Penn State Football
Student-Athlete Postgame Press Conference: Defense
vs. Idaho – August 31, 2019
Yetur Gross-Matos | DE | So./So.
Q: When you have such a deep rotation, how much does that help you individually?
A: It helps. We have one under us. When there's no falloff between the groups, you've got something truly special. We have three groups of people that all go out there and preform so that's tremendous.
Q: Could you get a sense of how difficult it was for that offensive line when you got through hitting them in waves? Coach was saying you have three deep at the end, and when you're hitting them with that, how difficult is it?
A: You get tired at some point, but you giving them work over and over again and fatigue will set in. I'm just really proud of how those guys preformed. The whole defensive line as a unit did a tremendous job today.
Q: Yetur, I'm sure you wanted to start out fast this season. You had 2.5 sacks in game one, are you surprised at all with that number? What's it like to get that kind of start to the 2019 campaign? Does this help your individual goals?
A: I think I had a pretty good start. I'm not surprised, we practice and work to have success. I don't have any number goals for myself. I just want to look back at the game on Sunday and be proud of what I put on tape, and how I was able to help this team. I don't want to make mental errors or put the other people in bad situations. I take pride in that. Today was a good start. I had a good game and I'm proud of how the defense played.
Tariq Castro-Fields| CB | Jr./Jr.
Q: There were guys on both sides of the ball that don't get into most games who got playing time today. How does that contribute to the culture of the locker room?
A: We are super proud of them. Seeing these guys, most of them on scout team, going through the week getting us better and they get a chance to shine on the big stage. There is nothing more that you could ask for.
Q: What did you think of the defense as a whole today?
A: I thought we were really fast. We pursued the ball. We communicated well, however there are some little things we got to work on. Small things like substitutions, getting on and off the field, seeing the calls.
PJ Mustipher | DT | So./So.
Q: Getting Yetur [Gross-Matos] back in August in the last four weeks, can you talk about the way he has attacked things including this game?
A: Well I think with Yetur he has the same approach whatever we are doing. Whether it is working out or practice, his preparation is phenomenal. He goes hard and there is never a drop off, whether we are getting ready for a game or whether it is spring practice he is always going hard. Just to have him back here, working with us and getting ready to have a big season, I'm just happy to have him back.
Q: A couple of your classmates, Judge [Culpepper] and Ellis [Brooks], got their first game action was that a special moment for you as well?
A: Yeah just to see those guys, you know they put in hard work behind the scenes last year redshirting, so they had a chance to go out there and taste action. I got to go out with Judge, so that was a pretty cool experience having him be my guy and roommate and all that stuff. Just happy for those two guys, they played really well for it being their first time getting in. I'm just so happy and I know it's going to be up from here.
Q: What do you think it's going to take to be as good as you guys think you could be?
A: Continuing to dominate no matter the situation. I think today was a big stepping stone for us because we came in at halftime with a big lead and we just continued to dominate on the defensive and offensive side of the ball today. Just never letting up I think that is what takes us to great, and I am proud of that.
John Reid | CB | 5th/Sr.
Q: What are you overall impressions of the offense, the defense?
A: We watched a ton of film, we kind of know a lot of what they expected to do. We were expecting a couple of changes from the offseason, but we stayed pretty consistent at what we expected to do. We played really fast, and when you're doing your job, and playing with a ton of effort, you get good results.
Q: You lead the game with an interception, it was nice to get that turnover, talk about that particular play.
A: We had seen it a lot on film and it was funny, one of our receivers TJ told me to pick that route in the game. And I said, 'I'm just going to be there, I'm going to play the quarterback.' The D-line was pressuring them so much that they didn't have time to go through progressions.
Q: What did you think about Jordan Stouts performance on kickoffs today in particular?
A: We've been seeing it all through camp. I think it was yesterday we had the ball on the 20 (for kickoffs). I think Coach Franklin backed it up on purpose so we could get to look at the return. I think he almost kicked the ball to the back of the endzone, so we weren't really surprised. One time he got the wind to his back too, and I thought 'That's really unnecessary, he's going to kick that regardless.' So, we kind of expected that.
Q: What's Keaton Ellis been like, and how's he fit in with you and the corners since he arrived?
A: He came in really humble, he's highly recruited. He was looking to work and looking to learn from everybody, and it has helped him a lot. He's getting back into his own flow, like how he was in high school. That comfort he had and having total understanding of the system. He does a great job and makes a ton of plays.