Penn State Football
Student-Athletes Postgame Press Conference
Vs. Villanova – September 25, 2021
Sean Clifford | QB | R-Sr.
Q: How about your three receivers, each getting into the end zone and putting up big numbers. What did they do for you?
A: They made plays. And that's what those three guys are. Everyone knows Jahan. People have seen Parker, and then obviously KeAndre is kind of coming onto the scene with some big plays. And I've seen him down there in a scrimmage, go one handed over a guy. So it's not new to me, it's just new to everybody else. But I'm glad to know he's making plays on a big stage now. It's cool.
Q: What is unlocking Parker's playmaking ability like you guys did today for this offense, especially when you have Jahan (Dotson) at the other end?
A: I think that Parker and KeAndre, I think you can't leave out KeAndre too. All three of them are big time playmakers. Guys that you get it to them in space and they'll make plays. So it gives me more and more confidence to push the ball down the field and let them just eat and that's just how they are. They tell me all the time, "I was open I got I got this. I made a move on this guy," like whatever. Just so I know. And they all want the ball, which I love. You know, they're not scared about getting the ball. They want the ball in their hands, which is awesome.
Q: Sean, you had a lot of your offensive yards on like four plays; how much were those big plays scheme, or talent difference?
A: Hey, it's both. That's always how football is. Scheme plus talent equals good job. So, yeah, it was both.
Q: Are you guys going to keep that underdog mentality as you guys stack wins, or do you like the confidence?
A: I mean, we talked about it. This time last year we were 0-4, 0-5 sitting in the locker room sad. We're 4-0 and we're one of, if not, I still think the best team in the country. Like that's what our mentality is right now. So yeah, we're going to keep the underdog mentality and all that. You guys talk about it but we know the confidence we have in the room and on the team so it's all about getting better every single day and days like Wednesday can't can't happen again. We got to make sure that we are maximizing all the potential that we have every single day.
John Lovett | RB | Sr.+
Q: John, describe being out in the field now these last two weeks, especially for you not playing the first few games.
A: It's crazy. Beaver Stadium, the fans are crazy. They're loyal, dedicated to coming to the games and filling the stadium. It's a blessing. It's a blessing to be here on his on this green field out here with these boys. I put work in every day, so it's a blessing to be out there.
Q: Where do you think this run game is at now, I mean how do you kind of evaluate the way it went today?
A: Gradually, we're going to get better. We are to keep putting in the work, doing what we do. Every day we're going to get better and take steps. One percent better is our goal.
Q: Do you feel like some of the struggles with running game is more you guys? Is more of the opposing defenses? Where does the breakeven happen?
A: We just got to get better as a team. Just keep getting better as a team, as a unit, as an offense and get more explosive. That's what we're going to do. We're just going to keep working. Put the work in, and outcomes are going to come.
Q: Has it been a challenge at all to sort of work your way into this running back rotation?
A: It's definitely a challenge. Everybody in that running back room is great. They all have different attributes. Everyone has a different skill set. There are bigger backs, smaller backs, and faster backs. Everyone just has something different, so it's definitely a challenge. Every day we go compete with each other and work.
Arnold Ebiketie | DE | R-Sr.
Q: You guys had the two tip passes for interceptions. Obviously, one was reversed. But when you talk about fundamentals, how do you all challenge that when they're more specific areas within the game? How do you find that balance between still making those fundamental plays, like with the tip drill, and then working on those other areas?
A: I mean honestly the biggest thing is we got to play in the framework of the defense, and that's something that we've been able to do so far. So, we're just thinking about doing what we're supposed to do. We're going to make plays and everything won't fall apart.
Q: What's the challenge with an offense like that when they're running the clock down to two and they're trying to do a lot of stuff presnap? How does that challenge you?
A: The biggest thing for us is we are always going to stick to the same game plan. The main thing is stop Villanova. We feel like as long as we do that, everything's going to be the way it's supposed to. We obviously got guys that are going to get back there, so the game plan is still the same. We don't change anything. We know we're going to come out and play physical and be the first team to strike.
Q: Coach Franklin and some other players have been critical, especially Coach Franklin, about Wednesday's practice. What was your view, being relatively new to this team, with what happened with Wednesday's practice?
A: Honestly, the biggest thing is we have a standard. Every time we go out at our practice, we got to give everything we have. We felt like Wednesday wasn't the way we're supposed to [practice]. I mean Thursday we had a good practice and were able to bounce back. So, the biggest thing for us, we always have to start fast, so that's why Wednesday was such a big emphasis, but we were able to bounce back and finish the week out strong.
Brandon Smith | LB | Jr.
Q: As a unit, the first team defense came out with a sense of urgency today. Can you talk about that and maybe why you guys were able to do that and maybe some other parts of the team couldn't do that. Why were you guys able to do that?
A: It's just, well, obviously, everybody wants to be assertive and urgent whenever they come out onto the field. It's just one of those things where that's just on mindset. To be honest with you, everybody else, they know that their little issues like that, it's definitely going to get fixed tomorrow in practice, and we just got to move forward from there. We definitely know that there's a lot more improvement that we have to do, and there's a lot that we got to accomplish from here to wherever we're trying to be.
Q: How challenging was Villanova schematically? I saw they had five wides and one side yield at one point, I don't know if you're on the field or not but, how difficult is that when you don't see it all the time to pick it up during the game?
