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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 25, 2018

Ryan Bates

University Park, Pennsylvania

Q. Ryan, what does the options of Nick Bosa do to Ohio State, and does that make the challenge maybe a bit easier for you guys on Saturday?
RYAN BATES: I wouldn't exactly say it'll be easier. They're a great team and they have a lot of depth at defensive line. Obviously Nick Bosa is a phenomenal player. I've watched a lot of film on him, and he's a great player. And it's a shame, his injury. But they have a lot of good players behind him, and I think they'll do a very good job stepping up to the role.

Q. Coming off a game in which your team rushed for almost 400 yards, confidence level for this offensive line group, is it at an all-time high since you got to campus?
RYAN BATES: Absolutely. With Miles and Trace in the backfield I think we can accomplish anything.

Q. How are you doing?
RYAN BATES: Good. How are you?

Q. I'm good, thanks. I just wanted to ask you a little bit about the meeting from two years ago. That was obviously a big win for you guys. Looking back on it, how important was that win in getting you guys to where you are right now?
RYAN BATES: You know, I'm not one to dwell on the past. I think every win is important. Obviously it was a great win for our program, but a win is a win no matter which way you put it.

Q. Even if it's an unranked Penn State beating one of the top ranked teams in the country?
RYAN BATES: A win's a win.

Q. So you have College Game Day coming in. Is there any kind of buzz around campus? I mean people stop you, talk about that? What's it like?
RYAN BATES: Not really. I haven't really talked about College Game Day a lot. I haven't really talked about it.

Q. Ryan, you guys got back at, what, like 4 a.m. Saturday. How did you spend the rest of the day? What did you do?
RYAN BATES: I tried to sleep. I didn't get a lot of sleep that night. I was tired, but I couldn't fall asleep. I don't know why. But just the whole Saturday I just tried to relax, you know, kick my feet up, you know, just trying to recover from the game.

Q. Did you watch Ohio State-Tulane at all just because it was on or --
RYAN BATES: I don't think I watched that game. Obviously I watched the film already, but I don't think I watched it live.

Q. We've seen you and Trace have this little touchdown celebration thing going on. What's behind that? It's kind of unique?
RYAN BATES: There's really nothing behind it. It's nothing too complicated. I mean we literally, hey, we should handshake and we're like, yeah, sounds like a good deal. And first thing that came to Trace's mind was this (indicating). For what reason, I don't know.

Q. Do you think it's going to stick?
RYAN BATES: I mean it's stuck so far. I don't see why not.

Q. Ryan, is there anything special about a White Out game, and when you're playing in such a charged atmosphere, is it a challenge to kind of keep your focus and composure, especially early in the game?
RYAN BATES: I wouldn't say so. Obviously the White Out -- the White Out is a phenomenal atmosphere. I think we have the best fans in the country, and our fan base is unbelievable. Coming out of those gates during a White Out, it's a different kind of atmosphere, you know, from a regular Penn State game. You walk out of those gates and it's just white, the ground's shaking, the whole body is shaking, everyone is screaming. And I remember my freshman year when I first experienced it, and it was unreal. From my freshman year to now, I still can't get over how electric it is and how great of an atmosphere it is.

I wouldn't say that we will lose focus. It just kind of gets everyone more hyped up.

Q. Ryan, you guys ran 51 times last week. Was that an added emphasis, do you think, on the run game with the idea that it could carry over?
RYAN BATES: I don't know. Say that again. What was the --

Q. Well, 51 times you ran seemed like a pretty high number last week. And now you have Ohio State coming in. I wondered if it was a carryover plan where you guys are maybe trying to emphasize the run.
RYAN BATES: Oh, I had no idea how many times we ran. Just part of the game plan, I guess. We were running the ball well versus Illinois, so I guess we just kept running it.

Q. Let me try again then. Last year you guys sort of left the door open out there. You had a couple score lead in the second half. Did you feel that way? Do you feel there's some unfinished business? Do you gain confidence, motivation from letting it get away a little bit?
RYAN BATES: Yeah, kind of. You know, especially that was a game I got hurt last year. I was kind of upset I got hurt that game. I feel like I could have been a difference maker that game. But like I said before, it's just another game. It's the next game on our schedule and we're going to prepare like it's the Super Bowl this week.

Q. Talk about prep for Ohio State. How are you guys looking forward to this week? Talk about how you're preparing for that.
RYAN BATES: I mean we're preparing for this week like any other week we have. Just because it's Ohio State we're not going to prepare any different. Every week we prepare to the best of our ability. And that's exactly what we're doing so far. We haven't really talked about the game plan yet because we haven't met with the coaches yet. But yesterday we came in, the offensive line, watched film, watched all the games. But haven't heard a word on the game plan yet.

