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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 15, 2015

Jason Cabinda

University Park, Pennsylvania

THE MODERATOR: We have sophomore linebacker Jason Cabinda. Questions, please.

Q. Coach Franklin was talking about your mom a little bit. Could you describe her to us and talk about her a little bit.
JASON CABINDA: Oh, man, my mom is a saint. He's really sacrificed the most. It sounds clichÃ©d, the whole, I really wouldn't be here without her. But it's the absolute truth.

Growing up she worked two jobs. She wasn't home a lot. When she was home, she was taking me from practice to practice. Never missed my games between football, AAU basketball, school ball, lacrosse. I really played a lot of sports. She was there taking me from practice to practice, tournaments all over New Jersey, kind of around the tri-state area. She was really doing it all.

For me, that's my rock. She's really everything for me.

Q. Who was a better lacrosse player, you or Troy Reeder?
JASON CABINDA: That's an easy one, that's Reeder (laughter).

Q. Coach said you were an extrovert, always have something to say. Has that been the case since you got here or is that within the last couple weeks?
JASON CABINDA: No, I guess that's since I got to Penn State. I've just always been a very social person, kind of guy who can walk into a place where I don't know anybody. Within a half hour or so I have a good feel for everybody in the room, made friends with a whole lot of people. That's kind of my personality.

Q. Talk about the atmosphere you're expecting Saturday night and also comment about all the students camping outside there.
JASON CABINDA: I mean, you got Nittanyville outside who does such a good job. I think that's a testament to the fans we have here. We have people who camp out all week long in preparation for our game. That says so much about the fans we have, the craze about Penn State football.

The atmosphere coming this Saturday night, first of all, our Big Ten opener. It's a night game. We have this new deal going this weekend that's going to be the stripe out. I think it's going to come out cool, clean, something new, which is something we may need. I think everybody's really excited for how the atmosphere is going to be.

Give the other team a lot of trouble with their communication, with the noise, how crazy our fans are going to be.

Q. You didn't play against Rutgers last year. Did you travel?
JASON CABINDA: Yes.

Q. From your perspective on the sideline, it was a physical game. We've heard after the game last year there was a lot of trash talking going on. What was different about that game than your normal game where it's not as physical?
JASON CABINDA: Every football game, especially college football, it's very physical. I think having teams like Penn State and Rutgers go up against each other, it's always a battle. That's always a battle up front and being physical. It's a mentality. That's what it was last year. Guys wearing each other down. Guys really getting beat up and giving their bodies up. I think it's going to be very similar this year, as well.

For me, obviously I was still very into the game. I was doing the best to try to pick up any calls, helping my I'm out, B Bell, whatever they were doing. For me, I was as into the game as if I were playing.

Q. I believe it was your linebacker coach said a few weeks ago you're the hardest hitter on the team. What is your mindset when you're going to hit somebody? Has it always been like that? In peewee, were you the guy that hit the hardest?
JASON CABINDA: You could say so. I come from a place where toughness is really huge. Being a hard-hitter is about how hit you are, wanting to defeat the guy in front of you, never losing one-on-one battles. We talk about that all the time in our linebacker room, never give up one-on-one. Whoever comes to block, you can't lose that battle.

Being the hardest hitter, you got to be able to hit hard if you want to shut blocks. That's what I try to do best.

Q. (No microphone.)
JASON CABINDA: Back home, the class that I had growing up, even the classes above me especially, that tradition we had at Hunterdon Central, everything was about hard work. Even guys who necessarily weren't that talented, it was always the guys who were working the hardest, putting everything they had in the weight room, workouts, that found themselves on the field doing very well.

I always try to find that track. The guy I modeled myself after, captain of my football team my sophomore year, Matt Ioannidis, who played for Temple, defensive tackle. He's the guy I always modeled after and followed had his footprints and the way he worked.

Q. When Nyeem goes down, how much does that become a football IQ test for you guys to sort of find out where you're at in terms of not having someone who can set you up and have that rock almost to lean on? How has that test gone for you?
JASON CABINDA: Nyeem did such a good job of always being right, making the right calls, right checks, putting everybody where they needed to be. Somebody was having a brain fart, Nyeem would say, You're supposed to be doing this, whatever the case may have been.

