	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 25, 2018

Shareef Miller

University Park, Pennsylvania

Q. Coach Franklin said that this Ohio State offensive line he believes is the best that you guys have faced in his five years here now. What's your assessment of what you guys are facing in trying to apply pressure on define Haskins?
SHAREEF MILLER: Yeah. I would say Ohio State offensive line is really good. They got a lot of experienced guys. But come Saturday with the game plan Coach Pry have for us, Coach Spence, we're going to create pressure this Saturday.

Q. How would you evaluate your ability to apply pressure to the first four games? Is it up to par for what you expect or is it still room for improvement there?
SHAREEF MILLER: It's still room for improvement. I would just say as a group we just have to be more consistent.

Q. So sticking with the Dwayne Haskins pressure theme, if you guys would not get pressure on Haskins, how much harder does that make it to beat the No. 4 team in the country?
SHAREEF MILLER: Yeah, I think it'll make it hard to beat any team if you don't get pressure on the quarterback, and especially Dwayne. Just the way he been putting up numbers these past couple games. So that's going to be a real focus point for us to get pressure on him.

Q. Shareef, is there anything special about White Out games?
SHAREEF MILLER: Yes. It's the best place to be. I remember 2014 when I was a recruit and I came to the White Out game when they played Ohio State, I wanted to commit on the spot because it was just like so many fans and like the atmosphere is unreal, something like I'd never seen before.

Q. Shareef, what's the buzz like on campus right now? You got College Game Day coming in town, big White Out game.
SHAREEF MILLER: The buzz is going crazy right now on campus. A lot of kids coming up to me and a lot of the guys asking us how we're going to do and stuff like that.

Q. How hard is it as a freshman to be as good as you can be consistently? I know you're not a freshman, but just like freshman defensive players in general, how hard is it to get good quick?
SHAREEF MILLER: It's hard because it's not high school. Everybody in college is good, like real good. So it's like really hard to be consistent, because it's like a lot of great guys around you.

Q. How do you lead a bunch of young guys when you can only get good so fast? How do you help them along when there's nothing that you can substitute for time?
SHAREEF MILLER: Just be there for them and set the example for them and stuff like that. I would say like for the young guys, like in my room like Jayson Oweh and P. J., just be a research, like be somebody that they can talk to, because I know as a freshman like it can be tough, so you need somebody to lean on. So I want to be that guy, and I am that guy for all the young guys.

Q. The win over Ohio State two years ago seemed like it was one of the turning points for this program. How do you think that win helped you guys get to where you are today?
SHAREEF MILLER: That win helped us a lot. We went on a great run, and it just gave us that confidence that we can do it, that we can be the best in the country.

Q. And let me just ask you about Michael Mauti visited a little while back. As a defensive player what was it like listening to him talk, and what's something he said that you kind of took away from that?
SHAREEF MILLER: It was great that he came back and talked to us and stuff like that. The thing I got away from Mike was he was just saying like be nice to people, like always speak to people. It's always good to talk to people to see how their day going, see how they're doing, never be like an outsider.

Q. What can you talk about Jason Oweh athletically, what he brings to the table, and where are the areas that you're helping him improve because I think everybody's acknowledged, even him, that he is a little bit raw.
SHAREEF MILLER: Yeah, he is raw. He's only been playing for like two, three years, something like that. Athletic. He run like a 4.4. Jump like a 38. He got crazy numbers. The area I'm just helping him for is keep his confidence and help him with like the scheme in the defense, help him like his hand placement in the run game, his hands in the pass game.

Q. How receptive is he to that as a young player?
SHAREEF MILLER: He's great with it. You know, like he listens. That's a great thing for a young guy to do is just listen to an older guy, because that's what I did when I was younger. I listened to like Carl and A. J. and guys like that. And stuff like that helped me a long way. So like he's listening. That's the best thing he can do is just gather all the information he can.

Q. Do you know if Jason's 40 was faster than Mike is? That's kind of been a point of contention among them.
SHAREEF MILLER: I heard he was the fastest in his class. So I guess he is faster than Mike.

Q. Coach Franklin said Friday night that you guys are still looking for your best 11, that the defense is still looking for a guy who can be an eraser. Teammates this morning said they think you could be that guy. When you think of that term, what does that mean to you to be an eraser for the defense potentially? What does that include?
SHAREEF MILLER: I would say the guy to set the tone, and I feel like can be that guy, but I just gotta continue to work every day.

Q. And do you still when you're homework out with Deion Barnes? Does he still help you out?
SHAREEF MILLER: Yeah, I talk to Deion Barnes every day, after every game, too. I talked to him the other day about Ohio State tackles, like the sets and stuff like that. So he gave me feedback on that.

Q. What's his feedback been like for you on these first four games that you've had?
SHAREEF MILLER: It's been real good. He told me just use my hands more. He's on me like constantly about using my hands. That was the biggest focal point when I was working out with him this off season was my hands.

Q. You've seen a lot of J. T. Barrett these last few years. With ^ Dwayne Haskins, what are some things that he presents that maybe weren't as much of a challenge before? Just basically how has that position evolved for the Buckeyes from what you're preparing for?
SHAREEF MILLER: I would say Dwayne is -- he's less mobile than J. T. Not that he can't move, but he don't really run the ball that much. He want to throw the ball more. That's how Ohio State using him, too, like pocket pass.

Q. How about the back field in general? I know Pitt put up 200 yards rushing in the first half, 170 last week in the first half against Illinois. How imperative is it that you guys bottle things up early and don't let them get off to that kind of start?
SHAREEF MILLER: Yeah, like we gotta be real consistent and accountable in our gaps because they got two great backs over there at Ohio State.

Q. From a leadership perspective when you've got guys like K. J. and Micah who are big personalities and they thrive being themselves, is there a balance between letting them be themselves and sort of having them fit into what you guys want as teammates and leaders? How do you balance their strengths as who they are, but also have them fit in?
SHAREEF MILLER: They fit in well. You don't never want to change nobody's personality. Like K. J. is K. J. That's my little brother. Micah is Micah. That's my little brother, too. They fit in well with the team.

Q. Coach Franklin told us this afternoon that Mark Allen is out for the year. As one of the leaders on this team, what does it mean to see a guy like Mark be lost for the year?
SHAREEF MILLER: Yeah, I was kind of pretty sad about that because Mark's a great friend of mine, and over the years I see the work and the things he did to help this team.

Q. And for somebody like Ryan Buchholz, Torrence Brown, what have they been like this year, obviously not playing? What are some of the things that they're doing to help you guys?
SHAREEF MILLER: Yeah, they've been a big help, especially for me, too. They just see different things, and they're just another set of eyes. And they still be in every meeting, be at practice. They travel with us. Like they're great to have around, especially for the young guys, too, because they got a lot of game experience. So they can just share that with the younger guys in the room.

Q. Is there a difference in your mind between Yetur last year as a freshman and the Yetur that we're seeing this year? What's maybe different about him and his game?
SHAREEF MILLER: Yetur from last year and this year, he understand the defense more. He's more comfortable in the defense.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297