Opening Statement: Tough weekend for the Penn State football community and family. Our condolences to the Suhey family, losing Matt, what he and that family has meant to Penn State football. Really tough weekend for everybody involved. So just want to send our condolences to their family and certainly the impact that family has had on our community.
Q: Owen [Alicene] on the offensive line, then Armstrong [Nnodim] and Elijah [Reeder] on the defensive side, where do they stand in terms of game two availability? How close were they being ready to go last Saturday?
A: Owen kind of got dinged up towards the end of camp. He did practice last week. We just didn't feel like he was at full strength to be ready to go back on the field. I would say questionable for this week. But he did practice today, which is a great sign.
Same thing with Elijah and Armstrong. Both of those guys got some practice last week. Just didn't feel like they were at full strength. Both guys did practice today. I would say probably the same thing, questionable. We would love to have those guys back, ready to go for us this week.
Q: Once you got to go back and watch the tape, what things did you leave the field feeling good about on Saturday that you felt even better about after the seeing the tape?
A: I think the biggest thing, the two things I felt really good about, one was communication. Obviously, new coaching staff on offense and defense. First time in that environment. I was really nervous about our ability to be great communicators, both the ability to make in-game adjustments as a coaching staff with new players, then the ability for our players to communicate on the field.
I thought we did some really good things that way, which was great. We needed that. We'll need to continue to grow.
Then I think the second thing of it, playing complementary football. Probably my favorite reps of the day were when we were able to pooch punt there in the third quarter, down the ball on the one yard-line. Then had the ability to, on third down, a chance to go three-and-out, got the interception, then offensively capitalized with good field position and scored. I think those things are what great football teams have the ability to do.
The ability to play good complementary football throughout the game, I thought that was huge for us. It was huge for our kids to understand the value of that.
I think those were two things I probably was proudest of what I saw on the videotape.
Q: How do you feel like Malachi Goodman and Brock Riker graded out as two younger guys making big starts?
A: Brock graded out the highest on the offense. Had a great day. Again, I thought from a communication standpoint to physicality at the point of attack, I thought he was outstanding. Played really good football.
I thought Malachi graded out in a really positive way, as well. But I thought Brock was the guy to me, just even on the offense, that was as dynamic as I'd seen him play, even early on in camp.
I think both of those guys gained confidence moving forward and will have to continue to grow forward for us to be the team we want to be.
Q: The run game was a little slower to get going than the passing game. After watching the film, what would you attribute that to? What can they do to start faster?
A: I think it's twofold. Number one, I feel like, we kind of, felt like we were going to get loaded boxes early in the game. I felt like that was something that, in a way, opened up the passing game early. We felt like that was going to have to happen early in the football game to kind of get us going.
That's certainly not to say we can't be cleaner or need to be cleaner in the running game. I thought there were times we fell off blocks. I think the consistency of those. Sometimes it's not always on the O-line. We have to remember the way we play, man, that's the tight end position, that's at receiver. There were opportunities there for some big, big hits, and we just didn't make the most of 'em.
Consistency there has got to be a huge improvement for us as we continue to move forward, for sure.
Q: Travel gets complicated in the Big Ten. The opportunity to go on the road in non-conference, how important is that for this group as you figure out what this looks like in a couple months?
A: Huge step for us. Really talked about it Saturday as soon as we got in the locker room. You're already kind of behind schedule playing a noon game, let alone on top of that having to get yourself ready for your first road trip as a team and as a program. I think this is going to be huge for us.
Great teams play great on the road. That's just how it goes. Understanding the focus is takes, understanding a noon game on the road on top of it. I think a lot of things that this group is going to have to navigate forward, with the leadership of our coaching staff, the leadership of our players. We're going to have to handle it.
I think this is a huge opportunity for us to get this and get this opportunity to kind of grow through it.
Q: Gabe Burkle looked like he was close to playing Saturday. How close was he? Where is he at now for this week's game?
A: Yeah, I think Gabe and [Alex] Tatsch were both really close. Both guys practiced last week, as well.
Both guys I thought were really close to playing. Just didn't feel like it was the right decision to do that just because they needed more contact collision in practice.
