Opening Statement: A couple things from my end in terms of a meaningful weekend this weekend for us, honoring some important things in our community, especially the Penn State community.
First, it's THON Weekend which obviously for me, being a part of this community this past year, one of the most powerful events I got to take part of, in honoring the THON community. The work they have been doing has been unbelievably impressive. What a great tradition.
Two, the 1986 team, their 40-year reunion. So many of those guys back this past offseason. To be having a great group coming in this weekend means a lot to our football program.
Really excited for both of those groups.
Q: Quinton Martin, you want to get him more involved. Why wasn't he part of the game plan? How do you foresee him progressing moving forward?
A: I would just say globally we have a lot of play-makers. We've got a lot of guys that, it's why practice is so critically important right now, is you're kind of working through the week, trying to either go with a hot hand or finding the guys that are earning the right to either have packages or get critical moments.
I just think there's going to be so many guys throughout the season that are going to pop up and showcase themselves. Quinton is certainly one of those guys we have great belief in.
I think the reality of even that running back room, there's still some gray. That room is going to continue to work itself out as we work through the weeks, work through these games.
I think we're grateful there are a lot of guys that can do a lot of things with the ball in their hands. We'll see how practice progresses through this week, for sure.
Q: Mouse [Taylor Mouser] was telling us when you go back, you look at the running backs, Carson [Hansen] is not going to use it as an excuse, but he missed time in camp. When you look at the tape, do you feel like he's close to where you want him to be?
A: I do. I think especially even from Carson's perspective, I feel like, maybe that one run that went for about 15, 16 yards after kind of the slow start offensively down in the tight red zone area, you saw him come into his own a little bit.
When you see Carson running, I think the positive thing is everything is going forward, there's not been any negative runs from him. There's been a lot of positive runs. But the guy, the explosion, kind of those finality of finishes, there's still a lot of room for growth there. I think he's starting to get back into game shape, getting himself where he needs to be.
I think when you look at the running game in general, you're talking about inches off. Even you go down to those red zones, the three plays in the goal line. James [Peoples] will tell you he missed the run on the first-down play. Second down great run by Carson gets us to where we need to be. Hair off in blocking on the next play.
Those are things, timing, we‘ve got to be better. We know we want to be better. Those aren’t excuses; those are reality. We have to do a better job coaching it and a better job finishing those runs and blocking opportunities in the running game.
Q: How would you evaluate how Mouse has done as a play-caller through two games?
A: Now you’ve got to make me say something nice about Mouse (smiling).
I think Mouse has done a really good job. Even on Saturday, it wasn’t the plays, it was the execution and the detail. Those are things that we just have to be better.
Again, I think you see the first play of the game, then you’re a hair off on a couple of the next four. It wasn’t the plays, it was the execution and the detail of the plays.
I think the way we played offensively in second, third and fourth quarter, punted one time in the football game, had a lot of positive execution in the football game, too. How we want to play offense, we have to be better. We’ll continue to do a great job of that.
I think Mouse has done a great job.
Q: You mentioned having gray areas with the running back room. Any other thing after two weeks that you want to find out more about?
A: I do. I think there's a lot. I think you look at our team on Saturday, special teams, offense and defense, really that first quarter kind of got exposed, not doing your job, right? I think sometimes when you're trying to make plays, you're trying to make things happen, you can get caught up in not doing your job.
When we're playing really good, six of eight quarters we played really good football, man, we're just doing our job, what we're being asked to do. I think that's hard sometimes. Sometimes you have guys that are trying to do too much. Man, it gets you a hair off. It can't happen.
Who are those guys that are disciplined enough to continue to do their job. I almost feel like every position group has some question marks of, man, who is separating themselves, how is it going to continue to separate itself. Some guys are coming back from injury, how did they help separate themselves from the pack?
We're a team each week you're going to see guys step up that weren't playing a lot, make plays. I feel like every position group, you can go across the board, you're getting guys back.
I think you talk about the D-line, the rotation on that interior D-line, there's a lot of guys we still haven't seen. Armstrong [Nnodim], Alijah Carnell. You talk about Dallas [Vakalahi], kind of like Carson, was injured through the majority of camp, just kind of coming back into his own.
At linebacker, you have [Alex] Tatsch coming back. Didn't get Cam Smith last week. He's questionable for this week. If we can get him back; he was playing great football. How does he come back?
When you look at the receiver room, I think that room, there's guys in that room that we think can help us, but how, when. How much playing time do they get? What do they earn during the week of practice?
The depth on the O-line I think is a major question mark in my opinion. Who is going to emerge, help us as we continue to grow forward?
Again, I said this about our team. I think that's part of being a new team. You're going to have to work through some of that early part of the season, continue to see who shows up.
