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ROSE BOWL GAME: USC VS PENN STATE

December 28, 2016

Brent Pry

Pasadena, California

Q. You guys, the defensive adjustments at halftime, there were a lot of games, Purdue-Michigan State where offenses did some things on you in the first half. How good do you feel about the adjustments at halftime which you guys were able to shut people down in the second half?
BRENT PRY: I think part of it is we do have some young guys out there, some inexperienced players, and sometimes seeing the plays at live speed, getting used to the game speed against a different style of offense, I think there is some of that, an inexperience factor.

I think that's a sign of some maturity as we went through the season those guys were able to make adjustments. We were able to do some things with some guys, even when Cabinda and Bell were out of the lineup. So I think it's a maturity thing as the season wears on.

I think as the year went on, you could see the experience building in those guys, some guys up front, especially, were able to do it a little bit more.

Q. From your perspective and the coaching perspective, what do you guys look at in the first half, and what is the process like at the half to try to make the adjustments and relay that to the kids?
BRENT PRY: I think one of the biggest challenges we have as coaches is to decipher what's really the issue. You know, you don't want to change things that really aren't broken. Maybe it's because a player didn't fit right. Maybe he missed a tackle. Maybe there was some compounding issues that dominoed a little bit. You've got to kind of boil it down and say what really happened? Why did they have this play? Why did they have success in this formation or this blockage scheme, then what we're doing, if that doesn't work, then we make an adjustment, but when we're trying to adjust without really knowing what the problem is, why it's not working, that's why I think it gave me some problems.

Q. We've seen Koa take on a bigger role this year. What kind of impact do you think Manny has on the defense?
BRENT PRY: Yeah, we're used to that right now, to be honest, and I'm a Manny Bowen fan. He's had a really good year for us.

But we just keep rolling. It's a rally cry for our group. There really wasn't any flinching in the room. Everybody's excited for Koa. There's more opportunities for Cam Brown, Brandon Bell's role, if it can grow, it's going to. He may not come off the field. But that's something I think we've handled very well throughout the season.

Q. Do you see this as kind of a learning experience from Manny, given he's a younger guy, a sophomore?
BRENT PRY: I think it's a learning experience for everybody. I think everybody makes mistakes, and we're able to have everybody learn from mistakes, you know? I think we'll be better for it.

Q. You said about some of the guys up front made improvements this year, Kevin Givens?
BRENT PRY: Absolutely. Robert Windsor, Kevin Givens, Shareef Miller, you're talking about a bunch of red-shirt freshmen, Ryan Buchholz, that as the year went on, they got more comfortable at their position, and we got more comfortable doing more with them. You know, they allowed us to take the handcuffs off a little bit. I think sometimes in the first half I was probably somewhat conservative, let the guys get their feet wet and see how we're doing before we kind of get to the 200 level.

Q. Going along with it, it looked like Jarvis Miller was lined up for you guys?
BRENT PRY: Jarvis has worked both positions on and off throughout the season. He's kind of a hybrid guy like Koa. He's a guy that we feel like could help us at safety and possibly grow into that field backer spot.

Q. I'm going to ask you about Lamont Wade, he's going to really enroll, signed the papers?
BRENT PRY: Yeah, super excited. Very good player. Can't wait to get him here. All those midterm guys.

Q. Is there a big difference? We hear a lot about it?
BRENT PRY: Absolutely. I think if you want a guy to play as a freshman, if you have a need to play him in the spring, it puts him light years ahead from the rest of the guys.

Q. What specifically has Givens done as the season has gone on to see him improve?
BRENT PRY: He's playing faster. He would clear a block or clean a block, and he would stop his feet and kind of size up the situation. He's exploding, accelerating to the play. He's just playing faster, he's more comfortable.

Q. Will he have to continue to gain weight?
BRENT PRY: He does. I think you have to look at his body type and where he's going to level out and what's his optimum playing weight. I don't think he's there yet. But I don't think he'll ever be a 300-pound guy, that's my personal opinion. Been around a lot of 280-, 285-pound three techniques that are good enough. You saw the play in the Big Ten Championship game where he bent out of there and chased that back down where we lost coverage on him. If he's 300, 305, does he make that play? That's where you have to be careful. You don't want to lose some of his greatest asset which is his speed and quickness.

