Penn State Football
Student-Athlete Postgame Press Conference: Defense
vs. Purdue – October 5, 2019
Lamont Wade | S | Jr./Jr.
Q: What did you think of your game today and would you call it your best game?
A: I think it was a pretty solid game. I had a few plays I would like to get back that I felt like I could've done more on, but it was a pretty solid game overall. I don't really label best game worst game, but like I said I had a pretty solid game, better than last week, so I'm turning in the right direction.
Q: What is it like watching the front seven from the back where you are?
A: Those guys are destructive. Like I say all the time they make my job easier and we had a good scheme and a good game plan so they executed everything well.
Q: How exactly do they make your life easier?
A: Every DB's dream, every secondary's dream is to have a defensive line that is really good and we have that. Just the way they rush, the way they finish, the way they twist, everything. Like I said it makes my life easier and I don't have to cover as long.
Q: How do you feel you've grown as a leader since the start of the season?
A: I just feel like just being here and going through the process because I was a guy that came in and I played early but it wasn't ideal. Just knowing what that process takes and what it takes to really do this college football thing I think really gives me awesome perspective to let other guys know and to help lead whenever I can.
Micah Parsons | LB | So./So.
Q: How did the pressure you were able to put on Purdue's quarterback affect the game?
A: We knew he was a young, redshirt freshman, so our front had to be dominant as usual. They put a lot of pressure on him, showed him some looks that he probably has not seen before.
Q: Is this the best defensive performance from the front seven during your career here? When did you know?
A: Yes. That was the most sacks we've had since 1999. I think this is a step forward and I think down the road, we'll continue to have more sacks. After Shaka had the second sack and Yetur had the third, and then our backup defensive ends came in and got sacks, I knew we were killing it today.
Q: Coach says you're playing championship defense, do you agree with that and how would you describe what a championship defense looks like?
A: Yes, I do think we're playing championship defense. I think only one team has rushed for more than 100 yards against us this year. We're playing the run very well, playing a lot of disciplined football, not a lot of penalties that we're giving up. Going into the year, we knew that we would be pretty good and the way we're clicking right now and everyone's vibing and playing off each other, it's really special. I'm really excited.
Jesse Luketa | LB | So./So.
Q: How is it playing in a game where the defense is that dominant?
A: Honestly, it's something we expect going from week to week. We try to keep that standard and intensity throughout the week. Trusting and executing what we see on film, making sure we're playing at a high level. Saturday's for us are for fun, we're out there collectively as a unit having fun, on the sideline, on the field, playing together with our brothers. Today's performance was a direct reflection of what we do to prepare and then bringing it onto the field. We had fun today.
Q: Have you ever been part of a defense that had 10 sacks? What's it like when you're out there?
A: No, it was my first time. I didn't even know we had 10 sacks until we got into the locker room. I'm not surprised though, we call them the Wild Dogs for a reason. We let them loose and it was time to hunt. I'm excited for them, a couple weeks ago there was talk about how our front four weren't as productive as what we wanted and today they took that to heart and went out and executed.
Q: What kind of athlete is Shaka Toney?
A: Shaka is someone I look up to. I'm so happy for him and for him to be able to do what he wants to do, and go on the field and execute. I saw a couple of his pass rushes and he looked phenomenal. It looks so natural for him, and that's the type of player Shaka Toney is. I'm excited to see what he does for the rest of the season.
Shaka Toney | DE | Sr./Jr.
Q: Ten sacks today, one off from the school record. What does that say about this team's defense potential?
A: We just got to get better on third downs. We tried to address that all week. I believe they're [Purdue] the best passing offense in the Big Ten and we just wanted to challenge ourselves. We knew we needed to come out and get pressure on the quarterback so that's what we did.
Q: What did you learn about yourself today and your unit today?
A: Nothing new. We were consistent and we got a great mentality that we're going to come out here and compete no matter who it is.
Q: When you see the sack numbers pile up, what goes through your mind?
A: You get excited because so many people are contributing. Everybody works hard yet everybody doesn't always get going to the stat sheet. Seeing new guys get their sacks, Micah [Parsons] got his first sack today, I think. It's just always exciting that everybody is working and that everybody is getting to eat.
Q: You guys get a sack to end the first half. He [Jack Plummer] looked extremely frustrated getting up and walking to the locker room. Do you guys sense that level of frustration when you're pressuring a guy as much as you are? Is that a goal?
A: You always want to get to the quarterback and you always want to make him feel frustrated, feel flustered. Make him see ghosts, pull the ball down a little bit earlier, a little bit faster. It's just always a good feeling when you're getting to the quarterback and doing your job efficiently.
Q: A lot of people were coming into this game saying you guys weren't getting enough sacks and today you get 10. What kind of a statement is that?
A: No statement. We got to process and we got to keep working. We don't worry about the media, that's your guys' job to talk. We got to come out and work every single day.
Q: Were you able to tell from the second sack of how it changed the whole momentum of your players on defense?
A: No, we're not an emotional team. Six seconds at a time, we're going to come out and compete. We do our best every single play and just do our job. When you do your job, good things happen.
Yetur Gross-Matos | DE | Jr./Jr.
Q: You guys are having a lot more success. Is it a competition to see who can get there first, who can get there the most?
A: We're just having a lot of fun. It's always a race to the quarterback to begin with. I love seeing my peers find success in what they're doing. When one person starts to get going, I feel that it's infectious, we all feel it.
Q: Going into a tough environment next week, how does this jumpstart you?
A: We're 5-0. I'm feeling really confident about this team, the unit, this organization really from top to bottom. We're not going to prepare for them any differently. I've been there before, it's an incredible environment honestly. I think we're going to go out there and be ready for it.
Q: During the bye week, James Franklin publicly challenged the defense to get more pressure on the quarterback, come up with some more sacks. Does that motivate you?
A: You can have 1,000 good rushes and not get a sack, that's just how the game goes. I approach every chance and I have to give credit to the people behind us doing a great job. The linebackers, the DBs, giving us time to get home.
Q: You mentioned the depth, what does that speak about the sideline?
A: I feel like that's how you win games. Starters aren't going to play all the time. I don't know if I've seen the room this deep. I feel like top to bottom, when you go in there, we have a lot of people live up to that standard that we set for ourselves. Going out there and dominating, being physical. When you go out there and don't have a drop-off, it's incredible.