Q. Ryan, how many of these White Out games did you attend as a recruit, and can you recall what kind of impact that had on you at the time?
RYAN BATES: Actually I didn't attend any White Out games as a recruit. I think the only game I attended as a recruit was -- I believe it was my senior year. I think was a UMass. I think that was the only game I attended as a recruit.

Q. On a different subject, James was in here and told us that Mark Allen is out for the season. Obviously he's been a guy who's been a big part of this program for the last four or five years. How difficult is it for you guys to kind of see him struggling with an injury issue like that?
RYAN BATES: I mean it sucks. It's terrible, especially for someone like Mark Allen and someone so positive. He's still so positive. He's taking it very well. We all have his back, of course. We all have his back no matter what and obviously he's still part of the team. He's going to be with us every day. I don't think it'll change much. He'll still be around. It'll still be the same hype-up, high-energy Mark. But yeah, obviously it's a terrible thing what happened. But I wish him the best of luck.

Q. Going off that, with Ricky Slade, what can you tell us about him and kind of just a freshman coming in here and playing right away. We've seen him a little bit, but what's impressed you about Ricky?
RYAN BATES: Ricky is a good back. He's quick. He's real twitchy. I think he's got a promising future here at Penn State.

Q. Michael at center was the one guy who didn't have college starting experience coming into the year. Now that he's had three or four games, his first Big Ten game. How would you assess his development this month and where you're at collectively as an offense line group?
RYAN BATES: Mike's doing a great job so far. Being the center, he's kind of the -- he's the guy that's gotta call out all -- what linebacker we have and what the front is, the down and distance. I think he's doing a great job so far. The whole offensive line as a whole, I think we're the best we've been in years, obviously since I've been here. Our chemistry hasn't been like this. Chemistry is awesome. We're all friends. We all hang out outside of football. I think that's what makes us connect. We're all on the same page a lot of the time. We trust each other. Offensive line is about trust. I gotta trust the person next to me that he's going to do his job and he's gotta trust me that I'm going to do mine. And I think that's the biggest thing with our offensive line right now is we trust each other.

Q. How about not just the guy next to you, but the guy maybe below you on the depth chart? Where does that stand in terms of your confidence in the second team group if they're needed to come in because of an injury perhaps like you suffered last year?
RYAN BATES: Of course. We have a lot of depth this year, and it's not something -- especially the offensive line, it's not something that we've really had in the past. And you know, I trust the people -- I trust Des Holmes, Sheed Walker, like people below me. I think they're great athletes, great offensive linemen. And I trust them completely.

Q. Ryan, how as a player do you get closer and closer to being as good as you can be every down? I mean how do you go from maybe being a freshman to being a guy who's sort of executing at the level that you feel like you're capable of?
RYAN BATES: A lot of it's experience. And a lot of it has to do with the people who I've had the privilege of playing with. The Angelo Mangiros, the Andrew Nelsons, the Brendan Mahons, the Brian Gaias, the people who were here before, who obviously are not here anymore. But when I was a young guy, I think those guys really helped me develop as an offensive lineman and as a football player in general, you know, just expanding my knowledge of the game and my knowledge of the offensive line. And I think that's one of the biggest things that's helped me personally.

And of course, having the experience I have being when I was a starter as a redshirt freshman, I've come a long way. When I watch film from my redshirt freshman year to now, it's like what the heck was I doing, like why am I doing that. And, you know, just repetition, practice. You know, practice makes perfect. And I'm a heavy believer in that.

Q. Mike Mauti came back recently to talk to you guys. What was his message and how powerful was it to kind of hear from Mauti about things that had happened in the past here?
RYAN BATES: It's pretty cool for him to come back and talk to us. I never really had the privilege of meeting him before. But I liked his message. He came and talked to the team about, you know, just cherishing what we have now and where we're going to be and just these are the best times of our lives. And don't take it for granted, just keep it going, keep doing what we're doing, win games.

Q. Franklin mentioned after the game against Illinois that 40 percent of your travel roster had participated or been available for their first Big Ten game in their career. How is your team managing being a top ten program competing for a championship, trying to get to that point with a significant youth movement on the roster?
RYAN BATES: I think we're doing just fine. Obviously a lot of young guys played the other day. But I think we're managing fine. I don't think it's really changing much. I talked about trust earlier, and trust doesn't just have to do with the offensive line, too. It has to do with the people -- I gotta trust the running back, I gotta trust the quarterback. I gotta trust the receivers, I gotta trust the tight end. No matter, they could be a senior or freshman. For example, Pat Freiermuth at tight end is doing a great job so far. We have a lot of depth at tight end, and he's gotten a lot of chances, and he's really taken advantage of them, and I trust him completely to do his job to the best of his ability.

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