Andrew Nelson, Penn State's redshirt sophomore offensive tackle, spent about 25 minutes with reporters on a teleconference this morning. Here are some of the highlights from what he had to say:
On his third season at Penn State…
“At this point in my career I’m trying to step into a leadership role just for this program. I feel like, especially on the offensive line, we’re a young unit, so between me and Angelo [Mangiro] and Brian [Gaia], I’ve kinda taken it upon myself to step into a leadership role on the offensive line and on our team. I feel good what I know about our offense and how this program works. Coach Hand talks about if you’re a veteran, be a veteran. Once you step on that field, you’re a veteran. That’s kind of the mindset I’m taking as well.”
Practicing at left tackle vs. right tackle…
“Coach Hand really prides himself as a coach and us as being versatile players. No matter what, he’s got to be ready and we’ve got be ready to get the best five guys on the field - no matter who that is. During practice a lot of guys are going to play a lot of different positions. Obviously he wants to get you comfortable at a certain position, so mostly I was at right tackle, but all during at camp I was getting reps at left tackle as well. Guys were getting reps at different guard spots or at center because that’s part of our unit. We’re able to play multiple positions, be versatile, so no matter what happens we’re able to get the five best guys on the field.”
The difference between left tackle vs. right tackle…
“A lot of people think it’s a big transition moving from right tackle to left tackle, but honestly for me it’s pretty much the same. Obviously you get more comfortable at one spot vs. the other the more you play there. You might get more comfortable with your footwork on a certain side after you’ve played there for a little while, more comfortable from your stance, but from an assignments standpoint, a blocking standpoint, it’s basically the fact same.”
On his size now compared to last season…
“This year I’m a little bit a lighter - maybe five or 10 pounds lighter than what I was last season. But I think that’s actually really helped a lot. I dropped some body fat, but I put on on a lot of really good muscle this summer. I think I had the best summer I’ve ever had since I’ve been here from a strength and conditioning standpoint. Going into this season I feel stronger, faster, more explosive than ever, even though I'm maybe five pounds lighter than I was last year. I’m about 305 right now."
On starters helping out LT Paris Palmer…
“I think a lot of it has fallen on the left guard, or Angelo Mangiro, being the center, just helping Paris with assignments throughout camp. Between him and I, I’m really honored by the way Paris has approached me and just asked for help in his technique and fundamentals. That’s something we’ve been working on a lot between Paris and I – or set angles, our feet, our footwork. Everyday he wants to do a little extra after practice and work on things. That’s kind of the role I’ve stepped into with Paris, really trying to help him maximize his ability as far as technique and fundamentals.”
On Angelo Mangiro’s leadership…
“I think Angelo has done an amazing job, not only being a leader of the offensive line, but being a leader of the offense and the entire team. He is a really special guy. You’ll hear Coach Hand say that Ang never has a bad day. The guy always come out to work every single day and he always has a great attitude no matter what it is. Our first core value is positive attitude and Angelo Mangiro is the epitome of that. He comes out every single day with a smile on his face, ready to work and ready to motivate all of us to be able to perform to our best. He’s really done an amazing job and I love the guy a lot.”
On last season’s struggles on the O-Line…
“Last year, I think, a lot of our struggles just stemmed from execution because of poor communication. When we got hats on hats last year we were really able to get a lot of good things going on our offense.”
On playing a Temple defense that has similar personnel as last year…
“It’s good because you can study a lot of film from last year. You can watch yourself against a lot of their players. Temple is a good team now and they’re returning almost every single one of their players, but that can be beneficial in that you’ve played against these guys before. You understand how they play. You can watch yourself against them. You can watch your offense and how you execute against them.”
...
“They bring all of their guys back. Every single one of them on the line has started numerous games. Their D-tackles are very good players and obviously Temple is a great team and a great defense. So we’re taking Temple’s defensive line as seriously as any defensive line we play."
