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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCE
September 2, 2014
COACH FRANKLIN: I'd like to start with a little bit of review of Central Florida after watching the game tape and studying some of the statistics.
No.1, we lost the turnover battle and we lost the penalty battle, which they are two things that are going to be a major point of emphasis for us this week; 75percent of college football teams will beat themselves with those two statistics. We want to get those things cleaned up.
What we were able to do, which was also a big factor, which is explosive plays. We were able to play a lot of explosive plays for our offense. Our defense, we didn't meet our goal. I think if we had done that, then I would have thought we would have played lights out on defense. We need to get those things cleaned up.
Overall, we did what we had to do to win the game. We had that ingredient. The guys knew how to get it done. We basically controlled the game for the most part and then lost the lead late in the game. A lot of teams can't rebound from that and our guys were able to do that. Very opportunistic this all phases of the game. Very pleased with our preparation and our organization leading up to the game and our whole trip. Would I like to thank Jamal Griffin (ph) and Mike Heisel (ph) and Kevin Felco (ph) for all the work that they put in behind the scenes with our travel arrangements and things like that. I think in the end, we have got to protect the ball on offense and we have got to take the ball away more on defense. Got to do a better job there.
Offensively, we have to score when we get in the red zone, although I thought Ficken did a great job for us, and our scoring in the red zone was 100 percent. We were five‑for‑five but only one‑of‑four when it comes to touchdowns, which is what we want to be able to do. Defensively, eliminate big plays and cause more takeaways like we talked about. Special teams, we have to eliminate the penalties.
Our coaching staff, players of the week, I know the Big Ten had Players of the Week but our coaching staff players of the week was Christian Hackenberg, defensively was Anthony Zettel, and on wefense it was Sam Ficken. Big Ten Players of the Week as you already know is Sam Ficken and co‑Freshman of the Week was DaeSean Hamilton. Really pleased with that.
Kind of getting into Akron, Coach Terry Bowden, I have known for a long time. When I was at Kansas State he came and spoke at our clinic. His third year there, his 21st year overall. You look at all the success that he's had, his time at Auburn and all the different places that he's been, obviously a very, very tenured coach, and I would say that about their staff. They have got a really veteran staff. They returned 15 of 22 starters on their team offensively. That's nine defensively; that's six. They are 1‑0 after beating Howard.
Obviously if you look and you are doing a comparative when it comes to the statistics that I think are most important, they are ahead of us in every category: Turnover margin, penalties, total offense, total defense, scoring offense and scoring defense. Some of those things, early in the season are a little bit skewed based on who you play and things like that but there's still things that we look at.
Also really excited about being able to honor the 1994 undefeated National Championship team and the five first‑team All‑Americans that will be here, really, really excited about those guys coming back, so I think that's going to be great.
Chuck Amato, their defensive coordinator, he was the defensive coach at NC State and expecting big things from them. Six returning starters which we talked about. The guy that jumps out to us is their defensive end, No. 11, Nordly Capi, their speed guy off the edge.
On offense, their offensive coordinator, A.J. Milwee. They have got nine returning starters, and the guys that jump out to us are their running back, Jawon Chisholm, who is a Harrisburg High School kid; Zach Guiser is a wide receiver; and then their quarterback, Kyle Pohl, who threw for over 62 percent, four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
On special teams, Jeff Bowden, obviously a very, very experienced coach is their special teams coordinator and No. 3, their kickoff return guy is a weapon for them.
So that kind of gives you a few points, things that we're looking for, things that we've studied already and we're looking forward to getting out and practicing today.
Q. What did you and your staff do to help the players transition back to home after the trip?
COACH FRANKLIN: Well, to be honest with you, I didn't think that the trip coming back was an issue. It was very well organized. We were able to go right from the stadium to the airport. Had really good food for them waiting, as soon as we left the stadium, which is important from a nutrition, hydration standpoint. The thought was really well. I thought United did a good job and treated us first class.
Obviously Sunday they were able to sleep in while the coaches were back in the office early and then having Monday off was really helpful, as well, not only off from football but off from school. A holiday that we celebrate I think called Labor Day. Myself and my staff have never had one of those. We labor on Labor Day, but it was good for our players that they had the time off and were able to rest up. That worked out extremely well. Have not had to do a lot from that point on.
