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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 24, 2017

Grant Haley

University Park, Pennsylvania

Q. Coach mentioned how different your personality is with Cabinda and with Marcus Allen. But that's the difference in your guys' personalities has kind of defined the defensive culture. Can you elaborate on that?
GRANT HALEY: No, I think that it's something I think a video on Twitter or something the or day where Jason kind of put it perfectly like we mesh together well. Jason's that vocal leader, I'm more of the lead by example guy, and Marcus kind of combines the both like with the with his character and his goofiness.

Q. Does it make it easier for you to kind of be who you are and be a quieter guy when you have those louder personalities around knowing they have that aspects handled?
GRANT HALEY: Yeah, I think it as lot easier. We have great guys, Marcus, Jason, and me as leaders and we have not only us but we have a huge bunch of upperclassmen and seniors that take those leadership roles. So when you have a mature and mature team that has a bunch of leaders like seven seniors on starting on defense, I think that takes us a very long way.

Q. J.T. Barrett has -- James Franklin was joking that J.T.'s been at Ohio State for 16 years. You have gone up against him a few times. What have you kind of gained from game planning him, I guess the fourth time now, and how familiar are you with J.T.?
GRANT HALEY: I think that he's a great leader. He's obviously one their top quarterbacks and leaders on the team and he's very mature guy. He's going to give everything he has every single play and we understand that he's a running quarterback, we have to keep him contained and he's feeling confident right now in his passing game and running game. I think he's only thrown one interception. So we need to be able to cause turnovers and kind of get him on his heels a little bit.

Q. Going back to the leadership that you have, Marcus and Jason, can you take us through when each of you stepped up into those roles do you think when you all came in together and then to where you are now?
GRANT HALEY: I think Jason it was kind of as soon as he stepped on campus. He has that presence and when he comes in the room you can feel his presence type of leadership. And Marcus, he's been a guy that he's got a lot of character to him, so it's grown over the years. And for me, I've always been a guy that I just keep my head down and just do my work and just lead by example, but I think over the years we have all become like more vocal leaders, especially now that we're seniors and taking the big control of our defense.

Q. It's been a year, do you have an estimate of how many times you've watched that kick return and can you still believe how fast that holder was?
GRANT HALEY: Don't really watch it that much any more. It's been a year, so kind of moving on and getting excited for this upcoming game this week.

Q. Going back to that moment for you, scoring the touchdown, momentum in Penn State's direction, it seems like momentum has sustained in your direction for Penn State all the way to where we are now. Can you describe kind of the growth of confidence and kind of belief within your locker room since that win against Ohio State so facing them now again?
GRANT HALEY: Yeah, I think it was a huge win for our program and obviously it gave us confidence throughout the season and the last year and kind of even coming into this year. I think that it was, we just needed that really one game where we were able to go against a top team and come out victorious. I think that after each week we just kept believing in each other more and more and you can just see the locker room, coaches always talk about the leadership and the teamwork starts in the locker room and the coaches are there to just help us with that. So I think it just translated from the field to the locker room and so back and so forth and it's just really gave us that confidence and leadership and maturity that we have today.

Q. As a guy who is played ever since you were a true freshman here, I'm curious, have you developed competitive relationships with certain opponents maybe all across the Big-Ten and if so, how have those competitive relationships developed for you? Do you sense maybe receivers are respecting you a little bit more than what they would have as a freshman when maybe they don't obviously know who you are and haven't seen you play or played against you?
GRANT HALEY: I don't think I've ever or we as a team have ever looked at it like any opponent as more than the other. Coach Franklin does a good job of praising each team we play each and every week and having the mindset of going 1-0. But I think that as a secondary and as a defense and the success that we're having this year, I think people are seeing that and respecting us more and I think it just we don't let that get to our head and we just keep our head down and do the dirty work that coach prior reiterates every single week to us.

Q. Besides the hyper speed tempo that they want to go at what are the primary differences between this offense and the one you played a year ago?
GRANT HALEY: I think they have more, a lot of younger guys on that team last year and I think that they're playing confident right now, there's a lot of speed, and they have got a great running back, one-two punch going on right there. Obviously with J.T.'s leadership at the helm of the team he's really taken control of that offense and they're playing some really good football right now.

Q. Is it fair to say you kind of keeping that speed in front is a focal point this week or do you expect that in the coming practices?
GRANT HALEY: Yeah, one of our goals for defense is not to give up a certain amount of big plays and if we contain an offense this amount of big plays then usually we're going to like the outcome. I think that's what we're going to focus on this week and keeping everything in front, not letting, not getting beat deep, not giving up those big runs, because you never want those big plays because it gives an offense momentum and confidence as the game goes on.

Q. You spend a fair amount of time in nickel obviously what have you seen so far from film on Parris Campbell? I'm guessing you're going to spend a fair amount of time matched up against him?
GRANT HALEY: He's a fast guy with the ball if his hands. I was looking at him, he ran track in high school. Ran a 10.7 in the hundred. He's playing with confidence and they're going to get the ball to him any way possible. A lot of bubble screens, a lot of crossing routes, any way to get the ball in his hands so he can make plays. He's athletic and he's having a lot of confidence right now and confidence is one of those things that as you keep making more plays you just keep rising and rising. So it's going to be a good challenge for me and for our defense and I think one the best thing about our defense is we're up for any challenge and up for this opponent this week.

Q. So you talked about having different styles of leadership than Marcus and Jason. So how does your specific leadership style benefit the team?
GRANT HALEY: I think that sometimes -- we have different people on our team, people respond to different leaders in different ways. Some people don't like the rah rah type of leadership, and other people just kind of sit back and just kind of watch people and see what helps them be successful, can help their own personality be successful. So I think as a guy that's lead by example, I am able to be somebody that people can watch how I do on and off the field and kind of reiterate that and hopefully they can see that there's ways to be successful by not just being allowed or rah rah type of guy as well.

Q. DaeSean said something about requesting a JUGS machine be brought over so the receivers could get some work in on Saturdays here before the game at halftime whatever it may be. Do you guys get involved with that as well or is that kind of a receivers have a monopoly on that?
GRANT HALEY: I think the receivers and the corners and safeties have done a great job working together with catching JUGS and in the summer and catching JUGS throughout the week and we he I see the receivers catching balls before games and I see the secondary and the defense catching balls too before the game as well. So I think that we have got that mindset of creating turnovers and them making big plays. So I think it's gone hand in hand with the work we put in the spring the summer and even throughout the season.

Q. I know you were brought through that moment last year with Ohio State I'm going to bring you through it a little bit again, because I'm curious when you have a big moment in a big game like that and you're coming into another big game against Ohio State, how do you manage your emotions to not let that get the best of you or do you use that to your advantage and kind of think about what happened last year and bring that into the game this week?
GRANT HALEY: I don't think I use last year as any advantage for me. I think that our coaches do a great job of keeping us level headed, keeping us focused, keeping the outside world away from us in terms of like social media and TV. So I think that we're a mature group of guys, so I think that having guys like Hammy, guys like even Trace and Saquon like leaders on offense and leaders on defense I think people can just reiterate the message of what we want to do each and every week.

Q. I just want to know for you guys after the season you put together last year what you're able to do are what you've been able to do this season, are you guys having more fun out there or in the celebrations or anything? Is anything different for you guys compared to last season?
GRANT HALEY: I think that we're definitely having more fun. Obviously winning is fun, so when we go out there we're just happy to be around each other. I think that this group, this team and this group of guys they really do love each other on and off the field. I think that's special. It starts in the locker room and we have a great time on and off the field. So I think that the locker room translates to the field as well.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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