Q. Does the fact that Koa hasn't played as high a number of defensive snaps mean you have to monitor him this week or on Monday since he'll be getting the start there?
BRENT PRY: I don't think so. Koa's had a big role in special teams. In some games we've relied on him more at linebacker than others. But he's an endurance guy. He's a warrior, he can play a lot of snaps. He's in great shape, he's a good athlete. I'm excited for him.

Q. Jason tweeted earlier today that he's going to come back next year. How much of a relief is it knowing you don't have to get another quarterback for the defense?
BRENT PRY: I told him I was going to tie him up and handcuff him and not let him go, so it didn't matter. It's a great feeling. We want all these guys to come back. We think we're on the verge of something really special. We were, as I mentioned, a relatively young team on defense. I think having Jason return, his leadership off the field, he's one of our best workers this winter, summer. He's a leader out there. So he helps us not just with his experience on the field, but leadership in the entire off-season.

Q. How involved do you get in conversation? I know James will talk with guys about, hey, here's what I'm thinking. Do you have a conversation with him?
BRENT PRY: Yeah, you talk openly, you know, and honestly with the guys.

Q. Is that hard? I mean, selfishly, I'm sure --
BRENT PRY: I don't think so. We want what's best for them. We want them to make a good decision based on all the information, not to be misinformed. Make sure you're making this with the right information.

Q. James mentioned earlier this month that you were super impressed with Clay Helton. And besides the production they've had this year, what impresses you about the work they've done in recent years?
BRENT PRY: I worked with Clay for three years at the University of Memphis. I know what kind of coach he is, I know what kind of person he is. I know how he cares about those players. I know what a detail guy he is. I have tremendous respect for him. I'm not surprised one bit, the success they've had and the way they've grown offensively, especially with a red-shirt freshman quarterback, which is challenging in its own right. So they've done a tremendous job.

Q. What have you seen on film? What stands out to you?
BRENT PRY: In a lot of ways he's like our guy. He's a gamer. He's a winner. He finds a way to keep the play alive, he finds a way to make a play with his feet, with his arm. He's heady. Doesn't make a lot of mistakes. Those guys, I hate defending those guys.

Q. Who would you compare them to that you've seen this year, anyone?
BRENT PRY: I don't know. He's kind of built like Hackenberg a little bit. He moves around pretty good. He's mobile. He's got a quick release. He's a good football player. I don't know if I could liken him to anybody specifically.

Q. Have you and Clay stayed in contact?
BRENT PRY: Somewhat. You know, it's hard in this line of work, especially when he's on the other side of the country. But our wives are friends, and we know his brother Tyson. We've spent some good years together under Tommy West at Memphis. As I said, I have a lot of respect for Clay. I'm very happy for him to be in the position he's in.

Q. So will your wives see each other this week?
BRENT PRY: Oh, sure. Yeah, they'll get together at some point here.

Q. Do you remember from Clay what he was like at Memphis back in the days?
BRENT PRY: A quality person, high-energy, as I mentioned, detail oriented. Just, to me, he's a very well-rounded football coach. He's in it for the right reasons. He cares about those guys. They're going to play for him, and he's smart. So, we've got our hands full.

Q. Earlier today, Tee Martin was saying he went back and watched you guys Game 1 to Game 13, whatever it is. Do you have an order in which you watched USC this year?
BRENT PRY: No, we generally will look at the games that have similar defenses to ours. That's where we'll start. How are they blocking things, what do things look like? Then we'll get into what are they doing formationally and by personnel, and we'll study them that way. Then as the road goes, you find different things you want to study a little deeper or a little further, so you'll maybe venture down a direction you didn't know you were going to go, you know, to take a look at those guys. You may go back another year or so and look at some other things.

Q. So what are the defenses that they play that are similar?
BRENT PRY: There are several of them. I mean, we're a four-three, a nickel team at times, and an over-front, so we looked at those guys.

Q. A lot of the guys mentioned earlier this month that schematically a big point for them was to get the ball to the playmakers for any offense. Is that concept different from things you've seen this year, or is it a lot of translation that, hey, we saw this against whatever team we played already?
BRENT PRY: Repeat that question.