Q. Could you speak to the challenges you and your staff had in the first quarter without the sideline communication on the head sets, and also, I was wondering what your thoughts were on a couple of your first‑year guys that played, Grant Haley and Chris Godwin.
COACH FRANKLIN: Yeah, it was a real challenge. I'm going to talk about this, but I'm not going to talk about specific to this game. The way the rules are set, if your head sets are out, the other head sets are supposed to come off.
So for us in that game specifically, it created some challenges. John Donovan sprinted down to the sideline and called the game from the sideline. Defensively, Brent Pry was able to step in there for a short period of time. Luckily our offense was able to move the ball and eat up some of the clock.
It created some real challenges for us, the way we break up with that and communicate with coaches in the booth and coaches on the sideline so that they are able to view and know what was going on. That was a problem, but the power was out. The power was completely out.
The young guys I thought did some nice things. I think you guys see why we're excited about Grant Haley. We think we might have found the guy at that position. Not only did he have a couple big returns, but also broke one for a touchdown. So we are going to continue to build on that.
You look at some of the young receivers, not only the true freshmen but the redshirt freshmen, DaeSean played extremely well. I thought Godwin was able to come in and do some good things, as well as Saeed. Geno's circus catch was unreal on the tipped pass.
And then you look defensively, Marcus Allen, able to get some time and play on special teams, there was a number of guys that I thought did some nice things for us and had a role and I think that those roles will continue to grow as the season goes on.
You'd love to get to the point whereby the midpoint of the season those guys have played and they are not freshmen anymore. They are not rookies; they are veterans and are playing that way.
Q. What sort of progress do you think your offensive line has made since camp broke and actually had some time to play together as a unit?
COACH FRANKLIN: I think they made real progress. I really do.
Obviously we need to do a better job of being able to impose our will in the running game and be able to dictate the game from that standpoint. We weren't able to do that consistently on Saturday, and for our development as a team and as an offense specifically, we are going to have to do that. That's going to help the receivers out and that's going to help everybody and we feel like we have got good running backs.
So our tight end and our O‑line collectively together, being able to finish blocks, being able to sustain blocks, and then our communication, making sure we are on the same page and who we are working to and things like that is important.
There's some flashes of good things on the tape but we have got to be able to finish better. We have to be able to finish better. I think one of the things we talk about all the time is winning minimizes the issue.
Losing magnifies the issues, but either way, the issues are still there, and we have to resolve them. I was pleased with them overall. I think the amount of times that we threw the ball, we were able to protect Hack pretty well. Hack was able to use his mobility and help us out there a little bit, as well. I thought we had a good plan moving in the pocket and things like that, but I thought they played pretty well.
Q. You mentioned Chuck Amato earlier. Wanted to get your impressions, how long have you known him and what kind of defensive coordinator is he?
COACH FRANKLIN: I've known him for a long time. Obviously my time in the ACC, he was in the ACC for a long time. His brother was an ACC official who I've known for a long time. So there's some similar friends and people that we've worked with.
Obviously you look at his career, all the success that he had at Florida State and NC State, not only recruiting but also in coaching. They have a veteran staff and you look at the bios on their staff and they have a really experienced staff, and I think that's been helpful for them. I think that's why you see them improving so quickly and drastically from the time they showed up to where they are at right now.
Q. I wonder if you can just comment on your defensive end. I know Anthony Zettel had a great day, awesome job from him, but how do you think Deion Barnes and C.J. Olaniyan did?
COACH FRANKLIN: Both guys both played well. You look at the pressures and the sacks and how many hits we were able to get on the quarterback from our d‑line, and our linebacker and the way we were able to stop the run, I think that's probably the thing because probably most impressed with those guys is how physical they were in the running game.
Obviously you would always love to get more sacks and create more pressures. I thought they both did extremely well and we want to build on that and go from there.
But I was pleased with both those guys. I thought Mass was another guy that did some nice things for us in the running game and in the passing game.
Q. The fact that your offense produced over 500 yards but only two touchdowns, could you explain the mix of gratification and frustration you felt given those outputs?
COACH FRANKLIN: I think it goes back to what I said earlier is we have to do a better job of scoring in the red zone. We lost one possession down there where there was an interference call that we weren't able to get any points with.
