What They're Saying: Northwestern week
Northwestern offense has defense's attention, but PSU also has a plan
"I think it would be early sacks. If they are getting the ball off and getting good chunks of yardage on passes, then they will get more confident and throw it a little bit more. So I think if we get some early sacks, some early stops, some early three-and-outs, they are going to have to change their scheme a little bit. So I think if we get some early plays that change the game, it should help a lot. ...
"(Justin Jackson) obviously is a really good running back. He has good size and speed for that offense, and the offensive line moves really well. I know they did a lot of stretch plays and zone plays to get the whole defense moving. As a whole, I would say they are a really good offense and they gave Wisconsin a run for their money, which also shows how good they are." -- sophomore DL Ryan Buchholz
Time's not changing for Penn State as it preps for 11 a.m. kickoff
"Our schedule is made on Eastern time, so like when we went to Iowa, where it was a 7:30 ET kickoff, but it was 6:30 CT, (is an example.) Everything we did was all set to the kick being at (Eastern time.) Then the times are just moved back so everything is done almost. We leave at the same time. If it's a noon game and say we usually wake up at 7 o’clock, then we’ll probably say 6, so it’s the same amount of time (to prepare for the game), if that makes sense, so everything stays on the Eastern schedule." -- junior QB Trace McSorley
Flying to the football: Effort plays help defense establish itself
"We get graded as a collective unit of all of us running to the football and I think that’s what we’ve improve don the most. A lot of guys don’t want to miss a tackle but it happens. You miss a tackle sometimes. When you’re flying to the football (teammates are) going to be around to help. I think that’s where we’ve improved the most. ...
"We want to be aggressive and fly to the the ball and I think that's what we want to establish That's the game of football. If you don’t make the tackle, two or three guys or four or five guys are already on the ball. We always watch effort plays of the games and you see Rob Windsor make a tackle. He’s in the backfield and retraces his steps and makes a tackle on the perimeter. Those are the kinds of guys who are on our D, guys who are running to the football and trying to make plays." -- junior LB Koa Farmer
'Maturity' and 'buy-in' match overall athleticism, boosting improved ST play
"The first thing to be a successful special teams player is buy-in, maturity and understanding that special teams can influence a game just as much as offense and defense. Once you realize that, your approach to special teams will be a lot more serious and your attention to detail will be more fine. We do have some pride things (to incentivize.) Josh McPhearson is one guy who I try to race down the field and get to the end zone first (on kickoff coverage). That actually started with me and Koa , I want to say, during my redshirt freshman year. We would race to the end zone to see who could get there first. What that does, whether or not the kick is returned, is it kind of forces you to go full speed the whole time, especially if you’re trying to twin. That's something that Coach Huff takes a lot of pride in, is everyone running through the end zone and expecting every kick to be returned. ...
"It all starts at the top with Coach Franklin and Coach Huff. As soon as they got here they’ve been preaching the importance of special teams, so guys have been hearing the same message for four years, of how important it is. I think so far at the start of the season and even a little bit last year (PSU is) starting to reap the benefits of how much time we put into special teams with our technique and things like that which is why we’ve been able to be successful at that part of the game. We are Penn State. We have great athletes. That definitely helps with our efficiency on special teams, so it’s a little bit of everything, but I’d say first and foremost it's really just the buy-in and the message and the guys holding each other to that message." –– junior special teams captain Nick Scott
With a team-high in tackles, Jason Cabinda leads in a variety of other ways
"I can’t tell you enough about him. He’s taught me a lot, especially going through last year. As he saw that I’m going to have a bigger role this year, he really mentored me a little bit more and showed that, first of all, taking care of your body is a big thing with him. He just showed me the love to compete, and loving to compete and finding that love in everything you do when it comes to football: Lifting, how your diet is and everything like that. He means a lot to the defense. And the fact of how he leads off the field, especially during workouts, you think he’s a great leader during the season? In workouts and things like that, he pushes everybody. He makes you feel bad when you don’t do good and he makes you feel good when you do good. He’s a great leader." - - sophomore LB Cam Brown
