home jobs contact us
Our Clients:
Browse by Sport
Find us on ASAP sports on Facebook ASAP sports on Twitter
ASAP Sports RSS Subscribe to RSS
Click to go to
Asaptext.com
ASAPtext.com
ASAP Sports e-Brochure View our
e-Brochure

PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE


September 19, 2017


James Franklin


University Park, Pennsylvania

COACH FRANKLIN: First of all, really pressure everybody being here. Obviously we were able to go 1-0 last week which is our goal every single week. Started out the season with a win against Akron, then went to Pitt, then to Georgia State and feel fortunate that we were able to find a way to be successful each week. Excited about that.

Let me talk right now and kind of get it out of the way so we can move on. Talk about field goal gate or time out gate or whatever you guys want to call it. You know, how that whole thing played out.

Be very clear: I was not icing anyone. I want to be as clear as I possibly can be. We had our fourth team defense, some threes, mostly fours, on the field. We have never -- I've been doing this 23 years; we've never worked a fourth team field goal block. I'm on the headset. The defense is talking about how those guys won't even know how to line up. I'm shaking my head. You know, the recommendation is to get the second team in there. I call the time out.

We get the second team on the field, and from that point on, we're going to go block the kick. You know, Kris has sent me some things people said that when the score is 56-0; that we should just stand there and let someone kick it through the up rights.

If that's how you think and how you feel, then you won't ever understand me and you won't ever understand us. Whether it's the first play of the game or whether it's the last play of the game or whether ear losing or whether we're winning, or whether it's raining or whether it's sunny, we are going to fight for every inch on the field, every yard on the field, every second on the clock, we're going to fight.

We have a standard of how we do things. So if people don't think that we should go block the kick at the end of the game because of the score, then you probably won't understand us. But we have a standard of how we do things and I want our guys to do that on the football field and I want them to do that in life. You know, you have a bad day, you've still got to go to work in the morning. Something bad happens at work, you've still got to come home and be a great father and a great husband. The situation, the element, should not affect our standard and how we do things.

It's their job to try to score; it's our job to try to keep them out of the end zone. It's not a whole lot more than that. This has become a thing. But that's really what it is. You know, we have a standard of how we do things. It will be that way today and it will be that way as long as I'm here.

I'm going to move on now. Is everybody okay with that?

A few other things about Georgia State. Offensively, Trace McSorley was our Player of the Week on offense. You know his stats. I don't need to list those things out to you. Defensively, our safety, Marcus Allen, was our MVP of the game and on special teams we went with both Tyler Davis and Blake Gillikin. We think we're kicking the ball really well right now and doing some good things on special teams. I'd make the argument that that's the area where we are most improved and has had as much impact on our season, our early season so far.

In general, we were able to play a lot of guys. We played 78 players in the game. Our kickoff team has been excellent all year long. It's fun to watch. I think when you kickoff -- when you kick off as many times as we kicked off on Saturday and you can watch the sixth kickoff and the guys are still full speed, flying down the field, that is a great way to evaluate.

I remember when I was a young coach listening to some old ball coaches, been doing it a long time, they said one of the great ways to tell what type of team you have is, say, it's the fifth or sixth field goal block -- or PAT; is your team still going as hard on the sixth PAT field goal block as they are earlier in the game. That's a great sign of the type of team you have, and I think the same thing shows up on kickoff.

Brandon Polk, very pleased with his overall development right now, how he's playing; his enthusiasm. His enthusiasm for his teammates, the effort he's playing with. If you watched that play with Saquon Barkley, we all know how fast Saquon is. Watch Brandon Polk, he's on the opposite side of the field, he sprints down, catches Saquon and gets in front of a defender, and then goes into the end zone and celebrates, and he's as happy or more happy than Saquon is. I'm very pleased with him.

Offensively, one of our issues last year was starting out slow. We've been able to be better in that area. We're still very explosive. Defensively, we're giving up some yards but I think we're playing really good defense. We're getting turnovers. We're keeping people out of the end zone.

And then special teams, I just think has been fantastic. Our coverage units and our drive start differential from our offense compared to our opponent's offense has been a dramatic factor in games. Pleased with what's going on.

Kind of move on to Iowa. Obviously tremendous respect for their program. Coach Ferentz, you know, you look at their record, I think their record over Top-10 opponents at home. Especially playing at night, is going to be a challenge.