But I think it just strictly comes down to being able to be more effective in the red zone. Whenever you're able to run the ball in the red zone, it's going to make you a lot more effective because your playbook decreases. You obviously don't have as much field to work with so your shots and things like that go away.
But again the most important thing is that we found a way to win. We were able to get points. We were five for five in scoring in the red zone but there's no doubt about it, we have got to do a better job of scoring touchdowns to maximize our opportunities.
Q. On the participation report you had seven offensive linemen who played and it looked to me like five starters really played a lot. Are you close to being able to play more? Would you like to be able to play more, and are you close to being able to play more in terms of developing that second group?
COACH FRANKLIN: Offensive line isn't really a position you typically do that with. You look all across the country, college, high school, NFL, you don't rotate offensive linemen in like you do at other positions, D‑Line and things like that. You're trying to get that group to work together.
We talked about this earlier in the year; that we are probably going to have seven or eight guys that we're going to play with, and create flexibility and depth by having them back up multiple positions.
But it's not like we're ever going to play, rotate in a two‑deep after eight plays on the O‑line. People just don't do that, having five guys working together and having that comfort level and having that understanding of what they are going to do and how they are going to do it and getting all five pieces working together as one is too important.
Q. When did you first start to notice DaeSean Hamilton asserting himself in practices?
COACH FRANKLIN: Hard for me to speak of because I wasn't here last year. He didn't do really a whole lot this spring either. I know talking to our guys in the summer, I felt like he had had a really productive summer.
If you look at him he's a big, physical, impressive‑looking athlete. He's very, very smart. Runs the offense extremely well and obviously with going out and playing the way he did on Saturday, I think had a chance to build on his confidence and his execution.
So I was pleased with him. It's all nice when you have a guy on either side that Geno did some really nice things, as well, and it can be challenging if you have got one guy that everybody is focused on when you can have somebody on either side that people have to deal with, it's going to make both of them that much more effective.
And I think it's going to give Hack more options and it's also going to help in his development, because we all know last year, I think, what, 70 percent or higher of the offense, especially in the passing game was Robinson. So having multiple threats with our wide receivers and our tight ends, I think is critical.
Q. I don't think I've ever heard ‑‑ you called special teamswefense; is that right?
COACH FRANKLIN: Yeah, we always call special teams wefense because it's the one time where everybody is coming together. You have got offense and you have got defense, and then you're able to bring all 118 guys together on wefense, and that's what we have always called it.ÂÂ
Q. You weren't involved in the scheduling‑‑ but if you're there for a long time and you have a chance to schedule a game, whether it be in Hawai'i or Europe‑‑ would you consider doing it again or is it just too much logistically?
COACH FRANKLIN: Yeah, trying to schedule one every year from here on out. Work our way through you're open, Italy, France; my wife is Nigerian, so we would like to take a trip to Nigeria and schedule a game over there.
No, obviously I'm kidding around. I think the university has a global studies department and there's actually some policies in place where like once every four years you can do a trip like that anyway. So there's some rules that go into it. But I think it was a great experience and I'm glad we did it. At this point I'm not searching out other opportunities at this stage.
Q. Now two questions about cornerback. First, how impressed were you with Jordan Dudas's play on Saturday and how would you analyze what you saw from Trevor and Daquan?
COACH FRANKLIN: I thought Jordan played extremely well and we need to continue to build on that. I thought Trevor did some really nice things, as well.
I think overall if you look at how Daquan played, he played really well, as well. I think obviously there's two or three plays that we have got to get cleaned up in terms of playing the ball in the air. The play on Trevor that put them in position to go up and take the lead in the game, you know, it's hard to critique a guy for that. It was a perfect throw and it was an unbelievable catch in one‑on‑one with tight coverage. Those two guys made an unbelievable play. Those things are going to happen. They are on scholarship, too.
But I think in general, I think you could make the same comments about a lot of positions, but when you're out there on an island by yourself, when you get beat or make a mistake, it's a lot more out in the open and people are much more aware of it.
So I think those guys played probably similar to most guys on our team but there's no doubt about it, we have got to be able to find ways to win those plays, those 50/50 balls on offense and those 50/50 balls on defense. We have to find a way to either come down with them or at least break them up on a more consistent basis.