Expanding on poor communication…
“In the run game you have to understand what front the defense is giving you. You have to understand which hats you’re working to as far as double teams, if they’re bringing blitz, what calls you have make if they’re bringing blitz and recognizing those things. At times when it’s your first year when things are going really fast you might not have time to completely understand what you see and get the proper call made. You may not completely understand what the proper call is when things are moving so fast. When you get experience under your belt, you get used to game speed, things just become easier.”
More on Paris Palmer…
“He is very eager and willing to learn and he wants to be the best he can be for this team. He’s a guy who understands that when he got here he had a long way to go - in the weight room, on the field, understanding the offense, things like that. But he accepted that challenge and he took on that challenge with a great mindset. He was ready to learn, he put in the work, he was ready to put in overtime to learn things so he can perform at the best of his ability to this team and be successful.”
On the offensive line reading negative publicity…
“Absolutely. One of the important things, I think, we’re just using this stuff as motivation tools. Do we completely agree with a lot of things that the media has to say? Do we think the media has everything figured out as far as what they wrote about us last year? Absolutely not. But that fuels our fire and we understand that we could’ve played better last year and we understand that we’re going to play better this year. That’s just the bottom line. I can’t tell you how many times in practice when we used that as motivation, when guys were tired, a little winded. Listen guys, right now is going to pay off for this team. We know what it’s like to be the lowest of the low, so that’s why we’re going to be successful.”
On removing the names from the jerseys…
“I understand the tradition behind Penn State. Did I have any problem with the names on the jerseys? No. But I’m fully on board - 100 precent - with it, pulling the rope the same direction as everybody else. The names off the back of the jerseys are a great thing for the university. We’re excited about bringing back the tradition and how things have been and representing Penn State the way it’s been represented for many, many years. No matter what at the end of day - if we have names on the back of our jerseys, what color are jerseys are, what color are cleats are - we’re excited about getting out there and restoring the tradition of Penn State of winning.”
On the running backs…
“All of them are just doing amazingly well and did well during camp and we’re super excited about them. Our depth at running back - having guys who are all very good players - is unbelievable. You go down to our fourth-string running back and all of those are guys who could be amazing players. So we’re very excited about that. Coach Hand talks about, Listen, if you get hats on hats and you get these guys room, they’re going to make plays.”
On his third season at Penn State…
“At this point in my career I’m trying to step into a leadership role just for this program. I feel like, especially on the offensive line, we’re a young unit, so between me and Angelo [Mangiro] and Brian [Gaia], I’ve kinda taken it upon myself to step into a leadership role on the offensive line and on our team. I feel good what I know about our offense and how this program works. Coach Hand talks about if you’re a veteran, be a veteran. Once you step on that field, you’re a veteran. That’s kind of the mindset I’m taking as well.”
Practicing at left tackle vs. right tackle…
“Coach Hand really prides himself as a coach and us as being versatile players. No matter what, he’s got to be ready and we’ve got be ready to get the best five guys on the field - no matter who that is. During practice a lot of guys are going to play a lot of different positions. Obviously he wants to get you comfortable at a certain position, so mostly I was at right tackle, but all during at camp I was getting reps at left tackle as well. Guys were getting reps at different guard spots or at center because that’s part of our unit. We’re able to play multiple positions, be versatile, so no matter what happens we’re able to get the five best guys on the field.”
The difference between left tackle vs. right tackle…
“A lot of people think it’s a big transition moving from right tackle to left tackle, but honestly for me it’s pretty much the same. Obviously you get more comfortable at one spot vs. the other the more you play there. You might get more comfortable with your footwork on a certain side after you’ve played there for a little while, more comfortable from your stance, but from an assignments standpoint, a blocking standpoint, it’s basically the fact same.”
On his size now compared to last season…
“This year I’m a little bit a lighter - maybe five or 10 pounds lighter than what I was last season. But I think that’s actually really helped a lot. I dropped some body fat, but I put on on a lot of really good muscle this summer. I think I had the best summer I’ve ever had since I’ve been here from a strength and conditioning standpoint. Going into this season I feel stronger, faster, more explosive than ever, even though I'm maybe five pounds lighter than I was last year. I’m about 305 right now."