I think what I was proudest of in the game, I said it after the game, is our A players, the guys that are proven to be great players. When our back was against the wall a little bit, got dicey there for a second, they stepped up and made A-plays. That is to me when you're starting to see a team really start to grow forward.
As I've said before, we're going to play a bad quarter, play a bad half. It's going to happen. How you respond to that is indicative of the team you become.
The negative is we had it. The positive is we responded to it. Now how do you grow forward to understand those things can't happen again? That's a challenge to the coaches and obviously our players.
Q: You mentioned Armstrong and Alijah. You talked about Cam being questionable. Any terminology to those guys about their availability this Saturday?
A: I think those two guys will definitely play. We thought they would play last week, to be honest with you. We warmed up. Both those guys still weren't 100%. It felt like they were at the point where if they did play, they can injure themselves, now all of a sudden we're stunting getting them back 100%. I think both those guys are a lot closer to 100%. I think both those guys will play.
I think Cam will be interesting. I would say he is a question mark. He was out there today. How much is he ready to go?
Tatsch did play. Got about 20 reps in the game, which was really good. Gabe Burkle played, which was really good to have him back.
I think we're getting healthier, which is positive. Again, there's a difference between healthy and being ready to play, right? I think those are things where it's going to be critical to get those guys back and continue to see what are they, how can those guys help us?
We saw them when they were healthy at the early part of camp, what they can be. Man, coming back after this work, can they be in live game reps? I think those things are really important for our football team.
Q: There were some big intersectional games around the country last week. What is your non-conference scheduling philosophy? How much input will you have in it? How much input do you want?
A: Yeah, that's a great question. I would say this. Pat [Kraft] and I have not talked about that, but I know Pat has been unbelievably supportive of conversating on all issues as we move ourselves forward.
I'm probably not even at the place to even conversate about it because I don't know if I have my grasp around my own team and program, let alone what is that holistic value, how does that go.
I think as the world changes around us, do we go to a 24-team Playoff. What does all that look like? What's best for Penn State moving forward? What's best for our football program?
I think as the landscape settles around us, I probably would have a better opinion knowing what the future of that holds.
But I think right now for me, I put so much focus on ourselves that I really haven't even been able to give you like, man, I'm going to stand on the table and say how I truly feel about that.
Once things settle, once I get a year under my belt, what is the landscaped moving forward, I can have a better answer for you.
Q: With Max [Granville] out, who fills the void for him going forward? How concerned are you about the pass-rush from the edge going forward?
A: I think first of all, it's really tough losing a guy like Max. More than what his capability and high-end ceiling is, it's what he's already been through. You lose a season. That guy, nobody worked harder to get back and be on the field. That's a gut punch. It was a gut punch for our staff, for him.
But I would also say that's football. I think Max is one of those guys who is so grounded in his faith, who he is, he will come back better than where even he is today.
As a team, I think the great thing is that room, we feel really confident about the depth of that room. With Max in there, we were rotating really about five guys. Liam [Andrews] has been a sixth rotational piece in there.
So I think what happens now is a guy like Jackson Ford, Liam, their ability to continue to progress forward, they're going to get some great opportunity.
I feel like even that room took some positive steps in the pass-rush game last week. Yvan [Kemajou] had a couple great rushes. I think Ike [Ezeogu] continues to show steady progress of being a high-end football player there. We saw what Caleb Bacon can do. [Alex] McPherson has continued to play good football. He had a couple good pass-rushes off the end.
I think that room will only continue to grow. We feel like there's guys there that will only continue to grow forward. It's a young team. Ike, he was playing a three and four I. Now he's playing on the edge. I know he's an older player, but I feel like a young football player in terms of playing on the edge on the defense.
I feel like that group has a chance to make tremendous strides each week as they gain confidence playing in this system and certainly this front.
Q: A question about your two young corners, Daryus [Dixson] and Jahmir [Joseph]. What did you think about Daryus' blocked field goal? You had Jahmir back in some extended duty. How did he do?
A: Yeah, let me start on Daryus.
Daryus won our spring award this year that kind of goes to the player that exudes everything that you want in the football program. That's from how that guy practiced every day in the spring to, man, what that guy does academically. A 4.0 student. I think he was top of community service within our football program. You go to winter conditioning, spring practice, you go to fall camp, that guy every single day comes out to compete to be the best. You even watch the first two games of the season. I mean, the way that guy plays, the intent he plays with. He is passionate about becoming the best version of him that he can be. I'm really proud of what that guy's about. He doesn't take a play off.
One of my favorite reps, obviously the blocked field goal was huge, but you see him out at gunner. Two times on Zay Robinson's big returns, he's got knockdown blocks out of corner.