Q. Penn State received quite a few number of votes this week, coming 30th or so, for a program that has not been ranked since 2011, what, if anything, would it mean to you and this program to get pack into consideration for the Top‑25?
COACH FRANKLIN: Again, those things are outside of our control and to be honest would you, outside of our concern. We are focused on Akron and Coach Bowden and their players and excited about opening the season at home. That's what our focus is on.
Rankings and those other things like that, that's great for the media and that's great for the fans but that's outside of our control, so we don't spend any time talking about it or discussing it or studying it. All our attention and all our energy is spent on how do we create our best Penn State team that we possibly can both on and off the field; and then also preparing for Akron and understanding what their tendencies are and strengths and weaknesses.
Q. When you talked about the inability to impose your will with the running game, was that more a function of what more of what UCF or scenarios you have to tighten up or a combination?
COACH FRANKLIN: I think like most things in life, it's a combination. UCF is a good football team. They are well‑coached when it comes to techniques and fundamentals and schemes.
And I think for us, it's finishing. It's finishing blocks. It's making sure our communication, that we are all on the same page. But more than anything, it's sustaining it; it's finishing. When you think you've blocked long enough, block longer to the echo of the whistle, those types of things.
So we are going to work hard on them this week and we are going to continue to invest in the running game, and hopefully that will pay dividends on Saturday. Because our focus and has been since we have been together as a staff, is just making sure that we improve each week. That's our goal; to make sure that we are improving collectively and we are improving individually and if you do that, then you'll like the results.
But there's no doubt about it that we have got to get our running game going to be the type of offense and be the type of team that we want to be.
Q. You brought up the 50/50 ball, something that DaeSean Hamilton and Geno both mentionedafter the game. Can you evaluate those two guys how they have approached that, and maybe areas that they can improve that particular area of the game?
COACH FRANKLIN: Well, I think in the game, they both did extremely well there. Going up and attacking the ball, with that mentality, usually one of two things will happen: You'll either make the catch or you'll get the interference call. That's got to be a wide receiver or a tight end's mentality; that every time the ball is in the air, they are either going to come down with it or it's going to be a pass interference call or both‑‑ they are going to come down with it with a pass interference call. I think in the game they have done a great job of that.
We have to learn how to practice more consistently. That's one of the things that's going to be a discussion today in our team meeting is the practices are designed to get them ready for the game in everything we do. Typically the practices are about the length of the game.
We want them to physically understand how they are going to be able to sustain for that amount of time physically but also mentally; can you focus for three hours; can you focus for two and a half hours or however long we are out there. That's where we have to do a better job. The more consistent we are in practice, the more consistent we'll be in games, as well. I thought they did a really nice job of that in the games.
Q. How do you guys come out of the game health‑wise and was there anything with the seven‑hour flight that you had to change or do before you left?
COACH FRANKLIN: We came out of the game really healthy. As you guys know, that's going to be my answer anyway. But yeah, I think Tim Bream and his staff do an unbelievable job taking care of our guys.
Is there bumps and is there bruises and is there soreness and things like that? Yeah, there is. But we feel really good about where we're at. I think our guys are doing a much better job of that.
That's something we have talked to our guys over and over about is my time, my brief time in the NFL, how those guys take care of their body in off‑days with ice tubs and hot tubs and massages and everything else and sleep and nutrition, hydration. I think that's been helpful. Our guys are buying into that, so I think that's been really good. As you guys know, I'm not going to talk a whole lot about specifics when it comes to those things.
Q. Looking to balance that out more, will that come with more success from the run?
COACH FRANKLIN: Well, we want to be balanced, and when I say balanced, that doesn't mean that we are going to run for 300 yards and pass for 300 yards. That means we have the ability to do either one.
To me, what I would love is if the thing that's going to give you the best chance to win is running the ball 70 times, we want to be able to do that. If the next week the thing that's going to give us the best chance to win is throwing the ball 70 times, we want to have the ability to do that.
So balance doesn't mean at the end of the game we are going to be 50/50 in our stats. It means that in any given down and distance situation or area on the field, the defense has to defend both knowing that we have the ability to do it, whether that's long yardage situations or short yardage situations or whether that's with bad weather conditions or good weather conditions; that we have to have the ability to do that.
