Penn State Football
Student-Athlete Postgame Press Conference
vs. Indiana – October 2, 2021
Jahan Dotson | WR | Sr.
Q: Jahan, can you speak to your player relationship with Clifford? How do you learn how to anticipate and vice versa like we saw today?
A: We know that Sean is a very good runner. He's very capable of making plays with his feet. And we know that we just have to stay alive and scramble drills. We literally preach it every single Sunday. Go over it and practice every single week. So just staying alive with him, making sure you keep your eyes on him while he's scrambling we know he's gonna make a play make the right decision.
Q: With a program that's so historic is Penn State, does that make the records more special?
A: Oh, definitely. I don't really know about all the records kind of just out there playing. Just having fun. It's pretty cool to hear when you break some sort of record. Coming from a historic program like Penn State is literally what I came here for. Just have fun. Have fun with the guys break records. It's all fun.
Q: Did you have the chance to watch Iowa's game last night? As you move forward into next week, what are some challenges and how exciting is this game?
A: We know we have a very good football team that we're gonna have to travel to and play next week. I watched the game last night. Like I said, a very good team. We know it's a very great challenge for us. We just can't wait to get to work tomorrow. It's the corrections coming tonight.
Sean Clifford | QB | R-SR
Q: From your perspective, what makes Jahan [Dotson] better than most receivers, what makes him as good as he is?
A: He creates a lot of space. And then, in addition to creating space, he catches everything that comes near him. So it's those two [things], and then he's fast, I mean he's just the whole package. He's the best wide receiver in the country.
Q: Does it make you feel comfortable that when the defense is playing so well that it kind of gives you time to relax and play your game?
A: Yeah, that's how our defense is, they give us a lot of confidence, we feed off of it. We get it from them in practice, they push us to be better every single day. So obviously, you know when they come out and don't allow any points, it's pretty easy to win a football game.
Q: How about after the interception where they get the stop and then you go down 96 yards?
A: Yeah, it's huge. Obviously, I've got to be better on the interception, you see in front of the play, but for them to make that stop and then the percent chance for us to score from being backed up that much is very low and I think that was a big turning point in the game because, obviously, move the ball down the field, kind of takes life out of teams so proud of that turnaround.
Q: Jahan said that he's kind of observed you and KJ [Hamler] when he first got here and then he learned about having a relationship with your quarterback and kind of took that from there. How important is it to have that quarterback and wide receiver relationship?
A: Yeah, I think that obviously KJ and I had a really good relationship, and KJ reaped the benefits of that. I think Jahan noticed because KJ was always the guy who was hitting me up late at night in the summer and we go into Holuba [Hall] on godly hours just to throw slants and whatnot. And as Jahan got older, he saw that and we do the same thing. COVID, obviously, last year, prevented some of that but at the same time, Jahan and I have a really good chemistry and we're proud of where he's at and this team is at.
Arnold Ebiketie | DE | R-SR
Q: Could you go through what you saw on the field goal attempt, and did you hit it?
A: I believe I did. I'm not 100% sure I was, I haven't watched film yet. But I think I did, it hit my hand for the most part, as far as I know, yeah.
Q: How did you break through to get up to get the ball?
A: I mean the key part on field goal I believe you just got to strike and kind of jaunt and try to go get it. That's what I was aiming for. And I think the ball did hit my hand, so I was glad I was able to do that. And by doing so, I mean, the defense was able to shut them down today.
Q: Can you describe, after the turnover, they took over on your 13 [yard line] and you held them in four plays, what was the key there for you guys?
A: That's the standard, that's what we do. I mean, we believe it was going to do so, we had no doubt that was going to be an issue, and just taking the field in that position and being able to get the stop and giving the ball back to our offense. It was big time.
Q: Seems like there's been a lot of variation along the front showing, splitting you and Jesse [Luketa] out wide, having all four down linemen actually standing up. Does that affect like pass rush at all, giving different looks like that?
A: I think I faked their offense, just showing them different looks. And they have to adjust to those looks, we do a lot of things just to try to confuse them. But at the end of the day, it just comes down to rushing the quarterback and bringing the pressure, and I think tonight we did a great job doing that.
P.J. Mustipher I DT | Sr.
Q: You got the shutout against Indiana. Is that a source of pride for you all and how serriously do you take that?
A: We take that really serious. I think when you can stop offenses and lead offenses like Indiana in the red zone, where they are comfortable, it speaks dividends to what type of defense you play and the style you want to be. When teams get in the red zone, we don't panic, we just continue to play the ball we play. I think that showed up again today.