Just his ability, everything we ask that guy to do, he wants to be the best. He's an elite competitor. I'm really proud of where he's at and what he brings to the table.
Getting Jahmir back I think is huge. We didn't have him for the last three weeks of fall camp. He was back a little bit the last week, then we were able to get him some kind of warmed him up and played maybe like five to 10 snaps against Marshall.
To be able to get him back, he's got a huge upside in terms of what he can do. He's got elite talent, elite traits. To be able to have him and Zion [Tracy] in that rotation at corner, I think really it was 30, 30, 30, 30 for those corners in the game. It ended up being a really great rotation across the board.
Playing Zion out there has been huge for us, too. He's done some huge things at corner. Gives us some flexibility and matchup opportunities as we continue to go down the road.
Q: Last week, I think I'm pretty close here, 62 of 107 passing yards came after the catch for your defensive secondary. From a structural standpoint of the kind of coverages you're running, is that part of the expectation or where are you in terms of your level of concern or whatever it might be with that ability of your secondary?
A: I think it's a great question. It's videotape, what were you looking at, what were the things that's got to improve.I think you're talking about inches away because those are three open-field missed tackles that make up the bulk majority of exactly what you just said.
I just think from our end, it's the detail. Those guys that are missing those tackles are really talented players and guys that have been great open-space tacklers.
It's again knowing where your help is defensively, where are you tackling? Both guys were on the wrong side of where they shot the tackle. When you're on the wrong side, you don't know where your help is, big plays have an ability to come out.
Like the running game, you're an inch off, a hair off, you get exposed, especially against teams that can make you pay in space. Certainly something we put a lot of time and effort into. Even Sunday's practice, and today in practice, for sure.
Q: There could be a vote coming this week on the Protect College Sports Act. Do you have any thoughts on it, whether it be positive or negative?
A: Again, those are things where probably somebody better than me could answer that question.
Obviously, globally you want to protect college sports, right? Getting a guardrail, an opportunity to get what's going on in our world under control for the betterment of the future of college athletics is certainly, as a former student-athlete myself, being in this profession for the student-athlete experience, you want to get the right guardrails and get these things in a better space. If that's what it's going to be, that would be awesome.
Again, probably the wrong guy who's not as studied and astute to exactly what does all that mean, are all those things the right things, other than I know we got great leadership. Our president [Neeli Bendapudi] and Pat are certainly involved in that. I appreciate them because I know what they stand for, certainly stand for what's right.
Q: Tony [Rojas] was on a pitch count last week. Seems to be fully back, team's lead tackler, the interception. Is there still more you want to see from him? How close to being that X-factor and catalyst is he?
A: Well, I think it's almost like videotape evidence, right? When you say your A-players make A-plays, Tony has made A-plays the last two weeks.
I'm so proud of Tony because Tony, again, kind of like some of those other guys, it's hard to be injured and come back from injury, I don't care who you are, how talented you are.
To watch Tony work this offseason, all spring, all fall, to get himself ready to play. I think Tony would tell you there were some good days and there's been some tough days mentally and physically working himself to get back.
To watch how he's played, regain his confidence. Tony has a great process. He works really, really hard in terms of how he studies film, how he prepares. Obviously, you guys would know as much as I do how talented Tony really is.
To see him play the way he has the last two weeks has been a great lift for our entire defense and certainly for our football team.
Q: Is there one specific area where you feel like the team made the biggest jump from game one to game two?
A: I think the biggest thing that we didn't get really in game one was adversity. I've said this and I'm going to continue to say this, because it will continue to define who we are this year, is just because we haven't all been together in these competitive environments, we need adversity.
You can create it as a coach as much as you want to, but there's nothing more adverse than when you work your entire year for 12 guaranteed opportunities, and one of those opportunities things aren't going well. All of a sudden you have to, somebody has to, be able to guide you out of that adversity.
To me, watching our football team, really our coaches, I give them a lot of credit, I thought no panic, we did a great job correcting the mistakes, and there were mistakes. There were mistakes on the goal line, mistakes on a couple of those big runs that came out. You can lose your mind or you can correct it.
Know and trust that the process of the guys that are straining to get this thing done, man, we're going to make some mistakes. Get it fixed, have the ability to respond to it. Watch our guys be able to do that in the second and third quarter, I thought it was awesome.
That part of it for me was huge because we need that. It's coming. It's only going to continue to come. That's our sport. You watch all those games this weekend, who can respond to adversity usually wins the football game.
That was really big for us, to see that, to get that, and have the ability to execute through it. I think that part of it probably for me, that was a huge win for our football team, to be able to navigate that.
Now, correct it, don't let the same mistakes happen twice, we move ourselves forward. That will be a great challenge for this group as we head into this coming Saturday.