players is just to ultimately let them know that you're playing football, like just go out there and have fun.
And then obviously when we go into the film room or after practice we're correcting them, helping them out. But that's when we really want them to play and get back into almost how do you feel. Coach [Terry] Smith always says how you, "feel like your senior year of high school, how you felt you can't be stopped." Just getting them back into that mentality, and that just raises the competitiveness throughout the room, and that makes everybody better.
Q. Talk about getting back in that stadium on Saturday, playing in front of a hundred thousand and hitting somebody in a different uniform.
JR: It's definitely really, really exciting. We're definitely looking forward to it. Camp is always really long. It's a grinder. So being able to play against another team, ultimately we're all looking forward to it. And being back in the stadium in front of thousands of people instead of in a stadium with no one in there scrimmaging each other is definitely going to make a big difference.
Q. What can you tell us about Idaho's offense at this point? What sticks out to you?
JR: I would say the fact their quarterback is able to keep plays alive a lot. He's able to really move outside, and their receivers, they work. They work really hard. They're not really taking plays off at all. They have really good concepts and run routes that allow them to get open. And they have guys with strong hands that are able to make plays. It's definitely going to be a good game.
Q. We see this everywhere around the country the first few weeks, defenses' tackling schemes kind of take a while. Is there anything you guys can do to try and shore that up ahead of time or to make sure it isn't an issue like it was in the past?
JR: Yeah, we've pretty much done tackling, if not live but still pretty close to it pretty much all camp, so we've made sure that we've focused on tackling, things like scooping and scoring, being disciplined not jumping offsides, getting those ton of penalties, things like not turning the ball over, things that ultimately decide a game. Explosives and turnovers are always an emphasis for us.
Q. What did Sean Clifford do in camp that maybe frustrated the defense a little bit or what impressed you? Were there any plays that kind of stood out to you?
JR: I would say his decision making has been really good. Usually for a quarterback first stepping in, you'd expect him to make some kind of crazy throws or have some things like throwing late across the middle, some bad decisions, but he's done a really good job of minimizing all those. You really haven't seen them throughout camp. If a play is not there, sometimes he's able to use his arm to get it in there, but if it's not there he's making the right decision; he's tucking or maybe he's throwing the ball away or looking for a check-down. He's really good at progression, and he's also shown that he can move out of the pocket, also. He's not just a stationary quarterback like people may think.
Q. Did you pick him off at all?
JR: I mean, I'm not going to put people out there. Everybody had a good camp.
Q. Justin Shorter is a first-teamer on the new depth chart here. Since I'm assuming you go against him quite often or have an opportunity to see that up close, what are some things he does that really challenges a cornerback and why do you think he's primed for a big year?
JR: With Justin, he's definitely -- this year more than ever he's definitely been using his size a lot more. Getting those (indiscernible) in the route, you're getting the physicality at the line of scrimmage, and you're getting the blocking downfield, so just all-around a more physical game, but then at the same time he can open up and run by you, too, so you kind of got to make sure you're on your game, so I definitely think he's developed a ton during camp.
Q. You mentioned earlier that you don't want the lights to get to you your first game, that it's easy for it to be a little overwhelming. What do you remember from your first-ever game at Penn State, and did the lights get to you at all? How was that experience?
JR: I mean, my first game was like another high school game. I was back in Philly in Temple. So I was playing -- all my friends was there. Like it's different for everybody, so for me, I felt like, I was like, I'm back at St. Joe's Prep playing. I'm just a different team now. I knew a lot of the guys on Temple and maybe practiced at the Temple place when I was in high school.
I think my first game was a little bit more unique just because it was in an environment I was used to, so I was just ready to compete. Like in front of the hometown, pretty much like the hometown team almost, I just wanted to show what I could do and play, so it kind of felt like high school to me again.
Q. What about the first Penn State home game?
JR: I would definitely say it's different. The stadium was rocking. You're not used to being in a stadium that loud. Even my first game wasn't that loud. It was an adjustment, but then at the same time, like you make your first play, and it's early, or you cover your first release at corner, you can tell a lot about a receiver in that first drive just by covering his releases, and you do start to get that confidence and start to feel comfortable again.
Q. If you remember, who led the defense in takeaways throughout camp? Was there a takeaway king I think you guys call it?
JR: I think it was Keaton. I think he had the most, yeah.
Q. James had mentioned that each position group the players kind of have their own depth chart. Can you tell us about that and how important is that to have that sort of input to say, hey, these are the guys we think belong at certain positions?
JR: I definitely think it's really good just because you don't really get the bickering of "why am I not playing?" and things like that. Because when your friends are telling you the reality, you take it as "I need to improve" then because, at least in the corner room, we've been doing that since our freshman year. And the ranking in the room by the players is usually the depth chart. I don't think it's really ever been wrong.
I definitely think it's important, in our room. I think in general you want to be around people who are just going to be real with you and be honest, and that's what you're getting. You've got to check your sensitivity at the door, and that's what Coach [Terry] Smith always says. You can't be sensitive, you've just got to look at it like you do anything, a challenge.
Q. When you look ahead at this front seven and the kind of speed and athleticism they attack a backfield with, first off, what's that sight like, and secondly, what does that do for this defensive secondary in 2019?
JR: You know, just from a secondary perspective, you've always got to (indiscernible) and seeing coverage, but man, they've got to get the ball quick with this front seven right now. You've got guys blitzing really fast. You've got the D-line playing with a ton of speed, but then most importantly the depth, like the two-deep, three-deep, like dudes can all move. Like everybody is fast. It's no longer just a game of -- you think Big Ten, just brute and big guys, just hitting each other. Like every team in the Big Ten is transitioning now where you have linebackers who are running fast, you've got speed off the edge. I think it's been great playing with it all throughout camp.
