Opening Statement: It's great to see everybody back. Entering my 12th season at Penn State, it's been an honor to lead the program and be a part of the community.
Preseason camp began on Wednesday. We've had two practices so far, which I think you guys are aware of. About to have practice No. 3 today. You guys will get a chance to get out there and see some of it, which will be great. Really proud of how hard the guys worked all summer.
We've had a really good summer period. The testing numbers have backed it up. As you guys know, we have 12 years of data to compare and contrast in terms of strength numbers, in terms of speed. So that data has been impressive. Chuck Losey and his staff continue to do a phenomenal job.
We've had a lot of stability with that staff, and Chuck has done a great job. As you know, Chuck has been with me all 15 years as a head coach, and when Dwight Galt retired, took over, and has done a phenomenal job, as I mentioned at Big Ten Media Day.
Really excited about the additions we've had to our staff. Jim Knowles and Stan Drayton, both guys with head coaching experience, both guys with National Championship experience. It's been great having them and they are doing a phenomenal job.
I said it at Big Ten Media Days, when you look at all of our personnel, not just the players, but the staff and players, it's the best combination that we've had in my 12 years here. The depth, the experience, the talent is impressive. So that's been fun to be a part of. I think those guys have brought tremendous experience to us.
We are proud of the 19 lettermen that we have on our staff spanning five decades of history, going back to the 1980s. I think that's a testament to this program, the culture that we've built, what Penn State means to so many people that these guys want to come back and be a part of our program, and I think it's invaluable, right, for our freshmen, our to have sophomores, our juniors, being able to talk to these guys that have sat in their lockers, have sat in their meeting rooms, practice, practiced at the Lasch Building, have competed in Beaver Stadium and on the road in the Big Ten, just tremendous experience and value coming from that. So that's been awesome.
Our focus is obviously on training camp, but everybody knows we'll be hosting Nevada here four weeks from now. Andy Mutnan, who I think actually spent time there, has been very adamant about it's "Ne-vad-a" not "Ne-vahd-uh." I always want to say Nevada but it's Nevada. He's made sure I'm clear on that.
West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium may look different but we know this place is going to be rocking like it is every single year, and probably just like me, I walked into the stadium and from the inside of the stadium looking up, it's really impressive what they have been able to do with the temporary bleachers and things like that. So, excited about that.
Q: Where are you health-wise as camp opens? We heard about Kaden [Saunders], but generally speaking? Where is the team, and is there anybody else who will be limited or out for camp?
A: Yeah, so the injury list is not great right now. But after today's practice, it will change things.
Because what happened is, you’ve got a number of guys, we played late in the season, as everybody knows, the longest season in Penn State history, played late into the season and we had some injuries that required some surgeries and things like that at the end of the season, and they are going to be considered limited until we've had a padded practice to show that they are able to do that.
So some of these guys are limited up there. They are ready to go and I think if you asked them, they could play in a game right now. But our trainers and doctors, you know, smart, we hold them in the limited category until they actually go out and do it. So if they had an upper body extremities issue, we've got to get through the first day of hitting to clear them back to full go.
So the list is a little bit longer than I probably would like but nothing that we're concerned about and nothing that you guys I think aren't already aware of.
- How can [Kyron] Hudson, [Devonte] Ross and [Trebor] Peña help the passing game in general, Drew [Allar] in particular, and how have they looked so far in these first two practices?
A: I think the biggest thing is they are veterans that have already produced in college football. You know, Hudson was a captain at his previous institution. Had one of the catches of the year against LSU. Senior, veteran, mature. So that's been valuable for us.
Peña is a sixth-year guy. Same thing, was captain at his last school. Got a lot of maturity. Got a lot of experience. I think you guys have heard me talk about this before. I compare college football in some ways now to college basketball when the one-and-done started, and you could have a veteran older team make a run, because, as we know, experience and talent matters.