I've never been there. I want to educate our players. I want to educate myself on what to expect. I've talked to a lot of people. I've called a lot of people. I've asked a lot of questions. That place is going to be rocking Saturday night. Their sidelines are very tight. Their fans are going to be right up against you. We want to get our players prepared for that.

We've got to get ready for the noise. You know, we'll be trying to replicate their band and whatever songs they play in the stadium, try to get our guys ready for that for our first road game this year.

Obviously one of the kind of cooler, historical things in college football from a tradition standpoint is their pink locker room. I think it's awesome. I'm not going to make a big deal out of it with our guys. I'm actually going to talk to our guys about it being a really, really nice gesture by the University of Iowa to welcome Penn State, since our original school colors are pink and black, and how wonderful it is and what a wonderful gesture it is that they painted their locker room pink for us.

I'm not going to make a big deal out of it. I'm going to say it that way; have fun with it, and then just kind of move on. But you know, obviously Coach Ferentz, his tenure, one of the more consistent teams in all of college football. You look at what they have been able to do not only against Penn State in our last ten games but also against ranked opponents. You're talking about a blue collar team that takes a lot of pride in their fundamentals and their techniques and being sound and how hard they play. Really, in some ways, similar to our history and our traditions.

You think about last year and after they came and played here the next week, a night game. I remember watching it last year and they upset Michigan, who I think was No. 5 at their place. It's going to be a tremendous challenge, there's no doubt about it, and we're looking forward to it.

Q. After the game Saturday, you mentioned you had some concerns about your run defense. I know the last two opponents have run for 150 yards against you. Will Iowa provide even a sterner test for that run defense this week and why?
COACH FRANKLIN: Yeah, I think after going back and watching the tape, I would love to see us give up a few less yards but most importantly, we're getting turnovers and keeping people out of the end zone.

But yeah, I think obviously this is what Iowa prides themselves on is running the ball and being really physical up front. Coach Ferentz is one of the more well respected line coaches in the country from his NFL time, as well as his teams. They have always been great up front.

So yeah, it's going to be a challenge. They are a big tight end team. They have got one of the better running backs in the country, a young man out of New Jersey. So it's going to be a challenge, there's no doubt.

Obviously it's a little bit different. You're not facing a team that's a spread team or an RPO team. They are more of a traditional offense, like a Michigan, like a Michigan State, like a Stanford. Iowa is going to get up and they are going to line up and they are going to try to pound you from multiple personnel groups.

They are probably -- with Brian now being the coordinator, they are probably a little bit more multiple when it comes to motions and shifts, but they are going to try to run the inside zone on you. If they feel like they have got leverage, they are going to try to run the stretch play on you and get on the edge and cover guys up, and the back is patient enough to find a seam and then hit it. We've all seen that he's a playmaker, and then they have got a big, strong-arm quarterback that they are able to take advantage of off the play-action pass.

It's going to be a real challenge for our defense. I don't think there's any doubt about that.

Q. You didn't have Amani at corner against Georgia State and I wanted to get your thoughts on your two freshman corners, Tariq and Lamont, Tariq had that athletic interception that he made. Not only how they played last Saturday but just your thoughts on what they have shown you the first three games and on the practice field.
COACH FRANKLIN: Yeah, I think obviously we've been able to get to know Lamont over a longer period of time in terms of being on our campus and in our program with him graduating early and being here for spring ball. There's been an excitement and a buzz about him, not only through the whole recruiting process but then got on campus and backed it up.

So we're excited about him. I think his role will continue to grow as the season goes on. He's a confident guy. He's a mature guy. He's a playmaker. But he's learning every single day at practice and he's learning every game, and I think Castro is the same way.

Obviously he showed up here in more of a traditional sense in the summer, taking summer classes, and then in camp. But it was pretty obvious early on, long kid who can run who has got good ball skills, who is mature, who is intelligent and it was obvious that he wanted to play and was willing to do the things necessary to play.

You know, we're excited. Z-Mac, we've got a bunch of guys that are young guys that we're excited about that are playing and playing well for us. I expect as the year goes on that those guys continue to play more and have larger impacts.

Q. Late in last year's Iowa game, people got a preview of what you could do with Trace and Tommy on the field at the same time. How much would you say that package has grown or evolved in the past year, and how much pressure can that put on a defense with both of them out there?
COACH FRANKLIN: Well, I think it does a number of things. It allows us to get another guy involved in our game plan. It allows us to get Tommy game experience and get him on the field, which is always a challenging thing to do at the quarterback position; how do you get guys meaningful reps without throwing off the flow of your offense. It puts another weapon on the field. He's a big, strong, fast guy, and then obviously they have to be concerned about him throwing the ball, as well.

