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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 30, 2018

Nick Scott

University Park, Pennsylvania

Q. I didn't get a chance to talk to you after the game, but to slam the door shut yourself on that long drive that was threatening to take the lead for Iowa and come up with one of those turnovers after those fumbles were on the ground and no one could get a hand on them, how rewarding was that for you, and to be able to stop a late drive for the opponent, what's that do for the confidence of this defense?
NICK SCOTT: It felt great. Obviously any time you can influence the game in that kind of way and put your team in a better position to get a win, it feels great, and that's just what I'm trying to do week in and week out. So you know, that was last week. This week I'm going to have to make plays and everybody is going to have to make plays again to instill that confidence as we go into this game against Michigan.

Q. Brent Pry, what are his strengths, and are any of his personality characteristics, do they manifest themselves in the defense at all?
NICK SCOTT: Yeah, I think one of his biggest strengths is his ability to relate to us and communicate with us being younger than he is and sort of get us going. He's got a great personality. He's got a fiery personality. He can be very intense at times, which I think is great. The defense feeds off that, especially with four games and things like that.

You know, I think he's a perfect fit for us, and I think this defense definitely emulates his personality in terms of our intentions when we come in on the field.

Q. John Reid seems very confident that he's playing at a level he hasn't played at since 2016 or ever. How many strides have you been aware of with John this season game by game, and because of his absence, what did that do for Tariq Castro-Fields and your cornerback depth?
NICK SCOTT: Yeah, for sure, John Reid, he's playing physical. None of that is a surprise to us just because of the way he prepares, so it's great to just see it pay off. Tariq getting that experience last year was obviously huge. He's playing with a lot of confidence. So yeah, right now our DB corps looks good. We're prepared. We're going to get the game plan this weekend and try to apply it to the best of our abilities, but I'm very confident in those guys' ability to perform and do what needs to be done.

Q. What's different with Michigan with Shea Patterson? How does that, do you think, change their offense?
NICK SCOTT: I think it adds a little bit of a running aspect with the quarterback that you have to account for. Also he's a guy that you have to worry about extending plays with his feet, as well. He's really talented. He's got a great arm. So it's going to present a challenge for us and finding out a way to sort of eliminate him from the game.

But yeah, that's the kind of challenge that as a defense you look forward to. That's why we come here to Penn State.

Q. Is there a guy you've played against before that maybe you think is similar to him? Anybody that stands out?
NICK SCOTT: That's a good question. I can't think of anybody off the top of my head. You know, a lot of the quarterbacks that we play, especially in this day and age, are athletic and can use their feet. I don't think it's anything new to us per se. But he's been excelling in it and doing it at a high degree and doing a great job.

Q. How has the safety room kind of changed and evolved since you've been here because you guys have a lot of depth now, we saw Sutherland a little bit on Saturday? How is it different than the room you walked into?
NICK SCOTT: That's a good question. I think in terms of our mentality, I think it's pretty much the same. Coach Banks has done an unbelievable job when he got here in sort of molding the safety group. It's a group that we all take a lot of pride in and try to withhold a standard that guys like Malik and Troy Apke and Marcus Allen set. I think these guys in the safety room right now have a hunger for the ball, trying to get after the ball and take a lot of pride in takeaways. I think we've been doing a great job so far, and hopefully we can just continue to influence this defense in a positive way.

Q. (Indiscernible) a young guy to learn to not do more than his job? Is that an acquired skill when maybe you've come from high school and you can make up for mistakes with your athleticism but now you have to stay in your gap or stay with your assignment? Does it take time to have that discipline?
NICK SCOTT: I would say it depends on the person. You know, everybody has a journey, everybody has a different thought process when we're on the field. You know, everybody obviously wants to make big plays. I think it does -- you learn through experience sort of what you're talking about, just the patience of letting the game come to you and understanding that there's 10 other guys around you on scholarship who are going to do their jobs. The sooner you can trust that, the better off you'll be in terms of executing your own job.

