|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 6, 2018Charlie ShumanUniversity Park, Pennsylvania Q. I know you're excited about THON, so why don't you tell us why everyone else should be excited about it and what you're most proud of of your responsibilities with it. CHARLIE SHUMAN: Yeah, I think so. I think Coach Franklin already spoke on the fact that we're going to wear the THON stickers on the back of our helmets this weekend. The executive director of THON came to me a couple years ago with that idea, and it's been a three-year process to finally get it approved and to have that come out my fifth and last year here is really exciting. At the end of the day, we're going to play a football game on Saturday but it's exciting to have all the THON families and to have THON on a national stage while we play Wisconsin this weekend. Q. Coach Franklin just told us, didn't feel like the offensive line was up to par against Michigan. We saw what happened in the trenches, what is the attitude of that group right now and especially when you have another formidable opponent in Wisconsin coming up? CHARLIE SHUMAN: Wisconsin is a great opponent and they are known for their defense sigh line. In our room we're always excited to face another challenge and learn from the mistakes we made last week and going forward we know we can get better and this week is a great opportunity to prove who we are, and last week wasn't who we are. Q. Do you plan to dance again at THON this year and what do you guys do for 46 hours? Obviously you don't spend all of that time dancing. CHARLIE SHUMAN: So dancing, that's still up in the air. I might; I might not. The 46 hours, we're kind of playing with the THON families. They have activities going the whole time, live entertainment. I don't know you just kind of keep yourself busy and keep your mind off the fact that you've been awake for 50 hours and standing for 40 of that and you remember why you're dancing and why you're doing this, for THON families and what THON raises money for. Q. You've seen this team suffer some tough losses by wide margins earlier in your career but some of the younger players on this roster have not experienced that. How important is it for this practice week to get off to a strong start? CHARLIE SHUMAN: I think it's definitely just important that we come out today, and I know we will out today with the attitude that it's the next game up. Wisconsin is the biggest game on our schedule and that's who we're playing this week, and we have a lot of motivation to go back out on the national stage and prove the Penn State that we are and can be. Q. You've gone against Yetur in practice. How have those gone? CHARLIE SHUMAN: Oh, yeah. He practices hard and I think that's how it shows up on the field. He's always practicing as hard as he can and I know a lot of guys do that and it's paying dividends for him and it's great to see that. Q. How difficult is it to deal with a guy that has the length that he has? CHARLIE SHUMAN: It's hard. I have the benefit of having my own length so that helps me but it's really hard because he -- I don't know if you've ever seen his ankles. They look like most people's mid-calf or thigh. He's just a big dude. He's strong and powerful. He's quick. He has a huge repertoire that he can go to, if he gets beat on his first move, he has move, two, three and four that can beat you just as well. Q. Is it crazy to think that he's just a sophomore and you're seeing all of this out of him now, and he has a year or two left here? CHARLIE SHUMAN: Yeah, it's awesome to see for him because he's worked hard since the day he got here, and going forward, he has so much growth that he can do if he keeps working as hard as I know he will. Q. Early in the season, the rotation at right tackle and more the same recently. How are Will and Chasz managing that, the unknowns of if they are going to play, and how are they cheering and supporting each other -- solitary snaps as a starter? CHARLIE SHUMAN: Coach Limegrover always has a plan of how they are going to rotate and both those guys know that they want to win and that's their main focus. They go as hard as they can all week in practice to prepare like they are going to be the starter, and whoever is on the field, that's how we're going to win a game is them playing the best. So we are all cheering on each other no matter who is playing and who is starting. It's all about who is going to give us the best opportunity to win the game. Q. A lot of times we've heard about Trace McSorley being the guy who steps up in the locker room or steps up in a team meeting, trying to get people fired up and encouraging. Coming off a couple rough performances, is that something where the team needs to get him pumped up or is he still the same guy? Has that dynamic changed at all? CHARLIE SHUMAN: No. Nothing changes with Trace since the day we came in as freshmen together. He's been the same guy every week. He knows we have a big test this weekend and he's going to be up for the challenge and he's going to get the guys ready, as well. Q. Coach Franklin said he wanted to make it a point to talk to you about the election and everything going on like he always does. Have you voted and what were the conversations like? How did they educate you guys on that? CHARLIE SHUMAN: I think it's important we all take the time to vote. It's our civic duty and we're very busy, so it's kind of hard to follow with everything, but we have all done our research, and going out to the polls, it's our opportunity to make a change and vote for change. Q. Did someone talk to you guys about, here is X candidate or just where you can find research? CHARLIE SHUMAN: Just doing your own due diligence and who is going to support your views and how you want to see America going forward. Q. Were there any guys who were like super politically active on the team? CHARLIE SHUMAN: I think there's a few guys that are stronger in voicing their opinions, but I think we all have our own strong opinions that come from the different backgrounds that we've gone from and I think that plays a huge role in who we are as a football team is everyone's backgrounds. Q. You mentioned the process of getting the stickers on the helmets. Why did it take so long? I don't want to put you in a spot, but if you can tell me nicely, how did that process unfold? How many departments did you have to go through? CHARLIE SHUMAN: It started a few years ago. It was just an idea and we kind of weren't as organized in the beginning, and it's