So it makes a defense tentative when you have got a quarterback like that carrying the ball. You have to have in the back of your mind that this guy could throw it at any moment, which is going to make you a little bit tentative in terms of how hard you run support.

It's a nice package. It's something that we have kind of been messing around with for a while now, and we've got a bunch of accumulated reps in practice. Now obviously being able to use it in a game. And we've got a lot of different ways and a lot of different things that we can do and that we've done in practice.

So I think this package will just continue to evolve. What's nice about him is he can play like a receiver, he can play like a running backer, he can play like a quarterback and we've used him in almost all of those ways.

I don't think there's any doubt that it creates stress on a defense.

Q. You addressed this earlier about the pink locker rooms at Iowa. I wanted to ask you from your degree in psychology perspective, what effect does something like that have on a football team, if any?
COACH FRANKLIN: I think it's awesome. I do. I think it's awesome. We just got done painting our house. My daughter, Shola, went with like a teal blue. Would that be right? Is teal considered in the blue family? She went with teal blue. And my youngest daughter, Addy, went with pink. And it looks great in my daughter, Addy's bedroom, and I think it's probably going to look cool in their locker room.

Q. Your offensive line, how would you compare how those guys are performing now compared to the second half of last year? There seem to be some struggles in the run game, but what's your take on that?
COACH FRANKLIN: Yeah, you know, I think that's fair. I think not having Mahon last week caused some challenges for us. On top of that, we moved Gonzalez over to the opposite guard, and I think that affected him a little bit.

So we weren't as clean as we've been, having Mahon back I think will be really helpful. And then let's be honest. I mean, everybody's going into the game plan and their defensive model is to say we are not going to allow Saquon Barkley to run the ball and beat us.

So I think we've been creative enough to try to get him the ball in different ways, and he's been impactful that way, but I don't think there's any doubt that we have to get better at consistently running the ball between the tackles, and I think having Mahon back, who is such an experienced player and such a strong, physical guy; that we feel good about what we're going to do.

But I think that's fair. I think that's an area we need to improve on offense; that, and third down.

Q. Your Big Ten opener last year was on the road at Michigan, and obviously that didn't go too well. I just wondered, are there any lessons learned in that game that you can apply for this year's opener at Iowa, especially to raise the level of your preparation and play, now that you're in the Big Ten schedule?
COACH FRANKLIN: Yeah, I think as you guys know, each season stands alone. Each game stands alone. We're going to do everything we possibly can to prepare, to show our guys what it's like to go on the road.

But we've got a much older, more mature team right now that has played a bunch of games on the road in Big Ten venues. So I think we'll be more prepared just from an experience standpoint.

But yeah, there's no doubt about it; that obviously we have learned based on a lot of different past experiences.

Q. Gross-Matos is a guy who got a lot of snaps on Saturday, and looked to me like he played pretty well. I remember a couple weeks ago that you said that he has a great motor, great talent and all that, but doesn't really understand what he's doing yet. Is getting him so much work Saturday, is that a reflection that he's starting to figure it out or is that a reflection that you're trying to get him work so that he can figure it out?
COACH FRANKLIN: Probably a combination of both. We're trying to speed up his maturation process as much as we possibly can.

As you can imagine, you're playing big-time college football; the speed of the game, the size, the strength, all of the different subtle adjustments that he needs to make on how he takes a block on, whether he's wrong-shouldering it, whether he's hard-joining it; whatever we're asking him to do, the details are so important.

I mean, the details are going to probably determine whether it's a tackle for a loss or whether you give up an explosive run. A guy doesn't hit his gap correctly; you've got a defensive end who is long-sticking from the defensive end spot down to the A-gap, and he doesn't get there, and doesn't fight across the guard's face or whatever it may be and doesn't get to his gap; or if he doesn't get to his gap, he doesn't squeeze the offensive lineman into his gap and all of a sudden you get creased for 30 yards.

It's just understanding some things you can get away with in high school you can't get away with in college. He's a great kid, he's a smart kid and he's going to be a really good football player and we are just trying to speed his maturation process up as much as we possibly can.