Both guys will certainly be available this week. It will be big for us to have both of those guys back on the football field.
Q: You had a chance to take a pretty long look at four-year running backs. Did someone particularly stand out? Coming off of pre-season camp, did anyone take a step forward?
MATT CAMPBELL: To me, I thought all those guys kind of proved what they are. I thought those guys all ran really hard. I think they made the most of their opportunities.
I don't think anybody took a step back. I think kind of uniquely I don't know if anybody proved what we thought any different of those guys. We think all those guys have the ability to be really great players for us, physical at the point of attack, following forward. I thought all those guys ran really hard on Saturday.
Q: You mentioned in preseason that Rapp [Andrew Rappleyea] was a little bit banged up. Looked like he did a lot of good dirty work for you guys in the game. What did you think of his performance? Could you also give us an update on LaVar Arrington II?
A: First of all, Rapp. I thought Rapp was phenomenal. The first touchdown, Rapp, maybe my favorite play of the entire game. Corner crash, he's in protection. The physicality that he picks that up, it really allows Rocco [Becht] to get to his third progression.
The back, I don't know if you saw that, the back falls down on the way out. He's progression one. It allows Rocco to step up and really get through his progression. He ends up getting to Koby [Howard]. I thought that was a difference-maker play.
On the screen to [Brett] Eskildsen, he was the point-of-attack blocker. He and [James] Peoples did a great job on the perimeter. Two huge plays.
I thought Rapp was outstanding. Even his catch, it was a catch in I think about a 14-15-yard run after the catch, which is awesome. I think Rapp is a really special player and is going to have a great year.
LaVar got injured maybe that second-to-last week of camp. Didn't know where he was. Ended up with a clean-up surgery. I think it will probably put him four-to-six weeks, somewhere in that time frame. We'll be anxious to see where he is after we get through a little bit longer of a recovery process.
Q: Realize you're all-in here and got a big job. Will you be keeping your eye on Iowa State, how they're doing? Have you had much communication out there?
A: Obviously, not much. The one thing that you always do, you're tracking all your former players. I think that's one thing, the culture of the relationship that you had with so many great players.
I think the only thing you saw is so many of our guys have a great day there last Saturday. I think you're more tracking the individual performance of your players. Across some other schools, too. Guys had great games, great start to things.
For me, it's really about the people and about the players. Really, you track those humans. You want the absolute best for them.
Q: On Saturday, you had three or four primary safety nickel combinations. Is that a process that's going on right now? Are you trying to figure out who fits where, with whom? Is that Zion [Tracy] was a little bit banged up and you're getting Jeremiah Cooper back in?
A: Yeah, I think the great thing is, you're right, both Coop and Zion are getting back to full strength, which is great. I think the bigger thing is there's some guys that are playing great football. Josiah Zayas, I don't know if you could say enough about what he did defensively Saturday for a true freshman. He certainly didn't look or feel like that on Saturday.
I think Shark, Marcus Neal, has played great football. I thought he was physical at the point of attack.
I think the thing that's exciting for us when you look at that group, Vaboue [Toure] did some really good things, there's a lot of guys that can play. I think the ability for all those guys to do multiple things is really big.
I think that will be a constant. I feel like a lot of guys we can play a lot of different combinations, how we use them, when we use them, what does that look like.
Zion played a little bit of corner. Coop, as he's coming back, can play corner. There's a lot of usage of those guys that I think we'll just continue to move around and try to do systematically what gives us advantages within the football game.
Q: Do you get any tips from [Nick] Sirianni? On a more serious note, how much of a sounding board have you been for each other as your careers have progressed?
A: Yeah, I talked to Nick a little bit yesterday. I think the biggest thing from him, and we played in this facility before when I was at the University of Toledo, when I was at Bowling Green. It's a great opportunity I think always when you get to bring a football team to play in a professional stadium. I know our guys will be excited about that.
Nick has been a great sounding board. I think we've gone through some of the same journeys as head football coaches, good moments and tough moments. To be honest with you, I think the tough moments have been when we've been able to grow together. I feel like we paralleled those at the same time and have had to work through some of the same things.