So I think more than anything in that first game, we did what we were going to be able to do to be successful, which we were having more success throwing the ball so, we are going to continue to do that.
You know, there's going to be other games where hopefully we're going to invest all our time and efforts in running the ball, and that's kind of what we're looking for when it comes to balance if that makes sense.
Q.  James only had one catch in the second half, and I don't believe he had any in the fourth quarter. Was that due to, you kind of talked about this a little bit earlier, but is that due to he's banged up a little bit or is that just part of the scheme? Can you talk about what Kyle Carter did when he came in?
COACH FRANKLIN: Yeah, I thought Jesse played extremely well, made some big plays for us, made some big blocks for us, was a tremendous presence in there on the field.
I think opportunities and things like that really just come down to what the defense is giving you. We had opportunities; they were playing soft coverage on the outside so we took advantage of that and then when they pressed us, we took some shots up the field.
When Jesse was in option, he got the ball, as well, and it really just comes down to that. There's going to be some games where Geno has 15 catches and Hamilton has two. There's going to be other games where Hamilton has 15 catches and Geno has two; or the tight ends are going to have 15 catches and the receivers will have two. Just depends on what the defense is giving.
They can't take away everything, and that's why we want to make sure that all those guys understand that when we call a play, they need to run the route with the mentality that the ball is coming to them and they are going to win. They may not get it and that's going to be based on what the defense has given us.
Q. You talked during preseason camp about kind of scheming and coaching to help your offensive line and put Christian in a position to succeed; does that come into play on defense, too, using a five‑man front to free up your linebackers or is that more determined based on the scenario in the game?
COACH FRANKLIN: I think everything we do, you know, people think about on offense, defense and special teams, it's just about watching the film and what can we do to attack their weaknesses. I would say that's 50 percent of what coaches typically do, and maybe even less than that.
Fifty percent of the time, you're also trying to hide some of your own issues, or maybe your personnel doesn't allow you to do certain things. On defense, we feel pretty good about the depth that we have on the D‑Line and the depth that we have in the secondary, so our game plans are going to be based around that.
I think our linebackers are starting to turn into a pleasant surprise for us right now. But going into the season, our defensive philosophy is going to be based on D‑Line and secondary. Same thing on offense, being able to hide some of our issues but being able to take advantage of our strengths, as well.
I think all three phases has a lot to do with not only who you're playing but also what you have and what your strengths and weaknesses are.
Q. I had a question about Anthony Zettel and Johnson‑‑ said to be probably the most energetic, crazy guys on the team. Do you see that, as well, and is that good to have that, especially out of like your defensive tackles who are right there all the time?
COACH FRANKLIN: Yeah, I think energy is important in general. I want that with our coaches. I want that with our players and not everybody has that. I do think having really active defensive linemen with really good motors is important. Those two guys we think have a chance to be special, we really do.
I think we need to rotate more guys in, especially when it comes to Zettel. I think he played a little bit too many reps in the game and we want to make sure that we are keeping him fresh for four quarters but also keep him fresh throughout the year.
But I've been very pleased with them. You guys have heard me talk about our D‑Line. I'm expecting Parker's role to continue to grow. I'm expecting Tarow's role to continue to grow, all those guys, and I think you'll see more of that this week.
Q. With the offensive line‑‑ Mike has the same five for every snap on offense. What would that until number be for you, because you want to keep the same five in there, but is that too much and an ideal situation if all things are equal?
COACH FRANKLIN: Again, most places I've been, offensive line pretty much plays the whole game. You might have a guy substituted here or there. We do some things where we have six offensive linemen in the game or seven offensive linemen in the game to try to get those guys some experience.
Obviously over time as we continue to develop more depth, and that's mentally understanding their responsibilities, as well as physically, you would like to probably get a guy, maybe a series or a few reps here or there.
But the way we have typically got those guys reps is with the sixth and seventh offensive linemen so now if they do have to go in the game, it's not the first time being in there.
Q. You mentioned how the players got back to college and got rest; did you and your coaching staff hit a wall at all and if so how did you get over that?
COACH FRANKLIN: No. No. There is no walls. There's no‑‑ there's in term that people use when you go from one coast to the other, you know that term? Yeah, we don't use that word or that term. We don't say that‑‑ what did you say? We don't use those words.
