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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 17, 2015

Matt Baney

University Park, Pennsylvania

Q. We haven't gotten a lot of chance to talk to you. I wanted to know what your career has been like transitioning from all the things that this program has been through. Can you kind of take us through what it's been like for you.
MATT BANEY: Out of high school, I took a scholarship and went to St. Francis University. I was there a full year, and about a week into summer camp, I just up and left St. Francis and gave Coach Vanderlinden a call, the linebackers coach here, who offered me a preferred walk-on out of high school. Called him up and asked for a spot, and he told me to be here in a week.

I was on that team for the first year. I wasn't here when guys were leaving. So I don't know about that a whole lot. That 2012 team was special, being a part of that team means a lot to me. And then kind of just riding the roller coaster of those few seasons.

Then Coach Franklin's staff comes in and has done a great job transitioning from Coach Vanderlinden to Coach Pry has been great as well. Both coaches mean a lot to me, and I owe a lot to both of them.

Q. For Senior Day, getting to walk out there with all these guys that have kind of gone through so much, what was that moment for you when you realize you guys are going to know each other probably for the rest of your lives here?
MATT BANEY: It's special to be part of that group of guys. I didn't come in with them, obviously, but I built a strong relationship with those guys. I was a fan of those guys. When I was at St. Francis, I was still watching Penn State games. You talk to those guys what it was like here and what some of the old staff was like, that's kind of meant a lot to me.

Q. Growing up in State College and playing for State High and having Penn State, when you guys went undefeated, that was a good year for Penn State. Is it surreal that you've gotten to this point, to start as a kid playing down the street and to be here today and going to walk out this weekend?
MATT BANEY: I always had the dream of playing at Penn State, obviously, growing up in State College. A lot of guys do. First time I walked out of that tunnel -- I was ineligible because I transferred up the division, so I was in sweat pants -- it still meant a lot to me. It was a critical part of my career. I still remember that very vividly.

Obviously, growing up in State College, playing at Penn State means a lot.

Q. Best moment for you in your career here?
MATT BANEY: I would say my favorite moment was probably the Michigan game in O'Brien's last year. It was an incredible season. We had a lot of games that kind of went like that, but watching that comeback, and the sideline never had a doubt that we were going to win that game. Everyone was behind each other 100 percent. That was a special time for me and for the rest of our teammates.

Q. Two things. Why did you leave St. Francis first? Was there something that you just weren't happy there, or what was the deal there?
MATT BANEY: So coming out of high school, I was really determined to be a scholarship player. It was always a dream of mine to be a scholarship Division I player. So I went to St. Francis, made my first start as a freshman, as a true freshman, and on the ride home, and all of our games were up kind of in the northeast area and Rhode Island and such. We're driving by, and we passed the stadium, and my first thought was, man, I need to get back to Penn State. I texted my dad, and he said, you're crazy. You just started as a freshman.

That's kind of when I realized what I was doing at St. Francis wasn't really fulfilling my dream and what I wanted to do with football.

Q. You must have had an interesting perspective. As the sanctions took away all the scholarships, it looked like it may have given more opportunity to run-ons. Then as they came back, did you have mixed emotions there, knowing that it may impact your opportunity to play maybe a little bit more?
MATT BANEY: Well, my choice to come to Penn State really had nothing to do with the fact that there was less scholarships and I saw I had a chance to play. It was just the fact that I really wanted to be at Penn State. With the scholarships back, I was happy. It was helping us as a team. That's all I cared about. I'm a team first guy, whatever I can do to help the team, whether it be scout team, running second string, watching the linebacker play during the game, reporting back to Coach Pry. So that thought never even crossed my mind.

Q. Matt, can you trace your history, how old were you when you first started coming over here to games? Who were the players you knew and remembered?
MATT BANEY: I couldn't tell you how old I was. My grandparents had season tickets. So I've been coming to games for a long time. I always got to go to the night games because my grandma didn't want to stay up that late at night to watch the games. You get home at 2:00 in the morning.

One of the first memories is we were playing Ohio State, and they had Troy Smith. I very vividly remember the Tamba Hali sack, where he stood him up on his head and fumbled the ball and all that. Growing up, I was a huge fan of the linebackers, obviously, playing linebacker. Paul Posluszny, Dan Connor, Sean Lee -- those guys were kind of my role models.

Q. What would be one thing you take from your time at Penn State on the football team? What would be the one thing that lasts with you?
MATT BANEY: Just the hard work that it takes to come in as a walk-on and to work every day with never a guarantee to play. You're never guaranteed to play. You're just working and working and working for a spot on the team and kind of earn the respect. So just being able -- that daily grind of being a Division I athlete as a walk-on is something that I'll definitely take out of here and use the rest of my life.

Q. [ No microphone ]?
MATT BANEY: So during the bye week -- my dad is actually a coach at State High. He coaches the offensive line. During the bye week, I was able to get out and watch them. They played a playoff game and had a big win. They've got a bye week coming up this week, and I think they've got a really strong looking team, probably the best team I've seen since my junior year at State High and we went to the state championship.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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