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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 5, 2010Joe PaternoTHE MODERATOR: Welcome to our weekly teleconference with Coach Paterno. We'll start our questions. Q. Ron Zook called this a must game for Illinois. Do you feel a similar sense of urgency for your team? COACH PATERNO: Obviously we're in a situation where we need to go out and play well. Winning is, yeah, certainly very, very high on our priorities. But I don't think it's a "must" game in the sense that we need to win it or else. No, it's not that kind. I think we're still in the developing stage. I still think we've got a ways to go to be the kind of football team I think eventually we're going to become. And I would hope we would play better Saturday than we played, and go from there. But I wouldn't put it in that category. Q. Could you give us the injury status for three players: Jordan Hill, Gerald Hodges and Curtis Drake? Are you going to do redshirt Drake if he doesn't come back soon? COACH PATERNO: We haven't even talked about that yet. Drake is close. But he won't be ready this week. He, we're hoping, will be able to do some things tomorrow on his ankle. And Hodges was jogging a little bit yesterday. And he may be ready in a week or two, I don't know. But they're all coming along. And there's an opportunity to -- probability that they all three might be ready to go in a week or two. But I'm not sure. You don't know how kids will react once they start doing, start pushing some of those injuries. But that's where we are. We're a little bit up in the air with what's going to happen with the three of them. Q. What does the tight end situation look like this week? Do you expect Haplea to take most of the snaps? COACH PATERNO: He'll have to. We're down. Szczerba was jogging yesterday. That was the last couple of days first time we've been able to have him where he can at least jog and do some running. But he won't be ready this week. And the other kid obviously is going to be out for the year. So I would think this kid's gotta come through and play. Q. How would you assess the energy level and play of the team in the first quarter of the last couple of games? COACH PATERNO: You said the first quarter? Q. Yes. Like the way you've started. COACH PATERNO: Obviously we've not -- you know, we have not gone out there and played with a lot of get up and go early in the game and let other people do some things that we thought we could handle. So I'm disappointed, as I'm sure the kids are themselves about that. But I think you've got to give the other guy some credit. We've got to, I think, if we're going to be a good football team, we gotta be ready to play on the opening kickoff. We've been just a little bit tentative. And I'm not sure why, to be very frank with you, I'm not sure why, because we've talked about it a great deal and we've tried to practice at a tempo so that when we started the ball game, everybody knew exactly what we were going to do, particularly after the Alabama game, when they took the football right down the field. So I'm really -- I don't really know what to tell you as to why. But I think your observation is correct that we obviously have not dominated the first quarter in any of our games. Q. I was wondering if you could comment on the development of the linebackers as a whole, how you think they're doing so far. And have the two seniors that you rely on there, Colasanti and Ollie, have they performed as well as you hoped? COACH PATERNO: Both ended up playing a little hurt, the two kids you mentioned. But I think both of them have played solid football. I think the linebackers have played good football. Not great football. Yet, there's a lot of things that they're a little bit hesitant about, because of some of the things we've seen. But I think we're doing okay. And I think we're getting better. One or two of those kids have started way back, starting to come on strong. Kid like Stupar. Stupar was really struggling a little bit in preseason and has come on and played well, not very well, he's played well in the last couple of games. The two kids you mentioned, the two seniors, both of whom are working hard at it, but they're a little bit incapacitated, but they still practice and they're playing. Q. What has Kevin Haplea shown you in practice since the spring and what kind of job do you feel him capable of doing with Gilliam out? COACH PATERNO: I didn't get that. Q. What have you seen from Kevin Haplea in practice since the spring and what kind of job do you expect him to do with Gilliam out? COACH PATERNO: Well, he's a good freshman. Remember, he's a true freshman and works hard. Has a little bit but lacks -- you need the experience that you want with a tight end. The tight end isn't like what it used to be, used to be a blocker. But now he's such an integral part of your passing game. He's got a lot to learn. And that's unfortunate that we've got to stick him in there right away. But I think he'll do okay. He's a bright kid. He works hard. And I think a good week, if he can stay without any bumps or bruises all week, I think by Saturday he'll do a good job. Q. Pretty deep group of wide receivers. Was there any thought with all these problems at tight end of maybe taking a look at Brett Brackett there more on a regular basis? COACH PATERNO: Yeah, we played Brackett a lot obviously as a slot, put him in motion. Asking him to block the corners. But to put him in there and put his hand down or even play him as a stand-up blocker, offensive tight end where he's got to go in and block those tackles, he's got to pass protect some of these guys that are 260 pounds that move as well as they do particularly Iowa had two kids that were really good. They were all good but two that were particularly outstanding. I don't know whether we get the most out of him. I think you need a bigger man, and you need a guy that's -- you gotta start out with being a blocker first. You hate to -- and as I said earlier, we've got to get a guy who can go in there and run some pass lanes where he recognizes things and reads things. Certainly Brackett can do that. But whether we want to put him down, I don't