Obviously that relationship, that friendship, having the ability to have some somebody that's kind of going through some of the same journeys has been huge. Obviously, my family, we're really proud of what Nick's accomplished.
Being from [Mount] Union, what he's done, how he's done it, I think has been awesome. Just really grateful that we're now in a place where we can be a little bit closer to each other and certainly continue that relationship, continue to bounce things off each other.
Q: Last week I think you said college football is a game of who screws up less. When that's the case, you're coming into this week favored, going into last week favored, what's the balance between trying to be cognizant of that and prepare for every eventuality and having confidence in your guys knowing you'll get the job done?
A: I don't even know what any of that means, to be honest with you. I mean the favored piece of it, what that looks like, right? I think that's all kind of like you might as well throw all that. Especially early in the season, what's it mean?
To me, this season, these seasons, these games, you get 12 guaranteed opportunities to be your best. Our sport's really tricky because, man, unlike basketball and unlike wrestling, unlike baseball, you don't get 30 opportunities or 40 or 50 opportunities. You get 12 guaranteed opportunities to be your best when you play.
I think you have to prepare a team for those guaranteed opportunities, being your best in every one of those moments. It's really what we stress. Really you don't care about a score or scoreboard, it's more about a standard: how we play, what is the standard of preparation, what's the standard of winning the moments.
To be honest with you, I was ticked at the end of the first half. We had three timeouts, an opportunity to get the ball back, and we didn't. Kind of failed that opportunity. It was great that they missed the field goal at the end. We kind of let them off the hook and had an opportunity to really go put a great finishing touch on the first half, and we missed it.
I think you have to coach a football team to a standard in today's world, not on any of those things, because those are things that are out of our control. What's in our control are the things we really have to focus on.
Q: The genesis of the new tunnel sign, the success with honors sign that you brought back. How did that come about?
A: I think somebody had asked what do you want, what's the slogan. Again, I'm not a big slogan guy. I don't have a lot of great slogans. I'm probably not smart enough for any of that.
The one thing I know is continuing to pay honor to what's come before us, that to me means a lot. I know when you talk to these former players, when you talk to so many guys that have come through here, what that value system has meant to this program, that I just felt like I'm in absolute alliance with that value. I think it means exactly what it should mean here at Penn State.
I thought that was the right thing for our football team to continue to honor and continue to carry forward.
Q: You're going to coach against K.C. Keeler for the first time this weekend. You have a deep history. Mount Unions versus Rowan, 1999. What do you remember of the 1999 game? Has that come up for you as you prepare for Temple this week?
A: You're kind of coming at me, huh? That was a tough one (smiling).
I just know this. As I was coming through our journey at Mount Union, we lost one game, right? That game as a football player. Won three national championships as a football player. That time, it was almost the spark for our program, to be quite honest with you. We lost in triple overtime on that day. I was in on the last play as the game ended. That was tough.
I think for me, that was kind of like a great opportunity for me to learn what the standard of excellence was in the program at Mount Union, losing that football game, and what it meant to never have that feeling again. We were fortunate to not have that feeling again during my time as a player.
I'll be honest with you, five years later, I came back as the offensive coordinator. National semifinals game, to beat Rowan, give ourselves a chance to get back to the national championship, that was big.
I think a lot of respect for Coach Keeler, what he did, what that team was about. It was a physical football game. Kind of similar to what you expect to see on Saturday: a physical, well-coached football team that has done a great job putting any program he's been at in a position to play great football.
Q: Only four penalties on Saturday. I believe none of them were pre-snap or operation penalties. What would you attribute that to, having the team be able to come out that crisp?
A: Yeah, again, I think that goes to what we've talked about. If there is one mantra we would like to be, we'd like to be tough, we'd like to be disciplined and we'd like to be together as a football program. I think you want to turn the videotape on and you want to be able to see that. When you see it, you're able to recognize positivity.
That's what we've talked about every single practice from practice one here through spring ball to every single practice in fall camp, those three value systems. Man, how are we representing those things?
We’ve spent a lot of time on that. We've put a lot of time, effort and energy in trying to play to those three values. I thought we did a really good job of being able to do that at least in week one. I think we'll continue to have to do a great job as we continue to move forward.