And then Ross, you know, didn't play, whether obviously it's the Big Ten or the ACC but we were able to watch him against Iowa. I think you guys know how much respect I have for Iowa, that program, defensively, special teams-wise, and to be able to watch him make plays against an Iowa defense, and an Iowa team in general on special teams, gave us a lot of confidence about bringing that young man in.
But they have all been great. They have been great. Some young receivers I think you'll get a chance to see that we're excited about, as well. This kind of, hopefully, closes the gap for a year to allow these guys to continue to grow and mature and step up. But we have more depth right now at wide receiver than we have had.
And to your point I think the biggest thing is, we need more playmaking at the wide receiver position for us to go where we want to go, in critical moments, in critical games.
Obviously, Tyler Warren and our running game, most of our offense was built around those things. I think in a lot of ways, if we continue to trend in the direction we are headed, it will make us more difficult to defend. Because if you went into last year, it was stop the run and stop Tyler Warren, right.
So having threats all over the field that can hurt you, making them defend the 53-and-a-third, and obviously, the 120 yards, I think will open up a lot of things for us. It will help us in the run game.
But it's valuable. And I think Drew, having more people around him making plays for him will be really valuable. We've all seen, you know, we had our whole deal here, I forget who it was and when it was "just chuck it deep," that whole thing we went through as a community together, we went through it together. There's some of that, right.
Like how many college football games have you watched, or even in the NFL, where a quarterback chucks it up, and it's double-coverage and a receiver goes up like Allen Robinson used to always do and come down with it? I mean, you think about that play in the four-overtime Michigan game, right, and then the announcer saying, what an unbelievable throw or what an unbelievable play. Well, a lot of that deals with the wide receiver making that play.
So, you know, that playmaking production from the wide receiver crew, from our tight ends, we've had as good of a tight end room over the last five years as anybody in the country. And we are excited, again, about that room, and then being able to use our two running backs in more ways.
They grew dramatically last year as receivers. I expect them to take another step this year and I want them to get the ball in the space as well. A lot of weapons, a lot of people to use, but we are going to have to build on this every single day.
Q: We talked a lot about the role that Jim Knowles is going to have on this defense and you mentioned blending them in the past. Where do you feel like the defense is when it comes blending a Penn State and Jim Knowles defense, specifically in the secondary?
A: Obviously, there are some tweaks and changes. There are every year, right, whether we keep the same coordinators or not.
But the majority of it is, me having a list of guys that philosophically believe how to play defensive football, similar to us, and how we have done it. We have been fortunate, I think we’ve had four defensive coordinators here. Every single one of them has had a Top-10 defense at Penn State. So that was attractive to Jim.
But I think it was also attractive to Jim that when he watched our tape, there are some similarities in what he believes and vice-versa. Those things help, and then once you arrive, it's, okay, what needs to change, what can stay the same, and then I think the other thing is, hopefully this is his last time doing it but you know, he installed the defense at Duke. He stalled the defense at Oklahoma State and installed the defense at Ohio State and no different at anything else. Every time you go through this, you get better at it as well. He's in a really good place. Our defensive staff is in a really good place. I think we are pretty far along but it's still day three.
But there are some tweaks and changes in the secondary. I think there are some tweaks and changes up front, too. We have been predominately, really, since Manny [Diaz] came, an attack front defense and we have been predominately a man cover team and we'll still do those things.
But there are some technique changes up front in terms of how to play blocks. There's some changes with the linebackers.
Again, you know, with Manny, attack front, we were gapped out, linebackers had a gap responsibility and this defense requires the linebackers to play more of a traditional linebacker and read things out a little bit more and in the secondary, we'll just have more coverage diversity, which I think will be important because there's going to be two or three games a year where you just can't line up and play man, right. And that coverage diversity will be important for us moving forward.
Those things were a lot of the things that me and Jim discussed before he came here.
Q: I think we've talked about the monetary ways that revenue sharing and NIL can impact players but now as you emerge into yet another new college football season. How can those monetary discussions help players understand maybe more about contracts or the services exchanged from both sides, particularly as you send guys on into the NFL and they start doing that? Now they are not doing it as rookies, necessarily, but they could be doing it in college, and then you think about alumni of this program, Micah Parsons doing that right now with Dallas?
