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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 13, 2015

Andrew Nelson

University Park, Pennsylvania

Q. I'm sure you addressed this after the game on Saturday, my apologize if you did, but how did it feel to get back out there again?
ANDREW NELSON: You know, it felt amazing. I'd like to pride myself on being a team player, just doing everything I can to help the team be successful. Obviously there's a slight role of that on the sideline, but there's nothing like being out there and really feeling like you're contributing to the team's victory. On the sideline it's frustrating. Not feeling like you're doing everything you can do to help the team be successful. So being out there on Saturday and really feeling like I was a part of the victory felt great.

Q. Is part of that coming to the realization that you healthier is better for the team so maybe you have to get it in your mind that sitting out is the best thing?
ANDREW NELSON: Yeah, exactly. Unfortunately at that point Coach Hand was putting the five best guys out there, and I understood that, and I understood that he kept saying, listen, don't get frustrated, this is what we have to do right now and you'll be back in no time. He said, don't focus on that right now, he said, just focus on getting healthy and getting back out there. I was definitely pleased when I could come back and Coach Hand felt like I was one of the five best to be out there.

Q. So it looks like you and Mang now have switched a little bit. Did you kind of talk him through this and tell him this is what I had to do, this is how I kept my mental sanity while out on the sideline? Have you bounced any advice off of each other?
ANDREW NELSON: You know, I actually think Ang has handled it very well. I think probably better than I handled it in the beginning, and that just comes with his experience. He's an older guy. He's been through a lot, and obviously he said it was difficult for him to miss one of his last games here in Beaver Stadium, but you know, I think he's doing a great job handling it, and I think he was enjoying getting -- understanding the calls and being able to help from a different perspective.

Q. When you first went down, did you fear that it was going to be worse and miss more time than it was because it looked pretty serious when it happened?
ANDREW NELSON: I think I was just upset at the fact that we didn't have the opportunity to score there at the end, more than anything. But no, I didn't have any real fears. Obviously at that point I knew I had done something, and from there on out, it was just getting back.

Q. James mentioned the game at Ohio State two years ago. What impact, if any, does the recent history against Ohio State the last two years play into this game?
ANDREW NELSON: Well, I think, you know, the game two years ago, I was there. I didn't play, but I traveled. It just -- and if you talk to Hack he'll say the same thing. If you talk to anybody who played then, it's a very hostile environment, much like Beaver Stadium probably is for our opponents. But that's something that going in, we really understand that. This is a very hostile environment. It's going to be loud. It's going to be an awesome atmosphere, under the lights. It's going to be a packed house. So I think just understanding that helps us, especially this week in practice, understanding that communication is going to be even more key this week than it ever has been.

Q. To kind of follow up on that, keeping in mind that Herb and a lot of your teammates have described you as a very nice guy, how do you embrace maybe being the bad guy and being hated? Can you use that to your advantage?
ANDREW NELSON: Yeah, absolutely. I think that stems from Coach Hand. Coach Hand, he really engrains that in the offensive line, to just play nasty and like you said, be the bad guy out there. I think that's definitely something that we're all embracing. You can be the nicest guy in the world off the field, but once you get on the field, you have to do whatever it takes to make your team successful. Obviously we know we're hated by the Ohio State community, but we have a great opportunity this weekend to go in there and play to the best of your ability.

Q. You talked about that opportunity. I asked James about this, but how much do you look at the opportunity of playing a No. 1 team? Is it any different than any other game you're playing?
ANDREW NELSON: You know, obviously each week we're just focused on being 1-0 that week. After this game is over, we'll be focused on being 1-0 the next week. But obviously it's just -- it's even more of an opportunity because like you said, you're playing the No. 1 ranked team in the nation at their place, under the lights, 8:00. So the opportunity obviously is huge, but every win is just as important as the other.

Q. The last two games Ohio State has really allowed pretty much every team to hang in there. When you guys see that, does that give you more confidence? Does that give you a boost, or is that something that you just don't pay attention to?
ANDREW NELSON: I think obviously there's a part of that that -- looking at their film and watching them, we understand that we can move the ball on them offensively and we can definitely stick with this team. We don't fear anybody, and the Big Ten is full of great opponents this year. So that's what really makes the opportunity special. They're a great team, but we know if we play to the best of our ability, we can be successful.

Q. James talked a lot last week about behind-the-scenes stuff that we don't see that you guys do and those kinds of things. What can you tell us about Christian Hackenberg behind the scenes that maybe we don't see as far as competitor, leader, those types of things?
ANDREW NELSON: Well, Hack, number one, like you said, Hack is an unbelievable competitor. Everything he's ever done, I'm pretty sure he's always wanted to be the best at it, from what I can see. But Hack takes on that role as an offensive leader and as a team leader very well. You always see the guy after practice working with people and just putting extra in, whether it's film or no matter what it is. That's something that makes him a special player, and that's true about our entire team is you have a lot of guys on this team doing everything they possibly can to be the best.

You talk about a guy like Carl Nassib. I think that guy is in the weight room probably more than anybody I've ever met, especially on this team, the last couple years I've been here. That's definitely something that's kind of a driving force of our team is just doing extra.

Q. Talking about Nassib, he's a guy that's gone through a big-time physical transformation since he's been here. Can you remember the first time you lined up against him?
ANDREW NELSON: Absolutely. The first time I went against Carl was obviously my freshman year, and the year previously he had redshirted so he was on scout team and stuff like that, and no one really had much to say about Carl Nassib at that point. I remember thinking, this guy is pretty hard to block and no one is really talking about him or anything but he's a pretty good player, and you just saw that development continue each year. A lot comes from Carl's mentalities. Carl literally does everything he can to be the best, and that's paid off for him, and you can see that transformation year to year, to the point now where you're in practice and you're going up against Carl, you're going, oh, no, I've got Carl now. He's a great player, and it's a credit to his mentality.

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