I'm kidding around obviously but I truly believe in how you talk and how you think and how you approach things is how things go. I truly believe that. I think coaches are used to it. I never really got on track over there. I didn't really sleep real well over there. I'm not an alarm clock guy. My body kind of has its own internal clock and I get up most times every single day without the alarm clock going off, so I never really got on schedule.
So coming back, I was on that schedule, if that makes sense. On Sunday I woke up pretty much about the same time and spent some time with my wife and kids and then went in the office. I think the coaching staff has handled it very well.
Again, I do think the way the trip was organized and the plane and things like that was helpful, because we were able to sleep on the plane and things like that.
Q. Saturday will be your first time to take the team out of the tunnel, any thoughts on what you'll be thinking when that moment arrives?
COACH FRANKLIN: You know, I probably will, like I mentioned to you guys before. I think the first time you walk through the tunnel and you look out there and you feel the energy, probably arriving at the stadium and walking through the crowd with our new entrance that we are coming into the stadium and things like that.
I think those things, obviously, will have an effect. But after that, you don't really kind of think about it. You move on. So it's probably going to be a couple minutes walking into the stadium and probably going to be 15 seconds when you first run out. But after that, it's back on to the game.
Q. You mentioned the NFL, what characteristics are most important?
COACH FRANKLIN: Well, that's hard to say. I think the things that are always evaluated is wins and losses, third down percentage and red zone. They are the areas where quarterbacks are usually judged. Those three areas I think are probably the most important.
But as we all know, playing the quarterback position is so much more than just those statistics. It's about the leadership. It's about how you handle yourself, how you present yourself. You're the quarterback from the time you wake up in the morning to the time you go to bed. That's never going away. It's all those things. It's about making the guys around you better.
It's how coachable you are. It's about how confident you are and how you believe in yourself. All of those things. There's so many traits that are not physical traits that are probably more important and magnified at that position than probably any other position.
Q. A couple of the players‑‑ in general, is it a strategy of the team to use outside talk as bulletin board material or is that a player‑by‑player basis?
COACH FRANKLIN: Two things. I don't use bulletin board material, at all. I'm not saying that some of our coaches don't. They probably do. I don't. I'm a huge fan of Lee core so he, I'm a huge fan, I'm a huge fan and I'm hoping that they will come to a game this year and they will put the Nittany Lion head on and run around town and go crazy.
Again, those things are outside of my control. They are not things that I worry about. I also understand that part of the media is also entertainment, and I think Lee does a great job, former coach, great job.
I do have a couple things that I'd like to address more about philosophy and also some rules that really are not specific to this game, but I just want to make sure that you guys kind of understand kind of where I'm coming from with some things.
Talking about understanding two‑minute and handling two‑minute situations and things like that, we will never use the time out for first downs because when you get a first down during two minutes, the clock will pause, and the clock will pause not till just the ball is set, but the clock will pause until the chains are set.
So you have plenty of time in our system to get a play called without losing any time off the clock. So that's how we will do things from here on out.
The other thing is, the way the rules are written and the way our philosophy is, we're going to try to catch the ball and when we catch the ball outside the numbers, we are going to get as much yardage as we possibly can and get out of bounds.
The difficult thing that happens sometimes is you have to decide, is the player going to get out of bounds, and the clock will stop and stay stopped; or, will they mark on the field forward progress and forward progress will stop.
In two‑minute situations, they will typically give the receiver the benefit of the doubt and if he's trying to get out of bounds, they will allow the clock to be stopped.
So what I will typically do, I will run down the sideline and I will stand there and if the official goes like this like this, that means the clock is stopped and that the receiver had gotten out of bounds. If not and they wind the clock, I'm going to be right there to call the time out.
The other thing is we will typically safe a time‑out for a couple reasons. We're going to typically try to center the ball and then be able to call a time‑out, and then on top of that, we will safe a time‑out that we may go into the locker room with or that we may go into the end of the game with at half‑time; or, because if you're going to kick a field goal on any other down but fourth down, we are going to save a time‑out because if they happen to block the field goal and we recover it, we have a chance to call time out and now still be able to kick a field goal with maybe one second to go in the game.
Just so you guys kind of understand our philosophy and our believes and also understanding of the rules, we think those things are really, really important. So I did want to cover those guys with you, as well.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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