A: So as you can imagine, it's day three of practice. I'd love to talk about practice. I understand the question and we don't get a whole lot of opportunities to kind of interact in the off-season and talk about these things. But what I'm trying to do is trying to get our team, which we have done a really good job, the leadership has been great about this. We have very structured, in-season kind of plans of when we do football and then a small window of time of when we do NIL and those other things. You know, but it's obviously a part of college football and I do think your point is a good one.
I do think it prepares them for their futures. Went through this a couple years ago with Saquon. Obviously there's some things going on with Micah, and we had a chance to speak yesterday.
But at the end of the day, again, we're in football season right now. You know, based on how the calendar stayed the same, we're going to have to deal with some of this at the end of the season but I sure don't want to be dealing with it right now during camp and I sure don't want to be dealing with it during the season.
I think that was a big part of our success because we've all seen a ton of programs that have not handled this well and it's become a distraction with the coaches and with the locker room. I think we are in a good place. I think we are in a good place with those things.
Q: Are you guys more comfortable with the expectations this year, and how much has that been addressed with the team?
A: Yeah, you know, I think you guys have heard me say this. I don't really feel like the expectations have changed. The expectations in the Lasch Building are always high. The expectations in Beaver Stadium are always high. The expectations in this community are always really high. That's a big reason why I came here. That's a big reason why our players chose here.
To your point, are there more conversations and maybe heightened conversations going on nationally? Yes. But I think last year is a perfect example, right. We were a drive away from playing for the National Championship last year, and 99 percent of the programs in the country would be jacked about that season and how it went, and I don't know if that was necessarily the case here, right.
You know, we won 13 games, and like I mentioned, we were a few points and a few drives away from playing for the National Championship and people were pissed. That's what you sign up for when you come to Penn State, and so those expectations are always really high. We have been to a bunch of New Year’s Six games before that and a lot of programs would go to a New Year’s Six game or win a New Year’s Six game, and we've done that fairly consistently, and I wouldn't say necessarily it feels that way. I would not say it feels any different within our building and with our coaches and with our players.
But I will say this. All the hard work that they have done, the number of guys that decided to come back, they have earned those types of conversations and that attention.
But I would also say to you, which I think you heard me say before, again, no one cares about preseason rankings. Like, I'm not going to frame the preseason rankings and put it in my basement in the man cave. No one cares. No one cares.
All that's wonderful. We want to spend our time working on the things that are going to allow us to do the things we want to do this year, starting with Nevada and creating the habits and behaviors that will get us there. Not talking about, not spending a ton of time talking about, goals and those type of things. There’s a place for it but we're focused on what we have to do to have the type of season that we want to have.
Q: You sat here 12 years ago in a different spot with your offensive line. How does that play out this year from a snap perspective and from right tackle with two guys who are, essentially starters, back. How do you see that playing out?
A: Totally changed. When I got here, people just brushed it over like no big deal. But we had four offensive linemen, I think was the number when I got here, in the entire program, and I think now, at, like, 22, 25, something like that.
We are in a different spot, right. That's not just good for our offense, that's good for our defense. Iron sharpens iron every single day. It also allows us, when we talk about different weapons that we have in terms of wide receiver, running back, tight ends and trying to get them all on the field. You guys also saw us last year do some six offensive lineman sets. That is, obviously, helpful from a scheme standpoint. It’s also helpful from a development standpoint when you can get six and seven offensive linemen on the field, allows those guys to get some playing time.
Same reason why you put two quarterbacks on the field at the same time. It's a way to get them some significant time rather than a late game blowout and things like that. So, there's tremendous competition.