It was cool. We had a bunch of guys get in there and play well. It's nice, because you watch scout team and there's guys showing up, and then some of those scout team guys were able to get in the game and played really well and made an argument for themselves, as well. We've got some young guys that we're excited about and he's definitely one of those guys.

Q. I wanted to ask about the running game. How would you quantify progress in the running game? Is it something you see? Is it an eye test thing? Or is there a statistic you look at?
COACH FRANKLIN: I think it's probably a combination of both but I also think the eye test is important, because you look at what people are doing to defend us with the number of guys in the box.

Last week, people basically aggressively run-fitting us, not allowing us to stay on the double team and running the linebackers through the A- or B-gaps, and you've got Will Fries starting at guard for the first time. And as coaches, we're telling him to get as much movement on the double team as you possibly can up to the linebacker. Well, as he's trying to do that, the linebacker is screaming through the hole and coming clean.

So it's a process. I think obviously when you have moving parts and you have a guy starting for the first time in there, you know, there's some growing pains that you're going to have with that.

But I also think like I said in the beginning, I also think it's a factor that people go into games just like we go into games saying that we're not going to allow this guy to beat us. We're going to force this player or this scheme or whatever it may be. That's Football 101 for defensive coordinators. They are going to try to make you one-dimensional. So if you're a team that throws the ball all the time, they are going to drop eight and make it difficult to for you to throw into those scenarios; or if you're a team that prides yourself on running the ball, they are going to try to take that away from you.

Whatever your strength is, you try to take that away from them and make them beat you with what is considered not their strength. So I think a lot of people are saying, obviously Saquon Barkley is a special player, and our whole defensive game plan is going to be about stopping him and forcing other players to beat you.

For us, we are fortunate because we have a number of players that I think are weapons and that we can beat people with, which makes that a challenge.

But I think once again, if you had to choose, you're going to say you're going to do everything you can to stop Saquon Barkley; or you're going to play just soft and keep everything in front of you and say: Okay, he's going to get his runs, but he's not going to get a 50-yard run. They are going to get their passes, but they are not going to get a 50-yard pass. You kind of have one of two different philosophies that you see week-by-week different people take.

Q. I grew up with a pink bedroom and I think I maybe turned out okay. We'll see. But I wanted to ask you about sticking with the run game. How do you feel about your No. 2 running backs given the fumbling but both scoring on explosive touchdowns?
COACH FRANKLIN: Yeah, I think both those guys have a very, very bright future. Miles, I thought his run was excellent. I thought Andre's run was really, really good.

We got two guys, you know, just like we are kind of talking about the quarterback position, we've got two other guys there that have shown that they are able to do it and do it at a high level and be consistent.

So we're going to need them throughout the season, so we're fortunate and we're blessed. But once again, I think the programs that we want to compare ourselves to, most programs have three or four big time running backs that you feel like you can get in there and they have a chance to make big plays. So we couldn't be more happy with the depth that Coach Huff has built in terms of development and things like that at our running back position.

Q. Two-part question. You've already talked about Wadley being the explosive player in their offense --
COACH FRANKLIN: Say that again?

Q. Wadley being a their game-breaker on offense. Would you say Josey Jewell's that player on defense? And I remember in the summer you said you already game planned for four games. At this point when you're in the fourth game, how much does that change now that you've seen Nate Stanley and new quarterback and the new offense?
COACH FRANKLIN: Yeah, I think that's a good point. I think Josey Jewell, there's no doubt that he's the leader and Bell Cow of their defense. Very instinctive player, very physical player, very productive player over his career there. I don't think there's any doubt about it: He makes their defense go from a leadership and from a play making perspective.

I think your other point is about the game plans. Yeah, you do those game plans in the summer, and then you look at them the week off but it not like you say, okay, well, the game plan is done, let's go home at 6 o'clock. You're looking at that and then you're watching the most current, the most up-to-date tape you possibly can to say: Are they who we thought they were; are they consistent with who they have been in the past and is there some stuff that we were doing in the summer that we think is still relevant in this game plan.

But the other thing that happens is, you may go into the beginning of the season thinking you're going to be a really good outside zone team, and then as the season develops, you're really good at inside zone or you're really good at something you weren't really anticipating. It's just how the season and the team evolves.

So your game plan is based on that and your game plan is on the video evidence of what you've seen Iowa do the last three games or last four games including the Bowl game, and obviously who you are as a team and what your strengths and what your weaknesses or and matchups and things like that.