Q. Guys have mentioned how their offense is a little bit different and that the biggest emphasis is to get the ball in the hands of their playmakers. Is there a lot of new teaching going on to what they're doing?
BRENT PRY: No, well, first of all, we're not going to create anything new at this point in the season for us. We're going to hang our hat on what we do well. I think that's a little bit who they are. They don't do a whole lot because they're pretty good at what they do. They control the football by a controlled passing game. I think their run plays are limited but they're very good at them, some zone scheme, a little bit of man blocking. These guys are good at what they do. They don't have to do a whole lot. We've seen a lot in the last few weeks, a lot of trade and shift and motion and multiple tight ends. So these guys to me are in some ways a little bit like our offense in what they do formationally, but different style offense.

Q. This morning the SC guys were talking about the variety of pressures and looks that you'll use to get to the quarterback. For those of us on the West Coast who haven't seen a ton of your defense, what is your philosophy in terms of getting to the quarterback?
BRENT PRY: I don't know that there's a set philosophy. We kind of blitz where we need to. We're going to go in the game with enough in the run-pass phase of the game where we can pressure people. That's obviously part of who we are. When we roll out our base calls, there are a couple of coverages and a couple of pressures that we're going to ride out every week with. Then in your later downs, we're going to have our staple blitzes that we try to gear toward their protection, to try to see if we can't -- they do a great job getting rid of the football, so we won't -- he's not going to sit back there and hold the ball long. So we've got to come clean on him. We study protections like everybody else does, and try to get a beat on them.

Q. A run-pass option game has become such a huge part of what offenses do across the country. As the defensive coordinator, how have you guys tried to keep pace with those RPOs?
BRENT PRY: Yeah, well, you talk to other guys, you study other people. That's one of the things you look at when you watch film is who defended it well? What did they do? I think for us we've had the good fortune that our offense runs a fair amount of RPO, so we're able to work against it in practice, which helps. I think it's just like zone read. When people first started running it, it was such a problem for everybody, and then you start to find answers and you find a game where somebody defended a good zone-read team very well, and you go look at it. If you've got time, you go visit them. We've been around places where we've had offenses guys come in and clinic the defense on how they're running those plays. So I think it's one of the challenges right now for everybody across all the leagues. We think we have a pretty good plan for it.

Q. As a defensive guy, do you feel the lineman down field rule is being enforced correctly?
BRENT PRY: It's only come up a time or two for us this year, to be honest. It probably comes up more in practice than it does in the game. But, yeah, we're okay with it. It hasn't been too much of an issue.

Q. Yesterday Coach Franklin was talking about USC is a team that kind of has Indiana's scheme a little bit with Ohio State athletes. Does that kind of sum it up?
BRENT PRY: Yeah, I would think so. They're not throwing the ball down the field as much. Indiana was chucking it all day long and having great success that somebody was catching it, either them or the other team. And they were going to make an attempt. I think to me SC's a little bit more of a controlled, passing attack. They spread you horizontally and it's very challenging that way. They have very gifted athletes, obviously. I would liken them to Ohio State, as Coach did. I think their tailback reminds me a little bit of Curtis Samuel up at Ohio State. Just a little bit of a slasher, but can get to full speed pretty quick, has good vision, and good balance, and nice feet. He's a match-up problem.

Q. Darnold's one of the best red zone quarterbacks in the country. He's got 18 touchdowns, no interceptions. For someone that comfortable in the red zone, what do you try to do to change that?
BRENT PRY: I think you've got to try to get to this guy a little bit. But they've done a nice job. He doesn't hold the ball. He's smart enough that he's not going to be careless with it. I think they're asking him to do the right things. He's got a quick release. Again, I liken him to our guy. He doesn't make more choices. We're going to try to have him do that. That's obviously part of our plan is let's give him some looks and see if we can't force a bad decision, but he hasn't made many.

I think you also have to plan for him not holding the ball. Everybody, yeah, you want to blitz him, blitz him, blitz him, but if he's not going to hold the ball, I'm not sure that's what the answer is, we'll see.

Q. You mentioned a few times that their offense reminds you of our offense. Is that a good thing, a bad thing?
BRENT PRY: Yeah, just formationally, different styles. But one back, tight end, kind of getting multiple sets out of that. That's what we do. Some RPO in there. And we've got a little bit of the horizontal game. But I think we throw the ball down the field more also. But it's challenging for sure.