know. We haven't even -- I never thought of that. Although, Brackett will play a lot of football closer to the ball. He's not always flanked out. He's in the slot, type slot a lot of times. Q. You mentioned a little earlier that this game isn't necessarily a must-win or else. Is that a point of emphasis to the kids this week, to make sure they don't put too much pressure on themselves this week, maybe with a loss? COACH PATERNO: I think that each one will react a little different, sure. But I think as a group we're disappointed. But we've lost to two good football teams playing on the road. I think hopefully they've learned something. Now that they'll be ready to play. And as I said play a better game than we've played. I hoped each week we would get a little bit better. And in some ways we were better against Iowa, did some things pretty well, as opposed to maybe earlier. But we've got to get better. And they know that. And they're working at it. We went out yesterday without pads, and I was pleased with the bounce they had and the enthusiasm. And I think that we'll have a good week, and we'll see what happens Saturday. But I don't think it's the mindset that you're suggesting. I don't think that's there. They want to play. They're young. We gotta make some plays. That's the biggest problem we have right now. We can't make some plays. So I'm not talking about -- we had a couple of shots at a couple of passes that were thrown that would have been tough catches, but they could have been called. Just a couple of tough games we haven't come up with some plays. Fumbles. We don't get enough good turnovers, those kinds of things. Q. Joe, the problem in the red zone, couple of players said there's problems, confusion getting plays down there. Have there been problems with your team getting plays down the field or letting the clock run down? COACH PATERNO: The clock ran down on Saturday. That was not -- I won't get into whose fault that was. That certainly wasn't one of the coach's faults or our players. Again, I hate to point the finger to anybody, so we'll leave that go. But I don't know whether that's accurate. It may be. I don't think so. I think part of our problem, again, is making some plays and we have to make them. And when you're not running as well as we'd like to run, the closer you get to the goal line, the tougher it is to throw. They start -- they don't have to back up 30 yards. They squeeze you up and back on you. They play short stuff better. So it's a combination of things. And I don't mean to make excuses, because I don't think we've done a good enough job in a lot of different ways. But I think down on the goal line and on the red zone, we know what the problem is. The problem is we can't just take it and knock people back, particularly against a couple of teams that -- particularly Iowa is -- you guys may not recognize it, Iowa, that was one tough football game, physically. It was a tough football game physically. And Iowa is one heck of a defensive football team, particularly against the run. Q. I know you said after the game about the spike, taking three seconds, that seemed like it was a fast three seconds. But it looked like you initially wanted a timeout first. Could you review that? COACH PATERNO: I wanted a timeout and the guy didn't give it to me. He said because it was a penalty involved he said he didn't think he wanted a timeout. I said what are you talking about, I told you I wanted a timeout. I tried to call the timeout as soon as the ball was located. And they started the clock, the wrong guy started the clock. The guy that places the ball should start the clock. You know, we'll get the blame. But that's fine. But we handled it all right. We knew what we were doing. We got some other people that didn't know what they were doing. And they're not our team. Q. You had success bringing Daryll Clark in a couple of years ago as a change of pace. And just was curious about whether there could be or looking at Newsome in any kind of role like that to maybe give you maybe a more experienced runner or just -- COACH PATERNO: We probably could. And we've discussed it. Kevin's got to spend a little more time doing his homework. He's not quite -- right now he's gotten by with his athletic ability. And he's having a tough time with some other things, farce what's expected of him in certain situations. But I think that there is a place for him, and maybe we have to use him a little bit more, I don't know. You hate to do that with a young quarterback. You hate to take -- you know, you don't get anything for nothing. We start putting Newsome in there and the other kid starts looking over his shoulder. I don't know how that works. But I think it's something that we have talked about and I've decided we'll just play that by ear for a while. Q. Can you talk about what you've seen on Illinois's defense and observations there and their secondary which seems to be very sticky and things like that, as far as coverage and that sort of thing? COACH PATERNO: Well, they were struggling for a while there. If you look at them against some people and then look at against Ohio State, they played Ohio State really well. Granted that one guy got hurt a little bit and was out of there. But they did a good job. They hustle. They tackle better against Ohio State than they had earlier. They reacted better. So I think they're doing a good job coaching and getting better. I hope we're getting better. Because I think the statement that was earlier, that it's a must-win for them, it's a big game for both sides. It's homecoming for us. And it's the second game in the Big Ten for us. And it's obviously a big game for them. And they've gotten better. And that's a long answer to a simple question. I think they're improving all the time. And against Ohio State they played very well. Q. Earlier you said that Colasanti and Gbadyu were playing a little hurt. Could you talk about that a little bit. Has that limited this them in practice? COACH PATERNO: We've got a lot of injuries. This has been one of those tough years when you look back and Drake's never been, as in practice, hurt in practice. Hodges has been hurt. We lose Eliades and we've