On starters helping out LT Paris Palmer…
“I think a lot of it has fallen on the left guard, or Angelo Mangiro, being the center, just helping Paris with assignments throughout camp. Between him and I, I’m really honored by the way Paris has approached me and just asked for help in his technique and fundamentals. That’s something we’ve been working on a lot between Paris and I – or set angles, our feet, our footwork. Everyday he wants to do a little extra after practice and work on things. That’s kind of the role I’ve stepped into with Paris, really trying to help him maximize his ability as far as technique and fundamentals.”
On Angelo Mangiro’s leadership…
“I think Angelo has done an amazing job, not only being a leader of the offensive line, but being a leader of the offense and the entire team. He is a really special guy. You’ll hear Coach Hand say that Ang never has a bad day. The guy always come out to work every single day and he always has a great attitude no matter what it is. Our first core value is positive attitude and Angelo Mangiro is the epitome of that. He comes out every single day with a smile on his face, ready to work and ready to motivate all of us to be able to perform to our best. He’s really done an amazing job and I love the guy a lot.”
On last season’s struggles on the O-Line…
“Last year, I think, a lot of our struggles just stemmed from execution because of poor communication. When we got hats on hats last year we were really able to get a lot of good things going on our offense.”
On playing a Temple defense that has similar personnel as last year…
“It’s good because you can study a lot of film from last year. You can watch yourself against a lot of their players. Temple is a good team now and they’re returning almost every single one of their players, but that can be beneficial in that you’ve played against these guys before. You understand how they play. You can watch yourself against them. You can watch your offense and how you execute against them.”
...
“They bring all of their guys back. Every single one of them on the line has started numerous games. Their D-tackles are very good players and obviously Temple is a great team and a great defense. So we’re taking Temple’s defensive line as seriously as any defensive line we play."
Expanding on poor communication…
“In the run game you have to understand what front the defense is giving you. You have to understand which hats you’re working to as far as double teams, if they’re bringing blitz, what calls you have make if they’re bringing blitz and recognizing those things. At times when it’s your first year when things are going really fast you might not have time to completely understand what you see and get the proper call made. You may not completely understand what the proper call is when things are moving so fast. When you get experience under your belt, you get used to game speed, things just become easier.”
More on Paris Palmer…
“He is very eager and willing to learn and he wants to be the best he can be for this team. He’s a guy who understands that when he got here he had a long way to go - in the weight room, on the field, understanding the offense, things like that. But he accepted that challenge and he took on that challenge with a great mindset. He was ready to learn, he put in the work, he was ready to put in overtime to learn things so he can perform at the best of his ability to this team and be successful.”
On the offensive line reading negative publicity…
“Absolutely. One of the important things, I think, we’re just using this stuff as motivation tools. Do we completely agree with a lot of things that the media has to say? Do we think the media has everything figured out as far as what they wrote about us last year? Absolutely not. But that fuels our fire and we understand that we could’ve played better last year and we understand that we’re going to play better this year. That’s just the bottom line. I can’t tell you how many times in practice when we used that as motivation, when guys were tired, a little winded. Listen guys, right now is going to pay off for this team. We know what it’s like to be the lowest of the low, so that’s why we’re going to be successful.”
On removing the names from the jerseys…
“I understand the tradition behind Penn State. Did I have any problem with the names on the jerseys? No. But I’m fully on board - 100 precent - with it, pulling the rope the same direction as everybody else. The names off the back of the jerseys are a great thing for the university. We’re excited about bringing back the tradition and how things have been and representing Penn State the way it’s been represented for many, many years. No matter what at the end of day - if we have names on the back of our jerseys, what color are jerseys are, what color are cleats are - we’re excited about getting out there and restoring the tradition of Penn State of winning.”
On the running backs…
“All of them are just doing amazingly well and did well during camp and we’re super excited about them. Our depth at running back - having guys who are all very good players - is unbelievable. You go down to our fourth-string running back and all of those are guys who could be amazing players. So we’re very excited about that. Coach Hand talks about, Listen, if you get hats on hats and you get these guys room, they’re going to make plays.”
