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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 6, 2016

Grant Haley

University Park, Pennsylvania

Q. We saw you guys use a lot of your sub-packages and we saw Amani play a lot. What do you like about that when you're able to show those different looks and how much do you think it benefits when you have so much depth in that secondary?
GRANT HALEY: Yeah, I think having really four or five corners that play, I think we played about eight or nine DBs the whole game. So just having that depth keeps everyone fresh, keeps the number of reps down. So just having that depth has really, like a lot of these guys have, we're a young group, but the experience in there, not true freshmen, but there's red-shirt freshman and sophomores and even guys like Malik and Marcus playing a lot. So I think that's just helped us from the experience and leadership standpoint as well.

Q. (Indiscernible)?
GRANT HALEY: It is Amani Oruwariye.

Q. (Indiscernible)?
GRANT HALEY: I don't know. I'll try to.

Q. When you're covering a deep route or you know it's going to be deep and ends up going deep and you see the ball leave the quarterback's hands, what are the characteristics of a throw that you know you're going to make a play on that and maybe get an interception?
GRANT HALEY: You just got to know you're in position first, because if you're not in position you have to just play his hands and match his hands when he goes to the ball to reach for it. But if you're in position, you get your head around. You've got to look up because that's where the ball is coming from and just really reacting to the ball. When you see the ball in the air, it becomes your ball. Like playing baseball a while back, playing centerfield, you see the ball in the air, and you've just got to go get it.

Q. Are there sometimes when you see it and think this feels more like a punt?
GRANT HALEY: Yeah, you can definitely tell those balls. It's usually more like the fade, the post balls, but definitely those type of balls outside, yeah.

Q. It sounded like Malik had a really strong camp and he had a really strong game on Saturday. Could you evaluate his progress? Also, what's he like off the field?
GRANT HALEY: Malik and I, he's one of those guys I look up to. He's been here for a while. We've been here together for almost three years now. So his leadership has grown tremendously. I know the guys in the secondary and guys on the team look up to him and his work ethic, his leadership. His play has been different. He's more physical, he's more vocal out there.

So just him having all those five years being here, growing and learning from other people, I think it's helped him tremendously.

Q. After the game Saturday, Coach Franklin talked about the pass rush and the quarterback was able to scramble and get out of that. What has the secondary linebacker worked on this week to prevent big plays if the quarterback gets out?
GRANT HALEY: I think even going back to Kent we have two athletic quarterbacks, so that helped us prepare for running quarterbacks. I know we lost contain on a couple of those blitzes and just when the quarterback got outside, so we're going to definitely work on that were the athletic quarterbacks and keeping spaces tight so they can't really run around and get outside of us.

Q. When you look at this rivalry, Grant, you've got family from PA, right?
GRANT HALEY: Yeah, Pittsburgh.

Q. What have they told you about this game? How many people are you expecting to be there?
GRANT HALEY: I have a good amount of family in Pittsburgh. My dad's in Pittsburgh, his parents still live in Pittsburgh, his brother and sister. I've never really grown up knowing about the game. But I knew it was a very big game for the state of Pennsylvania, and I'm just excited to be a part of it, be a part of like regaining history, I guess you could say.

Q. Any idea how many people are coming?
GRANT HALEY: Probably about a dozen, a good amount.

Q. In the secondary you made a couple nice open-field tackles on Saturday. Specifically you and Christian, what do you think it is that makes you guys good in that aspect to be able to come up and make those plays?
GRANT HALEY: I think we definitely worked on tackling in the off-season, because I knew it was one of the things we needed to work on last year, open-field tackling, and we definitely grew, I would say, as a unit, as a whole, even from corners to safeties, like Marcus and Malik as well.

I think it's just the things you work on in practice, the little details, wrapping up, just being physical, flying to the ball, taking good angles. I think we took that more seriously and it translated to the field.

Q. I know you guys were very young last time these teams played. What did Gary Smith tell you guys this week?
GRANT HALEY: He just talked about how much it meant, just every single game, how much it means to the past Penn Staters, current Penn Staters and future Penn Staters. You don't take anything for granted. Every single game matters because you never know which one could be your last. So just really having fun out there and just enjoying the atmosphere as well.

Q. I know your mom went to Penn State and was on the Track & Field team. But your dad, I think went to Pitt for a couple years at least. Do you remember him being a Pitt fan growing up? At what point did his Pitt fandom maybe end, if it has?
GRANT HALEY: So I'll tell you this, my mom did go to Penn State, but they both went to medical school at Pitt so that's where they met. Then they moved away from Pittsburgh and went to Detroit and found themselves in Atlanta. But growing up, my dad has been a low-key Pitt fan. He hasn't been one of those really rabid Pitt fans. Besides like the Steelers, that's about it. So he wasn't too crazy about it, you know.

Q. Before the season Coach Banks talked about how you spent time in the off-season jumping around to be more aggressive when the ball is in the air. How does that thought process work when you start to play more athletic receivers that can beat you guys deep with big plays?
GRANT HALEY: I think just in practice you can't have that fear. Like you're going to make a mistake, you've just got to make that mistake. I know Coach Franklin on Friday at the hotel he talked about just forget all the fear. Just get out there and have fun and play hard and aggressive, and we really took that to heart.

Every single time we think there is an opportunity to make a play or not just not get the ball down, but trying to get turnovers and interceptions now. And I think that mindset has just translated on the field in so many ways that we just feel more comfortable and more aggressive as well.

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