struggled with injuries. We've got as many as I can remember. Some of them we, as I said, they're kids that were going to be big part of our football team. Kids like Drake. Drake is a very gifted athlete. We don't see Beachum. Six or seven kids that aren't part of it because of injuries. You're struggling for some experienced kid, like Beachum's played. Q. Do you have any detail on Colasanti and Gbadyu on their injuries? COACH PATERNO: Bumps and bruises. Colasanti has a shoulder. The one with a little bit -- not a little bit. An ankle. Q. Could you update us on the status of Stanley and Thomas, two of the kids who didn't play last week, didn't make the trip? COACH PATERNO: I'm not allowed to talk about that. We've been -- I'm telling you, we were told that we're breaking the law if we talk about it. If any kid is in any way not allowed to play for one reason or another, we have a long letter from the university administration not to discuss it. Q. Is Ware in the same boat? COACH PATERNO: Ware is in the same boat except I can say that Ware has had academic problems. Q. Are you at the point where you're about ready to give up on Ware? COACH PATERNO: Well, until he does a better job academically. He's here to get an education. Q. Can you talk about any similarities you've seen with Illinois's new quarterback Scheelhaase with the quarterback a few years ago, Deuce Williams? COACH PATERNO: You guys talk so fast. Williams, what about him? Q. Have you seen any similarities watching film of Illinois's quarterback Scheelhaase that -- any similarities with the quarterback a few years back, Deuce Williams, does that help with preparation at all? COACH PATERNO: I haven't really looked at it this way. The guy you're talking about is a good football player. Doing well. But I haven't said well how does he compare with this guy or -- I usually don't do that. Not unless there's a reason. Right now we've only practiced the one day yesterday and we've observed a lot of tapes in the last few days, obviously. And I'm impressed with the difference in their football team early. I took a quick look at Missouri, which was their opening game. They got licked. They didn't play very well against Missouri. But after that they started to get better. As I said earlier, they played a very good football game against an outstanding team in Ohio State. And the quarterback, they did a good job. Q. You've talked about the youth and inexperience on this team. Now you've had the injuries mounting. How challenging of a coaching job has it been for you so far? COACH PATERNO: It's a challenge. A lot of it is because exactly the attitude some people have about why this, everybody wants to know why this, why that. And nobody wants to hear a lot of excuses. But the injury situation does make it a little more difficult when you try to -- you're trying to get some cohesion in your football team. We had gone in the season with the idea that there was certain people were going to do certain things, and then when we couldn't use them, we started to change around a little bit and then a couple other kids get bumped up so you change that around a little bit. In the meantime, you try not to -- you're trying not to get too fancy because you've got young quarterbacks. You've got to be careful that they don't, you don't give them too much. Got a couple of people in other positions that can handle only so much right now. So, yeah, it's a challenge. But nobody said it was going to be easy all the time. Q. Do you have any thoughts of moving Powell back to defense? COACH PATERNO: No. We're going to keep him on offense. If a couple guys get hurt, maybe. Q. When Drake comes back? COACH PATERNO: As soon as Drake comes back, we'll see what he can do. Drake hasn't had a uniform on since the first day. And even then he came back some with the injury. He tried to do something the first day and they took him out of there. So I can't tell you right now. It depends on what Drake -- Q. You're going to face another good running back this week. Can you talk about facing him or what you've seen of him? COACH PATERNO: I think we've done a good job on defense. I think at times we played good, solid football on defense. I think our big problem, obviously, has been the start of two games. We just came in -- we went in there with a bunch of kids and all of a sudden they're playing before that crowd. Some of you guys were there, realize how enthusiastic their crowd was. I think we were a little bit, but I think at Iowa we weren't. I was disappointed we didn't do a better job early. But, there again, they hit a couple of passes. They did a couple of things right. We stopped them with a field goal the first time. And then when we did have opportunity they had pretty good field position and next we didn't do anything with it. So I think we've got to be careful. I think the defense has done pretty well. Not great. But well enough if we had a little bit better control of the game earlier we probably would have made a better game of it, obviously. Q. After the Iowa game, some of your players came out and said that this was a week to try and find out how good they really are. As a coach, does that worry you at all that they're kind of questioning where the team stands, or is that just a natural progression? COACH PATERNO: Well, it depends on how good, your definition of good. I would hope, yeah. I think that may be saying it a little differently than the way I say it. I say we've got to get better. We're on the verge of being a pretty good football team. But we've got to do that in a tough game. We haven't done it yet. We haven't been in a ball game. Temple maybe a little bit. We haven't been in one of those games which goes back and forth, the whole football game. So I think, yeah, I think they want to find out some things about themselves. Particularly the younger kids. The younger kids have not gone out there and, you know, and moved off the field, hey, we showed them. We got a ways to go. I'm glad to hear you say that, though. I don't think it means they have to win. It means we have to be better. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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