I'm not sure how it's going to work out. [Anthony] Donkoh was playing as well as anybody in the country before his injury. [Nolan] Rucci comes in and finishes the season as well as any tackle in the country. Then we've got some young guys that are fighting and battling them as well. I would also say, you guys know this, we have worked hard at creating position flexibility. So, a guy like Donkoh also has the ability to play inside. What we're trying to do is, see how do we get the best five guys on the field, and then how do we also create depth with whoever our backup tackle is going to be, whoever our backup guard is going be to, whoever our backup center is going to be, the next best offensive lineman to get on the field. All those things we are trying to figure out during training camp.
Q: Asking about a couple linebackers we didn’t get a chance to see in the spring, you didn't get a chance to see them on the field either. Tony [Rojas] and we saw Amare [Campbell] as defender of the day for practice one. What has he shown your staff so far and how is Tony looking getting back into the mix?
A: Tony really played most of last year with an injury, an injury that he could play with but an injury that affected him; he was not 100 percent. Being able to have an off-season surgery and get him right, he is strong, he is fast, he is confident.
Obviously, year three for him, played as a true freshman, so he's in a really good place, and we're anticipating him having a big year, but he's still got to go out and do it. He's been very intentional all summer. He’s been impressive so far in camp.
Then when you talk about Amare [Campbell], he's been a pleasant surprise. He played a ton of football for his previous school and we thought those things would translate to us, but you never really know. Once again, a mature, older player who has taken the right approach since he stepped on campus, and I think there's some excitement about him right now. He's created another level of competition that we hope we were going to get, but you never truly know until these guys show up on campus, and he's doing some nice things. He's really doing some nice things. He tested well this summer, he's explosive, he's fast, he's powerful, he's kind of compact. You guys will see him. He's not one of those 6-3, 6-4 guys like some of those guys we've had in the past, but he can cover ground, and he has really good instincts. You can tell he's played a lot of football and that's going to be valuable to us.
It's going to create some really good competitions. We talked about [Tony] Rojas, [Dominic] DeLuca, Campbell, [Keon] Wylie, [Anthony] Speca and [DaKaari] Nelson. There's going to be really good competition with those guys, and [Kari] Jackson, and then obviously some of the freshmen, too. It creates another layer of competition that we need.
Q: You had touched upon Tyler [Warren] moving on to the pros. How would you assess the tight end room going into camp, the depth that you have? Wanted to get your thoughts on Luke Reynolds, who benefitted because Andrew [Rappleyea] unfortunately got hurt last year, he got a lot of playing time. Looks like he's added some good weight. What can he do for you and just your thoughts on the tight ends overall and their impact on the offense?
A: First thing, I don't think enough people talk about Khalil Dinkins. He did all the dirty work last year. Every time we threw the ball to him, I think it was a touchdown, you know. That's being a little dramatic there, but caught a ton of touchdown passes. His touchdown-to-catch ratio was really good. He’s big, strong, physical, and his improvement, in so many areas since he stepped on campus, has been dramatic. I think he's got a very bright future. He's going to have a great year for us, and I think he's going to have a chance to play for a long time in the NFL.
You know, Rapp [Andrew Rappleyea] is another one. Rapp was in position to play a ton last year. Losing him was significant, but to your point, we've done a really good job of recruiting and developing at that position, and Luke was ready to go and really flashed at times and did some great things. He's bigger, stronger than he was. Rapp is obviously hungry as heck to get back out there. And I think we're going to be in a position like we have been the last couple years to have three tight ends that we feel like we can win with.
I'm a big believer, as you guys know, in true tight ends and the value that they can bring to your offense. When your tight end is really a big wide out, not as valuable. When your tight end is a slug and is just a blocker and is not a receiving threat, he's an extension of just the offensive line. That's not overly valuable, either. Ty Howle and our staff have done a really good job of identifying, recruiting and developing true tight ends that are critical to what we want to do on offense.
