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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 24, 2019

Cam Brown

University Park, Pennsylvania

Q. What are tendencies? When you're watching film of an offense, people say you're looking for tendencies. What does that mean to you?
CAM BROWN: Tendency. That can be from as little as the snap count, like the cadence, if it's a hand twitch, anything like that, to something as what formation they are in and what are you getting, what percentage of throws are they throwing out of this formation and what percentage of runs and what are the runs. Those are the tendencies you look for.

Q. Are there situations in your career where you go, I know what they are about to do?
CAM BROWN: Yeah, I feel like when you watch film and you practice, and the way Coach Pry and the defensive staff gets us prepared, we play -- we call it anticipated football. You look at the formation, you identify it and you know what's going to come at you and you can most of the times, like if you see certain things, you can be like, oh, okay, I know it's coming at me and you can get ready for that.

Q. In terms of getting young guys to play consistently, a lot of that comes down to practice and things like that. How do you get them to practice well? Imagine it's a big shift going from high school to we've seen your practices, what that's like.
CAM BROWN: Honestly, that's about having good leadership. Like the leaders have to show the young guys what to do and how to do it and that's how they follow suit. That's how I learned how to practice here. That's how I learned how to lift. Everything that goes on in the program you pretty much have to sit back and watch. So your freshman year, you don't say or do too much, but when you sit back and you watch, you learn, if you're that type of guy, you learn how to practice and to be a complete player.

Q. Brandon Smith is behind you on the depth chart, assuming you spend a lot of time and he picks your brain quite a bit. He's one of the freshman that Franklin mentioned that he feels was flash through the first few weeks?
CAM BROWN: Honestly I've seen his development from winter when he enrolled. You see the difference of him playing. He's playing more confident. He's running around. He's flashing. He's showing that he can run to the ball and he's showing his athleticism and how he can hit and use his size.

Honestly he's grown as a leader, not as a leader, I would say, but as a player in general, he's becoming more confident and somebody you can almost depend on for certain things and the play. He still has a lot of room to grow, he's going to be a great player when he's done.

Q. A couple big hits have gone viral and social media, but what are the nuanced things he's doing on the practice field or in games?
CAM BROWN: It's when you have that size, athleticism and you can use it, it makes the sky the limit for you. That's been the plus for me, my length and my athleticism. But when you -- he's sitting at, probably 6-4 1/2, 6-5 himself and he's 240 and he can run, I mean, you can't really argue too much about that, if you play fast and things like that. If you mess up and you're going a hundred miles per hour, Coach can't be mad at you when you're involved in plays and things like that. That's going to come in time with little steps every day, learning thousand to break down film more and reading certain keys and diagnose different plays.

Q. What's the dynamic with you and Jan Johnson?
CAM BROWN: Well, I tell you, Jan does not like to talk, at all. Jan Johnson, he's come from a very humble position to coming from the walk-on position to going back to wrestling to coming back to scout team and coming back and getting a scholarship and a starter. Jan still has that role of just doing what's right all the time and that's what he always does. That's the way Jan Johnson has always been. Won't say too much or get mad at you for anything, but you'll know when you not do what you're supposed to do.

Q. How important, going into a hostile environment, showing them what the appearances is going to be like, how important is the senior leadership?
CAM BROWN: Honestly I feel like the senior leadership is key to getting the team ready for Saturdays -- well, Friday, for this case.

I feel like honestly I feel like the team's going to be prepared because we treat everything like the same. Every week is the same preparation, same thing like that. Only difference is we might have a little louder music at practice. Every week is prepared the same and I feel like guys are going to embrace and feel like it's a regular week.

Q. How many tickets were you able to round up for Friday?
CAM BROWN: Right now I think I'm sitting at plus nine or plus ten. I usually don't ask for tickets. Sometimes it's just stressful asking teammates and trying to barter with teammates for tickets and things like that.

This is my last year, so I've been trying, honestly trying hard to try to get as many tickets as I am. I probably will need at the end of the play, probably plus 15 of my normal four.

Q. Coach Franklin mentioned that stopping screens was a big point of emphasis for you during the bye week. How much was it emphasized in practice and what are some of the things that you guys think you can kind of do differently to either identify or to kind of stop it when it happens.
CAM BROWN: Well, first of all, it was a big emphasis last week, honestly. We went over and emphasized our third down stuff because we struggled on third down and that's usually when screens come out. That's a big emphasis for us. We were looking at third down stuff and looking at the calls we made and how we broke them and messed them up and how we let them think they will slide through our fingers.