A: For us doing I don't know how many hours of film during the week just working up to this game, we've definitely seen it in film. We had our D squad running that is nothing new to us that we put the number of reps that we get during the week so we also prepare for that.
Q: Pre snap, did they do anything that surprised you?
A: Not really besides how they kept on trying to get us to jump or show coverage when we knew that they were going to shift. That kind of thing was like, 'I don't know why you're doing that, but we're just going to roll with it.'
Ji'Ayir Brown | S | Sr.
Q: Is there a personality to the defense, how you guys think about yourself?
A: We think about ourselves as the best secondary in the nation. We want to solidify that so we come out here every day looking to solidify our spot as the best secondary in the nation. We want to be the best defense in the nation. It's divided for the secondary and the linebacker, but when we all come together, we want to be the best defense in the nation as well.
Q: Can you speak specifically on fundamentals, with the Tip Drill. How do you guys keep working on these fundamentals every single day? You know while you have other things more specific issues that you also need to cover.
A: It's the routine. We have a daily routine we do. We go through the same fundamentals that you're talking about, we go through them every day. We work hard, we don't get complacent with them, we make sure we are 100 percent great on our footwork and our hand placement and everything else that is involved the game of football.
Q: What would you say about this September. How would you sum it up before the four-straight weeks of wins now that you're moving into October?
A: It's hard work paying off. We've been working since January, so these four wins have been no surprise to us. It says our hard work we put in and the dedication the coaches put in is all coming together now.
Parker Washington | WR | So.
Q: What does it mean to you when you and Jahan Dotson are the first Penn State wide receivers with over 100 yards each in a game since Hamler and Freiermuth back in 2018?
A: I'll just say we are excited, excited to make those plays. We work through this every week and when those opportunities come in the stadium, we just look forward to making them.
Q: You say the sky is the limit with this offense, how high is that limit and how far can this offense go?
A: I just say these days are opportunities to get better and I feel like there's really no limit for us. We just got to keep improving and executing as best as we can.
Q: When you, Jahan Dotson, and Keandre Lambert Smith are going at a high level, what does that do for a defense? What kind of tough choices does that make them make?
A: I would just say with the way our offense operates, it has so many opportunities. So many different guys can make plays, and I just say that will be big for us in the future.
Derrick Tangelo | DT | Sr.+
Q: What did you see in their offense?
A: They've got a very good offense. They've got eight graduate seniors. They came here, in a loud environment, but they were poised and composed. Having eight graduate seniors means they've played a lot of football, so nothing that we did was gonna knock them off their game.
Q: James Franklin suggested that the team wasn't always to the standard at practice on Wednesday this past week. Did you guys sense that? Did you maybe not have that edge this week that you want to have?
A: Yeah, the coaches always want us to play to a higher standard. If somethings not up to the standard, they challenge us, and they tell us that we got to get back to the standard. If somethings up to the standard, they let us know. I feel like it's just an accountability thing. He [James Franklin] just felt like we didn't practice that way on Wednesday. So, we wanted to do our best to make up for it, come out here, be locked in, and get a win.
Q: How do you guys keep that intensity from week to week, coming off a big win last week?
A: You know, me, being a new guy here, just feeding off the energy. It's really all about our energy. We're a group that wants to get better every week. We always say, we're going to take a step every week. So we evaluate at the end of the week if we took a step forward or backwards. So you know, just the guys on the team trying to rally everybody and keep everybody motivated that we got to go forward. The only way is up, so we just try to stick to that mentality. Winning is very hard, so anytime you can come out here on the grass and win, it's definitely a step. We say all the time "there's a lot of programs that are sad right now," so we have to appreciate the wins when we get them, no matter how we get them.
Q: You're four games into the season, where do you think you guys have made the biggest strides? And how do you think the development of this team has gone?
A: I would say the biggest stride we've made is camaraderie. You know, like myself, and John Lovett, we were new guys on the team. So, just everyone integrating us to the team, us adapting to the ideals and the values here. I feel like we've made that stride because everyone's on the same accord, like everybody knows what's wrong, and what's right, how we want to be, how we want to operate, and how we want to conduct ourselves. So, I definitely feel like everybody's on the same page.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith | WR | So.
Q: You guys had a lot of yards after the catch today among the three of you. What does that say about the wide receiver core that you have and how dangerous they can be when they get their hands on the ball?
A: We're very competitive. We compete at practice, we'd be having like, "who's going to have the most YAC yards at practice." We push each other every day, and we're all dynamic, we all can make plays, and y'all saw that today.
Q: How has Jahan (Dotson) made you a better player? Number one, leading by example I'd imagine, but also in the coverage that he draws, maybe we're getting guys open a little bit.
A: I know he holds us to a standard. He expects a lot out of me, and I appreciate him for that. So when I'm not on my game in practice or if I'm feeling this type of way, or doing anything wrong, he says something to me, and I appreciate that. And it's just making me better, and I understand that.
Q: With the running game in sort of a little bit of a funk like it is now, do you guys as the receiving group know kind of take pride in kind of picking them up a little bit?
A: I wouldn't call it a funk, I mean we've got great running backs. We've just got to take steps. Day-by-day and the offense as a whole. We got the run game's back, they got our back. We, as the offense as a whole, I feel like we would complement each other pretty well.