Those guys will continue to play a major part in our offense, but again, I think you guys know this, too, we're going to play to our strengths. If our wideouts are our best unit, we'll be in 11 personnel. If our tight ends are our best unit, we'll be in 12 personnel. If our running backs are our best unit, we'll be in 20 personnel. They are not just competing with guys at their position. They are competing with who is going to be that 11th player to put on the field, the third wide receiver, the second tight end, or the second running back. As you know, we'll do a little bit of all that but it's important that we figure out what our identity is going to be and what puts us in the best position to be successful. That could also change a little bit, game plan, week-to-week as well.
Q: As Jaxon [Smolik] and Ethan [Grunkemeyer] look to separate themselves in the backup quarterback battle, what are you looking to see there and is it necessary for that backup job to be decided by week 1?
A: That one in the spring was really tightly contested. I thought Jaxon [Smolik] would be rusty coming back but he wasn't. He had a great spring. This thing is, I think, going to go right down to the wire. Depending, if it finishes up like it did in the spring, it could continue throughout the entire year. If it's close, if there's a gap, there's a gap. If it's close, I think the competition could go throughout the year, whoever has the best week that week is going to be the backup quarterback type of deal, just based on how close it was this spring.
Obviously, we have all the data to back that up, as well, in terms of completion percentage, third down percentage, touchdown-to-interception ratios, all those metrics that we all know are important in evaluating the quarterback position. You know, eliminating three-and-outs, those types of possessions. Then, we've talked about this before, whether it's an interception or not, we also grade interception-worthy throws or interception-worthy decisions. Just because the DB dropped the ball, that was still a bad decision or a bad throw. Having all that data to try to compare and contrast is valuable, but we'll see.
Again, it could be there's a gap by one of them and it's clear who the number two quarterback is, or this will go through the season. To be honest with you, if it's close all season, it could go into next year in terms of how this thing plays out. They have both made it interesting. They both have traits that you get excited about. It will be a really important competition. I would say that, across the board, the twos and the threes, you guys don't love talking about that a whole lot, but it's going to be critical to our season.
Who is the three running back is going to be critical. Who is the two quarterback is going to be critical. Who is the fifth and sixth D-tackle and fifth and sixth D-end is going to be critical. That's going to play a huge part in our season and then being able to get all those guys reps in the first three games so we can evaluate them, not just in practice, but in games as well, that's going to be important, too.
Q: I wanted to ask about your safeties. How do you feel? What excites you about that group and who are some of the guys that you are hoping you can learn a little bit more about this preseason?
A: Yeah, so [Zakee] Wheatley, you guys all know a ton about him. He's played a bunch of football here. I'm really proud of him. His growth and maturity since he stepped on campus.
I was giving him a hard time earlier today. You know, year one and year two, we had some knockdowns, drag-outs, is that the expression?
We have a great relationship now. He understands what the expectations are, the standard and is leading and is just high production and low maintenance. I'm just very, very proud of him and I think he's going to have a huge year. You guys all know the ball likes him. He's one of those guys, always around the ball. He has great ball skills. I think he's going to have a big year for us.
Then there's a battle, right. You've got [King] Mack, you've got [Dejuan] Lane, you've got [Antoine] Belgrave-Shorter, and you've got [Vaboue] Toure, that are really battling for not only that other starter, but also who the third safety is going to be, who the fourth safety is going to be and who the fifth safety is going to be.
We also have some flexibility a little bit, too, depending how we do things. Some of those corners or nickels could play into this, as well, when you sit here and you say, how do we get the best 11 guys on the field, and if our third corner is clearly the next best player or, maybe, the second or third safety, then we've got to decide how do we get all those guys on the field with the two corners, the nickel and the safety.
That's going to be really important. How do we get those five guys on the field and into the best spots, and then how do we create depth behind them? It will be an interesting battle, but Mack has been really good. I think he's happy being back. I think it's also been important, he's provided some really good messages for our guys that the grass isn't always greener. DeDe Lane is super talented and is growing up every single day and being more consistent. We're excited about those other guys, as well. Belgrave-Shorter had a great offseason. Toure is a man of few words and is very business-like and attacks it the right way, and [Lamont] Payne Jr. has shown some flashes. We need those guys to continue headed in the right direction.