tough, as THON has a new executive committee and a new executive director every year and the turnover isn't always the quickest transition. So kind of dealing with that, and then this year, we had a great transition from Andrew Smith to Kelly and we fostered that relationship. I met up with both of them in the spring, and P.J. Mullen; and that led to the summer, I met with some of the people upstairs in the football building and we got a letter together and sent it over to Phil and Sandy. They were extremely supportive knowing it was coming from a student athlete and how much Penn State's involved with THON and how much THON means to us. They were very supportive right off the bat for it. Q. What's daily life like for Nana Asiedu? What role does he have behind the scenes? Has he gotten into a routine and knows what to expect day-to-day in the program? CHARLIE SHUMAN: Yeah, he's always in the locker room and meetings and out in practice. The first two weeks of camp we were calling him Coach Nana. He's kind of helped Coach Limegrover with the rotation seeing when he can -- help with the new young guys come in and seeing any tendencies he can pick up on other guys watching film to help us out for game day. Q. What has surprised you most about the way he's responded to this life obstacle? CHARLIE SHUMAN: He's had a great attitude the whole time. He's been positive since he came in, knowing the situation is exactly what he expected when he committed to come here. I think coming into this program and how supportive we've all been, I think he feels that and he still feels like he's a part of the team and that's carried him to find new ways to get involved. Q. Another freshman, Jayson Oweh, behind the scenes, the two sacks -- came in as an athletic freak and everyone knew that. How has he progressed as a football player since preseason camp? CHARLIE SHUMAN: He's doing very well. I think it really comes down to all these freshmen have come in and seen the work ethic that we strive to meet up to, and the guys ahead of them, even the redshirt freshman, and those guys, are kind of examples of them. Like the fifth-years are way older, so it's kind of hard sometimes to build that connection because I'm 23 and I think he's 18. So that connection isn't always there, but the younger classes have taken them under his wing, too, and he's developed and I think he'll be a good player. Q. You've had a lot of dealings with the media, whether through football or the charitable stuff. Have you ever seen a camera person as tall as you? CHARLIE SHUMAN: No. No one's come close. Q. Except that one? CHARLIE SHUMAN: Oh, yeah, Paris is the closest. Q. On a more serious note, can you take us through when you got the scholarship and kind of what that meant to you and your family? CHARLIE SHUMAN: Yeah, so the team -- I started off with the team meeting when Coach Franklin said the Colóns were coming to practice and I was like, okay, surprised he didn't say anything. But I was excited to see them. I had not seen them in a while. We went through the normal routines of meetings and practice, and I saw them, I was waving to them during practice. At the end. Coach Franklin called me up and that's when he announced I was going to be on scholarship. My parents didn't even known. They just came down because the Colóns were coming down. They kept texting, "We're on our way to State College." I was like, guys, you don't have to. It means a lot. It felt good for the team to get as excited as they did for me, and Coach Franklin, it just makes the last five years totally worth it. Not that the scholarship made it worth it but all the experiences I've had. Q. You obviously could have played more at a smaller program. It sounds as if you're very comfortable with the decision you've made. Can you tell us about that a little bit? CHARLIE SHUMAN: Yeah, absolutely. I had a scholarship offer elsewhere, and I ultimately made the decision to come here and it wasn't anything that that program had done, but Penn State was my dream school and it's lived up to its expectations. Not only the football program but all the experiences I've had on campus with THON, the organizations I've been involved with and being the president of SOB (ph), it's made everything worth it. Q. How much did THON play into your decision to come to Penn State and was that something that was always on your mind when you got here or is that something that grew when you got to Penn State and got to learn more about it? CHARLIE SHUMAN: I actually found out about THON in more detail after I committed. Just coming to Penn State as a football player and being a fan of Penn State Football my whole life, I couldn't pass that opportunity up. Once I found out about THON, it was something I knew right away wanted to be involved with when I got on campus, and SOB was that avenue and I've grown with both SOB and THON getting involved. Q. How have you seen just the rest of your teammates embrace the whole getting involved in THON? CHARLIE SHUMAN: It puts everything that we get to do in perspective. We get to play a game every day and work throughout the year to play 12 games, when really throughout the year -- we have it easy and no matter how hard our workouts can get, we're blessed with the opportunity to play football and play a game where some of those kids don't get that opportunity. It's all about perspective. I think THON gives back to us just as much as we give to it. Q. You've been a part of this program, every football game that James Franklin has coached. From two 7-win seasons, to now college football season championships. What's the most remarkable part of this five-year transition you've witnessed and in your opinion, what are some things that in general, this locker room has kind of embraced and evolved in its own way among the players? CHARLIE SHUMAN: I think the biggest thing that's evolved in the locker room, and not to dwell on the past, but when I first got here, we were a young team and we kind of thought about memorizing the core values and the biggest transition I've seen is instead of memorizing, we truly embrace them and live them every day. That was the biggest transition that goes straight on to the field and even people that left the program, it makes them successful in life, whether it's football or a job. I think that's been the biggest transition. We'll implement that this weekend again for Wisconsin and focus on that game. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact 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
|