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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 27, 2019

Pat Freiermuth

University Park, Pennsylvania

Q. When you guys got word about Sean being your starter officially, can you take us through that, how Franklin addressed it with the team, and how did you approach Sean and Will respectively once you learned of the decision?
PAT FREIERMUTH: Yeah, me and Sean and Will are really good friends, and Coach kind of addressed it in our offensive meeting room. He came in and kind of told the offense that they're going to go with Sean. Obviously as an offense we're going to support him. Sean is a great quarterback and we're trusting him, and we trust Will, too. And obviously Will handled it really well, and yeah, I think we're just excited for the season to start.

Q. One more Sean Clifford question for you, but wanted to ask you, since you've been on campus, when was the first time that you saw Sean and you thought to yourself, yeah, this guy is going to be a starter one day?
PAT FREIERMUTH: Coming into campus, probably summer routes we'd run. Me and Sean obviously were at the threes to begin with, the fours, and just kind of throwing the ball with him. He had a perfect touch, and he threw it wherever it needed to be. And that's probably when I realized, summer workouts when I first got here, he's going to be a really good quarterback here and probably our next starter.

Q. The whole thing with being named captain, what did that mean to you, and were you surprised at all because usually you don't see sophomores in that role?
PAT FREIERMUTH: Yeah, it's a blessing and an honor. I mean, I kind of was expecting maybe next year to be a captain, but obviously being voted captain and having my teammates' support and the coaches' support and the whole program's support, that means a lot. I've been here for a year and some change, and just being voted captain that quick, again, it's a blessing. Especially being captain for a storied program like Penn State. I'm very excited, and I'm ready to handle it.

Q. How did you find out about it, and what was your initial reaction?
PAT FREIERMUTH: Yeah, so we found out in the team meeting. And how Coach does it, he'll put our hometown up first, he'll click the clicker thing, and our name will pop up, and kind of like -- I saw my hometown, Merrimac, and I was like, this is crazy. And then the whole team room went nuts, and Coach Franklin called my parents afterwards, and my mom and dad got all choked up, and it was an emotional deal. It was definitely awesome. And being captain, again, for this program is going to be something that I'll remember for the rest of my life.

Q. Justin Shorter they have right at the top of the depth chart at wide receiver. We didn't get to see a ton of everybody this year in practice, but I'm sure you saw plenty of Justin. Why do you think he's starting, and what should we expect from him when game days arrive?
PAT FREIERMUTH: Yeah, I think Justin is a really good player, and obviously you guys haven't seen how he's been putting the work in the whole summer. I think his preparation probably excelled this season more than last season. I think he's worked really hard in the summer, and I think it translated into camp, and we saw him make plays after plays after plays during camp, and I think he's ready for a breakout year this year.

Q. What's the wait like from maybe the last game you guys played, you have the whole off-season? Do you guys get anxious, and how do you handle it?
PAT FREIERMUTH: Yeah, I think we just have to stay composed. I think Coach Franklin throughout camp kind of preached like, we're focused on Penn State, we're not focused beyond that right now and had better not look ahead. Obviously it's game week and we're excited to face someone else other than our defense because we're going to be real now. It'll be good. Going against Yetur every day in practice is a struggle, but obviously it gets me better, and I just can't wait to hit someone else in a different color uniform.

Q. James talked about the player assessment rankings and kind of unique that you guys sort of assess each other. Just wondering, are you able to make a case for yourself? How does that go? Or do you vote for somebody else, or is all that classified?
PAT FREIERMUTH: I mean, we don't really give an explanation of the why we put that person before the other person. We just kind of list it out and how we view it, so I mean, that's kind of how it goes. I don't -- yeah, I mean...

Q. I seem to recall you at a camp in New Jersey, a Nike camp going up against Micah back in the day. What was that like? Was that the first time you went up against him, and I assume from what I gather you guys are very competitive now out on the field?
PAT FREIERMUTH: Yeah, going against Micah in the Nike camp -- I was kind of fat back in the day -- and especially that Nike camp, I ran slow and it was an eye-opening experience. Like, okay, well, yeah, I'm ranked this, but I'm really not that good, so I kind of had to continue to work hard. And obviously seeing Micah and what he could do, I was like, okay, if he's committed to Penn State and if I'm going to play against him in the Big Ten, I'm going to have to get right.

So that's why I took pride in that, and obviously me and Micah compete every single day in practice, friendly competition going on who can win more one-on-one reps. The first camp last year, I got him, I got him in spring ball, he got me this camp. But I mean, we compete in everything, and we're very competitive and we thrive off each other, so it just gets us better and gets the team better.

Q. Back in 2017 you were on the field there in Jersey. You, Zach Kuntz and Jayson Oweh were in at tight end. I don't know if he knew what he was doing at the time, but he was very much just an undefined athlete. Now that he's a second-team defensive end for this group, what are your expectations? You talked about going up against Yetur. Have you had a change to go against Jayson much and what does he present?
PAT FREIERMUTH: Yeah, I go against Jason a lot, too. He presents a mismatch nightmare. He's crazy athletic. He's so fast off the edge, and he's so strong. I think teams are going to be struggling to block him because he's just such a smart football player, so I think he's going to have a really good year this year.

Q. Two summers again he was working against you and kind of -- where he is now, is that eye opening? Is he ahead of schedule where you thought he could get to this point?
PAT FREIERMUTH: Yeah, I mean, working at tight end at the opening, me and Zach kind of looked at each other like, who's this kid. But then obviously he committed to us as a D-end, and I mean, he's grown so much. He's huge now. Coming in he was a little skinny, but now he's jacked, and he's ready for a big year, and I think he can take himself as far as he wants to go. The sky's the limit for him, and he's going to have a really good year and continued success.

Q. Nick Bowers said earlier this month that he learns a lot from you, and what do you think -- what have you taken from Nick and obviously we're expecting to see a good bit of both you guys this year.
PAT FREIERMUTH: Just how to handle adversity. Nick has been through a lot through his career, and definitely just the way he's handled it all, and I admire that from him, staying after it and not giving up hope. I just admire that with him, and when I go through adversity during a game or during practice, something like that, he always comes over and he's the voice of mind and peace of mind, being like, hey, it's not that big of a deal, just keep pushing, keep going through it. I think that's one big thing I've learned from him is continue to stay patient and don't get so down on a bad practice or a bad play because he's been through so much, and he's going to have a really good year this year. I'm very proud to share the field with him and be in the same room as him.

Q. With your development last year and catching eight touchdowns, leading the Big Ten, did you notice gradually as the season went on that you were getting more attention, becoming more of a focal point for what the defense was trying to do, and what have you and Coach Bowen worked on to kind of counter that because he said on the practice field a couple weeks ago, Pat is going to get a lot more attention coming into his sophomore year.
PAT FREIERMUTH: Yeah, probably in that Kentucky game, I remember we were in the red zone, and pretty sure Josh Allen, he looked over at me and was like, you're not scoring a touchdown on this one, we know what you're about in the red zone. I kind of was like, well, okay. And then scored a touchdown, so I was kind of like, whatever.

But yeah, it's definitely different coming into it knowing that teams will be game planning for me and all that stuff, and working with Coach Bowen and talking to him, I just had to know more coverages and where people were going to go and definitely just kind of figure out like how to win against man, and I've done that this off-season and ready to take what the defense throws at me.

Q. Who's the biggest trash talker on your defense? I think there are a few candidates.
PAT FREIERMUTH: To me personally, it's probably going to be Cam Brown or Micah. Even Lamont probably. We just always compete against each other and we always go against each other, and I think we thrive off that and it just makes us better and makes the practice environment better.

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