Q: What is the defining characteristic of this defense right now?
A: Accountability. We preached it all off-season. Just being accountable for your job and playing at that high level. I've said in the past where it continues to show up. I think it was the main staple of our off-season.
Q: How bad did you want this win after last year?
A: Anytime you step on that field you want to get a win. I said earlier in the week that it doesn't matter what happened last year. We have to play 2021 Indiana's team. We stepped out on the field, and we continue to play at a high level. That's the way we practice and that's the way we played on Saturday. But any chance you get to step on the field you want to leave your mark.
Q: In the first four weeks you weren't necessarily showing up in the sack. You guys were able to get to the quarterback, how big is that to be able to finish off those plays?
A: It's huge. Not only because we are pushing them back—those negative yardage plays are huge for defense, but just being able to make the quarterback uncomfortable is huge because you know your front end is able to make those plays. Your back end is also able to be comfortable, so it really just helps the whole defense.
Brenton Strange I TE/H | R-So.
Q: What do you think of the way the offense played tonight?
A: I thought we played a good game, but there is obviously room for improvement on the offense as a whole. We have a lot we need to come in tomorrow and correct to get ready for next week.
Q: What is the next step for the tight ends?
A: I think we've been playing very good this year. Obviously, the next step for us is to consistently get better each week, which I know we will. We always come in with the mindset that we want to work and get better each and every day.
Q: Talk about the momentum of this game. How did keeping Indiana scoreless motivate you?
A: I think our defense played a great game. Indiana didn't score any points and we blocked a field goal. That's huge for us. We feed off that momentum. Complimentary football is what we like to play here, so offense plays on the defense, defense plays on the offense, and special teams just goes all together.
Keyvone Lee | RB | So.
Q: How do you think you performed?
A: Overall it was good. I could have done better in a lot of ways – I missed a block that I could've picked up easily to get us the first down. But overall, I feel like I did well and I've got more left.
Q: How would you evaluate the improvements of the run game through the first few games of this season?
A: At the beginning of the season it started off slowly. We had to tell ourselves that this is us, we have to run the ball. This is Penn State, and this is where we can afford to run the ball. It started picking up over the weeks when the running backs started bonding with the offensive linemen. We got together outside of football and connected.
Q: What carried over to this game from the success that you've had each time you've been able to carry the ball this season?
A: I stayed to the details. All our plays are designed for us to gain 10 yards or five yards, so you just read your keys, press the holes that you're supposed to press, and they just open up.
Q: What can a game like this do for you moving forward?
A: It just built my confidence to keep going. I'll watch the film to see what I need to work on to get better and to improve every day.
Daequan Hardy | CB | R-So.
Q: For you guys on defense, what's been the key and how are you feeling in terms of your overall confidence level with what you guys have been able to do thus far?
A: I believe our confidence is through the roof. We've been playing together and trying to play as one and I think that's been the key. We communicate and are just sticking together.
Q: Do you see the quarterback get frustrated through the course of the game?
A: I don't particularly see him get frustrated, but I see him go through his reads. If he sees nothing there, he holds onto the ball longer and that's when our D-line does their job.
Q: Can you touch on some of what you got when you feel like you guys have done well over the course of the season? Like is tonight any different, anything that you guys have done or previously?
A: No, honestly I just feel like we've been playing pretty solid defense. The offense has been putting points on the scoreboard, not turning the ball over as much and we've been creating turnovers.
Joey Porter Jr. | CB | R-So.
Q: What do you see on the play (the interception) and secondly, how did you feel with finally getting them (the offense) on the board?
A: We've been practicing that play all week, so when they came out in that formation we already knew that we had to execute. Coach had been talking to me all week saying you just got to make that play. So when the play showed itself I just went out there and did what I had to do.
Q: Was that something you saw on film? Did you figure that play was going to go to that site?
A: Yeah we knew he rolls out and he looks outside when No. 3 is over there, so we know three is his favorite target. We just had to key in on three when he came out and did that seven route. When he cut for that seven route I broke on the ball.
Q: At what point did the shutout start creeping in your mind and how bad did you guys want that?
A: We always think of a shutout every time we go into a game. If it doesn't happen that's cool, but we all try and go for the win. I think coming out of the half we were just like, let's keep these boys at zero. And that's what we did, we kept them at zero.
Q: Talk about the attitude of this defense, especially the secondary. Describe it.
A: Stingy, that's the only way I could describe it. We are a very stingy secondary, actually very stingy defense in whole. That secondary just, we were aggressive, we like to tackle and make plays on the ball.