Q. I took from the open that there were no regrets about the end of the time-out at the end of the game the other night, and I'm just asking that -- you pride yourself on having a feel for what's being written, said about the program. And I'm just wondering your reaction to the reaction, and also if you're concerned about the perception of piling on?
COACH FRANKLIN: Yeah, I control the things that I can control. That's not one of them.

Q. Defensively you've played like 55 third downs in three games. You've faced 55 of them, that's over 18 a game. Is that a concerning number? I'm just asking from a general perspective. Is that a high number perspectively --
COACH FRANKLIN: Are you talking about our defense?

Q. For your defense. From a defensive perspective, yeah.
COACH FRANKLIN: No, I think you really want your number of third downs to be as high as possible. Just like I've said in the past, on offense, what you want to do is you want to eliminate as many third downs. You want to get as many first downs as you can on first and second down and not have that many third downs. That's what the best offenses usually do.

So the fact that our defense is getting people to third down, I think is a positive. Now, the next step is: We've got to get off the field so that you don't have a 15-play drive and have three or four third downs in one drive.

So I think the first step is getting people to third down, not allowing first downs on first and second down and then being able to get off the field, which is the next step for us, and I think we did a better job with turnovers. I think we're doing a better job at this point in the season on turnovers, but I do think we can still be better on third down, there's no doubt about that.

Q. When you look at Tyler's misses, is that a virtue of the hold? Did he just miss the kick? He's been consistent but the times where he's struggled have been when he's had to deal with a holder that was someone other than Chris and obviously you don't have him anymore. How do you break that whole situation down?
COACH FRANKLIN: What I love about Tyler is he's a mature kid and he's very honest. You know, he missed the one on Saturday; he came to the sideline, and he goes, "That one's on me. I just missed it."

To me, as a coach, there's a lot of value in that when you've got a guy that is going to say, I just mis-hit it. Rather than the guy that every time he misses it, it's the snapper or it's the hold or it's the wind or it the rain or whatever it is.

Tyler is a guy that you're going to get really good feedback. You know, if he missed it, he's going to say he missed it. If he felt like they missed the spot but he still should have made it, he'll say that. Maybe missed the spot a little bit, but I still should have made the kick; or the snap threw my rhythm off, but I've still got to get it through the uprights or whatever.

Typically what he says when we watch the film, he's usually right on point. But that's also a mature player that's been there, been there a lot.

So we have a new snapper and we've got a new holder and that factors in, but the most important thing is we've just got to get them as comfortable as we possibly can as the season continues to progress. I think they are in a really good place.

But there is some of that that factors into it. I think, how many has he missed now, two this year? I think the first one was a bobbled hold that didn't get down clean and the second one was on him. And when I say a "bobbled hold," I mean, the combination snap-hold. As we all know, it takes all three of those phases working together.

Q. After the game, you had mentioned that you expect to have Mahon back. I wanted to make sure that that's still the case. Is Cam Brown in that situation, as well? And from the questions we have to ask: Can you give us any update on Torrence?
COACH FRANKLIN: Yeah, we expect Mahon and Cam Brown back. At this point I don't really have any updates with Torrence. I'll probably have more information down the line. That's not tomorrow after practice. But I'll have more information down the line. But at this point I don't have anything more substantial for you.

Q. You had some questions earlier about the offensive line and just in general, not too long ago, it was not the strongest part of the team. Now it's actually the depth that you have and the strength and the numbers that the skill players are putting up. Just talk about the progression that the offensive line has made in the past couple seasons to where it's at now?
COACH FRANKLIN: I think Matt's done a tremendous job in that line, Coach Limegrover has done a great job.

I think the players themselves have taken a lot of pride in how they play and how they practice and how they prepare. I think they have had a chip on their shoulder, because as we all know, the first couple years we didn't play the way we wanted to play for a number of reasons.

I think even like you look at Saturday, I don't think we gave up a sack. I think there was one sack that came up in the stats but I think it was on the backwards pass. That ended up being calculated as a stack but from a coaching perspective, I don't really look at it that way.

So I think we've improved. Is there still area for improvement? Is there still area for growth? There's no doubt about it. We have got to limit the negative yardage plays. We've got to be cleaner. We've got to be more physical. We've got to be able to impose our will a little bit more consistently. I don't think there's any doubt about that.

But once again, we've just got to continue to get better each week as the season goes on, and then also keep things in the perspective of what people are doing against us defensively.