I think more than the football IQ aspect, Nyeem going down was the aura of, Might be in a little bit of trouble, guys worrying about him, what he may be going through then.

In terms of the football IQ, I think we have very high-level IQ guys in the room. I think Coach Pry does a good job of coaching us up. Whether you're the ones, the twos, the threes, he does a good job of putting everybody in the mindset of preparing like you're a starter. I think our IQs are all very similar to the top end.

Q. Through the coaching change, what led you here? Were there Penn State linebackers that you admired over the years?
JASON CABINDA: Yeah. I mean, the coaching change was definitely a big deal. It was only a few days before signing, maybe two weeks, when I got the call from O'Brien. Might have been New Year's when he called to say, I'm leaving to go to the Texans. We had a group chat going at the time. What are you going to do? Take visits? Do this?

We waited it out. We lost a couple guys, but for the most part everybody stuck together. I think that has so much to do with what Penn State is about. The kids we recruited, we were already talking about sticking together. When you look at the classes that went through that stuff in 2012, back when Joe Pa was here, they stuck together. That says a lot.

One of the biggest reasons I came here was because this is Linebacker U, Paul Posluszny, Dan Connor, Glenn Carson, Navarro, Levar, Arrington. There's so many guys in this long line of guys that came here and did so well. I think that definitely played a big part in my recruitment as well.

Q. If we would have told you two years ago you'd be in this position right now, starting, would you have believed us? At one time you were a Syracuse verbal pledge waiting on an offer.
JASON CABINDA: It's crazy to think about that. That was just two years ago. I'm not sure I would have believed you.

I think if you were to say that you would have kept your same work ethic you had in high school, I'd believe that. If you would say I would be starting in the Mike position, leading the defense, I don't know if I would have believed that.

Really happy for the opportunity. Definitely playing for Nyeem and the rest of the guys in the linebacker group as well.

Q. You played a couple different positions here so far in your time at Penn State. Given your personality, your gregariousness, do you like being the Mike, the guy at the center calling the defense? Are you the guy that's going to play wherever they put you?
JASON CABINDA: I definitely like the Mike position and making the calls, kind of being the guy to set everybody up. I think it fits.

But at the same time, like you said, I'd be absolutely open to playing any position that Coach Shoop or Coach Pry wanted me to play, as long as it's for the best of the team, in the best interest of our defense.

Q. Looking at these rosters, 69 players from New Jersey on both rosters combined. How many guys do you know maybe across the aisle on Rutgers? How many have you played against or with or that you know?
JASON CABINDA: Yeah, I mean, there's quite a few players. You have Carroo. Carlton Agudosi I played in high school. He played at Franklin. Their backs. I know Desmon Peoples just from his recruitment, all that kind of stuff.

I definitely know a lot of the guys. It's going to be very interesting to play against them, them being from New Jersey. We have a lot of players on our roster from New Jersey. It's going to be a special game for us being that was our home state university. We all have guys from Jersey on the Penn State roster have a lot of buddies from home, guys from Rutgers, so we're super excited.

Q. Troy Reeder said on Saturday it helped you guys to have Nyeem as an extra coach for the linebackers. Did he give you any advice as you moved to the middle?
JASON CABINDA: Oh, yeah, absolutely. That move to the middle, there's a lot more to see, a lot more things you have to feel. Nyeem has been a really good resource for us. I've brought him in multiple times to watch film with him, taken his pointers, being able to see the formation fully before you make any calls, all that kind of stuff. Being able to not just make verbal calls but also make the hand gestures to make sure everybody is on the same page.

Going down to the D-line, getting them set, if they don't know the play calls. For them, their head is in the ground so it's hard for them to hear. They have to be ready to go. Going to the back end, checking with the secondary. You have to be very vocal. It takes a lot of assertiveness. The offense is ready to go, snap the ball. The urgency, making those calls is very important.

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