"Cabinda is another guy who is like Grant Haley. He’s just been here for awhile, he’s played a lot of football, he’s had a lot of experiences and he’s a great leader. He’s very competitive – very competitive. He’s a leader by action. He’s a leader vocally. So Jason is really a complete leader. He’s very vocal out there. He gets everyone on the same page. He’s guy who even any position can ask him what they need to do and he’ll know. That's a credit to him." -- Farmer
Irvin Charles earning teammates' respect through special teams play
"It's just his overall athleticism. There are not many places where you can go and take a 6-4 and 220-plus-pound wide receiver and put him at gunner. When you do that you have guys out there guarding him who have either a speed problem or a strength problem, because he has both. He is really elite when it comes to special teams. He’s obviously bought in and he’s making some huge plays for us. I was saying Saturday during an interview after the game that I wasn’t the one who should’ve bene getting interviewed. He had a phenomenal game and has been having phenomenal games and luckily Saturday, I was on the receiving end of, really, his hard work and his tenacity of getting after the football. He’s been huge and we’re looking forward to him making more splash plays in the future." -- Scott
A linebacker doesn't have to be 230 pounds to 'bring the thump'
"I was 202 when I first got here, officially, and now I’m fluctuating between 218 and 220 still. Other than that, my weight goal is about 230 before I leave here. That’s my real goal. I feel like I should still be able to move at that size and I should be able to be physical. But with Jason, he’s definitely shown me that you don’t really need the weight to bring the thump. With him losing that, it shows that weight isn’t really a crazy factor in the game." -- Brown
McSorley drawing on experiences of backing up Christian Hackenberg
"The thing that's helped me out with having him was what he had to deal with the media and deal with you guys that I was able to see from him. It was his demeanor and how how he did it. That dude got arguably some of the worst kind of media coverage than really anybody has gotten in the last few years here. He dealt with it, kept a level head and never let it get to him too much he was focused on the important things and the important people. The opinions of the people who really mattered were the ones who were in the football facility and his own, so he focused on that and took everything with a grain of salt." -- McSorley
Northwestern offense has defense's attention, but PSU also has a plan
"I think it would be early sacks. If they are getting the ball off and getting good chunks of yardage on passes, then they will get more confident and throw it a little bit more. So I think if we get some early sacks, some early stops, some early three-and-outs, they are going to have to change their scheme a little bit. So I think if we get some early plays that change the game, it should help a lot. ...
"(Justin Jackson) obviously is a really good running back. He has good size and speed for that offense, and the offensive line moves really well. I know they did a lot of stretch plays and zone plays to get the whole defense moving. As a whole, I would say they are a really good offense and they gave Wisconsin a run for their money, which also shows how good they are." -- sophomore DL Ryan Buchholz
Time's not changing for Penn State as it preps for 11 a.m. kickoff
"Our schedule is made on Eastern time, so like when we went to Iowa, where it was a 7:30 ET kickoff, but it was 6:30 CT, (is an example.) Everything we did was all set to the kick being at (Eastern time.) Then the times are just moved back so everything is done almost. We leave at the same time. If it's a noon game and say we usually wake up at 7 o’clock, then we’ll probably say 6, so it’s the same amount of time (to prepare for the game), if that makes sense, so everything stays on the Eastern schedule." -- junior QB Trace McSorley
Flying to the football: Effort plays help defense establish itself
"We get graded as a collective unit of all of us running to the football and I think that’s what we’ve improve don the most. A lot of guys don’t want to miss a tackle but it happens. You miss a tackle sometimes. When you’re flying to the football (teammates are) going to be around to help. I think that’s where we’ve improved the most. ...