Q. Two years ago, I'm going to do my best to have you talk about it a little bit if you're willing. Michigan, 39-point win. It's the last game, 31 straight now where you guys have had a lead at some point in the fourth quarter. Do you ever totally shake off that feeling of what you felt as a team when you get on the flight out of Ann Arbor in 2016, and do you carry that motivation with you to avoid that kind of scenario?
NICK SCOTT: Yeah, I'd say two years ago, I shook that feeling off the next week we were getting ready for the next opponent. That's the code that I live by personally. So yeah, I don't have any vengeance per se. I'm just worried about this Michigan team this year, this Penn State team this year, and preparing ourselves to the best of our ability to go out there and compete and go 1-0 this week.

Q. I'm curious how you assess your ability to get turnovers. You got a big one the other day. How would you say you guys are catching the ball? Do you think you're getting better there, and one stat that -- it's kind of hard for me to believe, there's been 18 fumbles by the opponent and you guys have only gotten four of them. How do you wrap your hands around the question, not the ball?
NICK SCOTT: You know, I definitely would say that this defense right now, we're definitely very hungry for the ball, trying to go after the ball every chance we get. The turnovers that we have gotten has been a result of guys doing their job and trusting their keys and making a play when they had the opportunity.

Obviously we wish we had a little bit bigger ratio, that 18 to 4, but there's nothing we can do to go get those fumbles back. We're just going to keep attacking the ball like we have been and presenting as many opportunities to get the ball as we can.

Q. They gave you guys the ball, they awarded you guys possession against Iowa the other day at midfield right before the half. We never really got a great explanation on that. The official signaled Penn State ball but Iowa still had the ball. Did you guys get an explanation?
NICK SCOTT: No, I guess the officials, they're human, they made a mistake. We just lived to see another down and just played off of what they give us.

Q. Are you saying you guys did have the ball?
NICK SCOTT: No, I'm saying they may have made a mistake and said that we had the ball when he meant that -- all right.

Q. What would you say is the philosophy on special teams this year? Obviously in the past we heard a lot about the next inn. What is it this year and how does Galiano maybe compare coaching style wise to Coach Huff?
NICK SCOTT: Right. So Coach Galiano has been doing an amazing job, sort of taking this special teams and creating our identity. Right now we have -- we call ourselves the unit, which is a group of elite guys who know their job and perform it extremely fast and violent. So that's our mentality. We want to play as fast and violent as possible, and he's been putting guys in positions to make plays. Lamont Wade is a guy that really stands out who's been playing physical the past couple weeks, and that's a testament to Coach Galiano and his scheme.

Q. How would you describe Galiano? Is he a high-energy guy? Is he a guy who's going to yell at you at practice, come and explain thing? What is his style there?
NICK SCOTT: I would say that he's a teacher first. He's very concerned with making sure that everybody understands what he wants done. He's not a guy that's necessarily going to scream in your face per se. He'll raise his voice if he has to, but only so the whole room can hear him. He's pretty even keel, and at the end of the day, he just wants everybody to execute like any other coach, and he's been doing a great job so far.

Q. The one day we were at practice, I think Coach Galiano had a headset on and was speaking through a microphone. Is that something new this year, and how does that help you guys with him being able to communicate, if I was reading that the right way?
NICK SCOTT: Yeah, that's something that we've done new. The whole point of that is so everybody on the field can hear him when we're talking about special teams because special teams is a phase of the game where you can have 11 guys on the field spread out throughout 50 yards. So when he's giving coaching points, it's important that the kickoff returner in the end zone can hear him as well as the front line guy at the 50-yard line, and even the guys not on the field on the sideline. So that's the main purpose, just making sure that everybody has an opportunity to be tuned in and hear the coaching points.

Q. Are you ever looking around to find him?
NICK SCOTT: I guess you could say sometimes that happens. We usually find him pretty quick.

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