But honestly, I feel like as a whole, the defense, we just need to recognize and be ready for it more as a defense. Usually relies on the linebackers making the plays, so we can take the blame for that. But we have to just be playing more anticipated football and see that coming.

Q. And the recognition thing --
CAM BROWN: It's always a recognition thing because with our linebackers, we have the athleticism to go make the play but we just have to go see it before it happens.

Q. Coach Franklin spoke very highly of the defense overall and the points you've allowed or not allowed but one thing he wanted to challenge going into the bye week was developing the pass rush and bringing the quarterback down more often. How have you seen them respond to that challenge that he publically put out there?
CAM BROWN: Honestly I feel like they are going to take it as motivation, the D-Line as a whole and the front, we have to get back there and cause more pressure. I feel like they took it as a positive and yesterday in practice you see more intensity from the D-Line and guys trying to make more splash plays, and I feel like Maryland will feel it this weekend.

Q. What challenges does Maryland's offense present to your defense?
CAM BROWN: Honestly, they have a very strong run game. Anthony McFarland is running extremely hard right now. I wouldn't say it's a challenge because we have been playing really well on defense and stopping the run with Pitt last week, so I feel like honestly, their biggest challenge is going to be us recognizing all the formations because they run a lot of formations out of different packages. I feel like that's going to be the biggest challenge for us.

I feel like other than that, other than recognition and playing with them, I feel like we have the talent and coaching to do anything against them.

Q. Is it an extra emphasis put on the fact that you are facing a mobile quarterback for the first time this season?
CAM BROWN: No, I do not think so honestly. I feel like Pitt's quarterback was very mobile. I feel like he's improved a lot. So I feel like honestly going against Maryland's quarterback who is now I guess considered as a dual threat quarterback would not be an issue for us.

Q. Being one of the older guys, how many of the Maryland guys do you still know, how many familiar faces over there?
CAM BROWN: Familiar faces, many. But know personally, a lot of the guys I played with in little leak like Anthony McFarland, Lorenzo Harrison, D.J. Turner, guys that have been around. Guys that are Maryland guys. Even their old linebacker, Durrell, he got hurt was going to be a redshirt sophomore and guys like Keandre Jones, I was recruited against him when he went to Ohio State. I recognize a lot of phases.

Just knowing personally, I mean, I don't really know anybody outside of the buildings anymore.

Q. What stands out to you so far about Lance?
CAM BROWN: Honestly Lance is speed. Lance is a fast guy. He's fast. He's a converted DB. He's been growing and learning. Coach Pry has been trying to figure out and find a spot he feels most comfortable with him at, Sam or will, where he's practicing at now, it's all relative to everybody around him really. It's about fitting the scheme and where Coach Pry can put him into the scheme. So if Brandon looks good at Sam running out there, then maybe Lance will stay at will. If it's flip flopped, you'll never know. Just depends on who is playing better at which position.

Q. Jordan stout and the way he's come in and booted the ball, does that kind of help your defense in terms of just knowing well they are going to get the ball to 25 unless something unexpected happens, let's go to work, rather than getting the spots where maybe a kick is busted and you're at the 40-yard line midfield and you've been so consistent with where the opponent is starting on these kickoffs?
CAM BROWN: We call him Sturdy Stout. He's very consistent and doing what he has to do and for any defense we're prepared for any defense and if it is a sudden chance situation where they are on their own 20, I feel my defense will never be scared of anything like that but we do and love and appreciate Stout for what he's doing back there.

Q. Stay with Jordan Stout questions. Is there a most impressive thing you've seen him do?
CAM BROWN: Honestly I can't say anything. He's not doing anything outside of the ordinary on Saturday. I feel like what we see at practice, his consistency is mirrored on game days.

Q. Was there one in camp that he kicked --
CAM BROWN: Yeah, I think the first time we had a field goal challenge and he was kicking. He was the one -- his went over the net and everybody was like, who is this kid. It was kind of one of those, all right, I like him. So ever since then, it's been -- the sky, he's been blowing it out. He's been blowing it out the water.

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