"We want to be aggressive and fly to the the ball and I think that's what we want to establish That's the game of football. If you don’t make the tackle, two or three guys or four or five guys are already on the ball. We always watch effort plays of the games and you see Rob Windsor make a tackle. He’s in the backfield and retraces his steps and makes a tackle on the perimeter. Those are the kinds of guys who are on our D, guys who are running to the football and trying to make plays." -- junior LB Koa Farmer
'Maturity' and 'buy-in' match overall athleticism, boosting improved ST play
"The first thing to be a successful special teams player is buy-in, maturity and understanding that special teams can influence a game just as much as offense and defense. Once you realize that, your approach to special teams will be a lot more serious and your attention to detail will be more fine. We do have some pride things (to incentivize.) Josh McPhearson is one guy who I try to race down the field and get to the end zone first (on kickoff coverage). That actually started with me and Koa , I want to say, during my redshirt freshman year. We would race to the end zone to see who could get there first. What that does, whether or not the kick is returned, is it kind of forces you to go full speed the whole time, especially if you’re trying to twin. That's something that Coach Huff takes a lot of pride in, is everyone running through the end zone and expecting every kick to be returned. ...
"It all starts at the top with Coach Franklin and Coach Huff. As soon as they got here they’ve been preaching the importance of special teams, so guys have been hearing the same message for four years, of how important it is. I think so far at the start of the season and even a little bit last year (PSU is) starting to reap the benefits of how much time we put into special teams with our technique and things like that which is why we’ve been able to be successful at that part of the game. We are Penn State. We have great athletes. That definitely helps with our efficiency on special teams, so it’s a little bit of everything, but I’d say first and foremost it's really just the buy-in and the message and the guys holding each other to that message." –– junior special teams captain Nick Scott
With a team-high in tackles, Jason Cabinda leads in a variety of other ways
"I can’t tell you enough about him. He’s taught me a lot, especially going through last year. As he saw that I’m going to have a bigger role this year, he really mentored me a little bit more and showed that, first of all, taking care of your body is a big thing with him. He just showed me the love to compete, and loving to compete and finding that love in everything you do when it comes to football: Lifting, how your diet is and everything like that. He means a lot to the defense. And the fact of how he leads off the field, especially during workouts, you think he’s a great leader during the season? In workouts and things like that, he pushes everybody. He makes you feel bad when you don’t do good and he makes you feel good when you do good. He’s a great leader." - - sophomore LB Cam Brown
"Cabinda is another guy who is like Grant Haley. He’s just been here for awhile, he’s played a lot of football, he’s had a lot of experiences and he’s a great leader. He’s very competitive – very competitive. He’s a leader by action. He’s a leader vocally. So Jason is really a complete leader. He’s very vocal out there. He gets everyone on the same page. He’s guy who even any position can ask him what they need to do and he’ll know. That's a credit to him." -- Farmer
Irvin Charles earning teammates' respect through special teams play
"It's just his overall athleticism. There are not many places where you can go and take a 6-4 and 220-plus-pound wide receiver and put him at gunner. When you do that you have guys out there guarding him who have either a speed problem or a strength problem, because he has both. He is really elite when it comes to special teams. He’s obviously bought in and he’s making some huge plays for us. I was saying Saturday during an interview after the game that I wasn’t the one who should’ve bene getting interviewed. He had a phenomenal game and has been having phenomenal games and luckily Saturday, I was on the receiving end of, really, his hard work and his tenacity of getting after the football. He’s been huge and we’re looking forward to him making more splash plays in the future." -- Scott
A linebacker doesn't have to be 230 pounds to 'bring the thump'
"I was 202 when I first got here, officially, and now I’m fluctuating between 218 and 220 still. Other than that, my weight goal is about 230 before I leave here. That’s my real goal. I feel like I should still be able to move at that size and I should be able to be physical. But with Jason, he’s definitely shown me that you don’t really need the weight to bring the thump. With him losing that, it shows that weight isn’t really a crazy factor in the game." -- Brown
McSorley drawing on experiences of backing up Christian Hackenberg
"The thing that's helped me out with having him was what he had to deal with the media and deal with you guys that I was able to see from him. It was his demeanor and how how he did it. That dude got arguably some of the worst kind of media coverage than really anybody has gotten in the last few years here. He dealt with it, kept a level head and never let it get to him too much he was focused on the important things and the important people. The opinions of the people who really mattered were the ones who were in the football facility and his own, so he focused on that and took everything with a grain of salt." -- McSorley