I mean, no different -- I think a perfect way to illustrate what I'm talking about is, I don't know whether it was the first game or the second game where we ran like 12 or 15 plays on offense, and Saquon Barkley never touched a ball. And you're sitting there saying to yourself: Well, how can that happen? They need to hand the ball off to Saquon Barkley and run. Well, there are run-pass options, and if we are reading outside linebacker and he's folding into the box as aggressively as you possibly can, we are going to pull the ball and throw the ball on the perimeter.

You know, so I think it's a combination of all those things. But yeah, I think we can definitely be better and it's going to be a focus and an emphasis on running the ball between the tackles.

Q. What can you tell your eye about Daniel Joseph on the recruiting trail and where is he in year two of his development?
COACH FRANKLIN: Yeah, he's one of the guys I was going to mention when we were talking about Yetur Matos getting a bunch more reps in the game. And then we had some guys that got in the game and have opened some eyes on scout team and have opened some eyes when they got in the game.

You know, he was very productive when he got in the game. Had a really good meeting two weeks ago with Daniel and his mom and dad from Canada. They were in for a game and we met after the game, and they just wanted an update on where he's at academically, where he's at socially, where he's at football-wise.

But he's another guy, he's a big, strong, physical guy. He's a skinny, 250 pounds with some of the longest arms on our team. Was very productive when he got in the game. You know, we think he's got a really, really bright future, we really do.

His first year, he had some nagging injuries that kept him out of practice and I think slowed down a little bit of his development his freshman year, but he's really shown some nice things this season. You know, we're excited about what he's not only going to do this year but years moving forward, as well.

Q. Saquon's average touch has almost doubled in yards this year compared to last year. What are the pluses? You're talking about negative runs but what are the pluses of that; that he's much more efficient, he's healthier, and at what point do you go: That's who we are.
COACH FRANKLIN: I think a lot of it is scheme, and don't take that the wrong way. I don't need to sit here and probably say to you guys that Saquon Barkley is pretty good.

So when I say "scheme," I'm not taking anything away from Saquon. But my point is with what we do in the run-pass options. He's usually running into good looks, where now he's one-on-one with a safety or a corner and now it's his job to block that one unblocked defender and make a big play. He's really good at that obviously. So I think that's a factor.

I think he is -- two years ago, we all remember, he had a bunch of explosive runs where he would get caught and he said in the off-season, "That's an area I want to improve. I want to be able to finish runs and things like that." So that's a factor.

But I think you're exactly right in terms of what is our identity, that's our identity. We're an explosive, big-play offense in the passing game and in the run game, and if you're looking to watch a three-yards-in-a-cloud-of-dust offense, then this probably isn't -- this probably isn't the scheme for you.

But I would also make the argument; that was one of our big off-season studies was how do we get better with four-minute offense. You know, you read all the coaching books from the beginning of time and you go to all the clinics, and four-minute offense is: You run the ball, you milk the clock and you win the game on your terms. And you line up in victory formation with 22 personnel, you take the snap from under center, which people tell me that all the time, and then you kneel it down and then you flip the ball to the official and the game's over.

Well, I think one of the mistakes that we made last year is we tried to be a four-minute offense in four-minute situations, and that's not who we are. You can't say at a critical time of the game: We're going to now become something that we never are.

So for us, it's not losing our identity in short yardage: Third and one, fourth and one, third and two, four and two situation; not losing our identity. Just because it's third and one doesn't mean you have to cram it up in there where there isn't a hole. Doesn't mean you have to run the ball every play in four-minute offense.

Now, you have to throw high-percentage passes and things like that, but I think that's one of the things I think we looked at is the point that you're taking is, really, let's really own our identity.

That's one of the things that I love about being a head football coach is all the different personalities that I get to deal with every single day on the coaching staff and with the players. One of the things I've all been is I've all been attracted to people that own who they are. They are either really cool; they are really, really weird, and I love those people. I love the people on the extremes that kind of own who they are and they are very comfortable in their own skin, and I think that's what we have to do on offense and defense and special teams.

That doesn't mean you can't identify weaknesses in areas you say you want to get better at, but also, owning who you are. Owning how you're going to handle situations at the end of games. Owning how you're going to run your offense, defense and special teams. Owning those things; I think there's a lot of value in that.

Thanks, guys. Really appreciate you coming out.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP sports

tech 129
About ASAP SportsFastScripts ArchiveRecent InterviewsCaptioningUpcoming EventsContact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297