Q. Darnold seems like a pretty hard guy to sack. He's only been sacked five times as a starting quarterback. What challenges does he pose with his legs?
BRENT PRY: I don't know if it's just him. Think they only have 11 sacks on the year in 11 games or something like that. Again, that's not who they are. They're not going to sit back there and, drop deep in the pocket and go through a bunch of reads. I think that's not who they are. That's not what their offense is, so that helps. Then you've got a smart quarterback that gets rid of it pretty quick. So all of that equates, you know. I mean, our sack total dropped tremendously with Trace making great choices and being good on his feet, which I think SC's quarterback is pretty good on his feet. He gets out of trouble. Not be afraid to throw the ball away.

Q. You guys have been pretty effective at pressuring quarterbacks during the season. What is special in that regard?
BRENT PRY: We pride ourselves in being a four-man rush team, to be honest. We blitz more so on early downs, probably, be than later downs. We'll cut loose of blitzing at the right time. But I think they complement each other. Your four-man rush complements your blitz back, and you have to get both of those things going, not just for this season, but last season we've been able to do that. Again, that's one of the challenges. One of the keys to our success in this game is affecting the quarterback, not sacking, affecting the quarterback.

Q. Coach, when you get players that step up into bigger roles, it takes them a few games to settle in. Same situation for a coach. Talk about that adjustment for you. When did you start to feel comfortable that I'm making the calls with this and that? In your new role, how long did it take you to feel that?
BRENT PRY: To be honest, I think you're absolutely right. This year was maybe more challenging. But Bob Shoop and I had kind of been doing this thing hand in hand. So the transition was somewhat easier. Having called plays before, and being comfortable with the head coach is important, and him trusting you and allowing you to do what you feel you need to do. The kids trusting you. I think that's where it starts, the relationships with those guys. We've got a great defensive staff. Coach Spencer and I have been together for six seasons now. We see things the same way, we operate the same. It's kind of similar when it comes to rush and rushability and what we need to do. And the addition of Coach Banks, an experienced coordinator, and a lot of background in the passing game, complements Coach Smith very well. So we've got a good group. I think each year there is some growth as a coach, and you're foolish if you think there's not. Every year's going to be a little different. Your players are going to be different. The challenges the offense presents is going to be different.

Q. Along those lines, what about James? Not to interrupt your line of thinking, but I wanted to ask you with Coach Franklin, how much growth have you seen in his role since he's gotten to Penn State?
BRENT PRY: Oh, yeah, he's done a tremendous job. That's a national program that is multi-facetted in so many ways. He's a coach that wants to be involved in everything. He feels he needs to be. He's done a tremendous job of managing our operations, and not just our players, but our staff, the community, the fan base, the students. He realizes and recognizes he's done a great job of getting everybody involved, getting everybody pulling the rope in the same direction.

As I've said many times, he's got more drive and determination than maybe anybody I've worked with.

Q. First time I've seen him uncomfortable I think was on the, Rollickin' Roadsters yesterday at Disneyland. He couldn't control the ride.
BRENT PRY: Yeah, that might be the case (laughing). I've seen him come off the high dive platform, I never thought he'd do it, and he didn't bat an eye.

Q. Talked to three of the players and said what should we know about Coach Pry. What's it say about you that all three of them talked about what type of person you are before even mentioning coaching?
BRENT PRY: Growing up in this business with my dad as a coach, I just saw the joy he had in the relationships. That's what he talked about, win or lose, how much those guys meant to him. And I think I wanted that for myself. I saw how rewarding that was. There's challenges with all these young guys, and you're here to help them succeed and grow and mature and understand and realize things. That's awesome. Football's a great tool to do that, a great vehicle for those guys to mature. I've said it. I believe 100% the more maturity we put on that field, the better off we are. We're going to recruit talented players at Penn State, but we've got to coach and teach maturity and put these guys in situations and have the hard conversations where they grow the direction they need to.

I think that's one of the things about our team this year. There's not just one pure superstar out there that's just gobbled up all the accolades, a Carl Nassib or somebody like that. We've got a unit of guys that really enjoy playing together. There's a lot of maturity. Malik Golden, Brandon Bell, Evan Schwan, those guys just get it. Some of those guys don't show up on the record boards in our weight room, but, man, they get out there on the field and they know how to play.

Q. You talked about working with Coach Franklin, you've also worked with Clay. How do you compare the two? When you were back in Memphis, did you see him?
BRENT PRY: Absolutely. Player's coach, definitely a player's coach, values relationships very much. High-character guys, tremendous workers. There's a lot of similarities in Clay and James. Got tremendous respect for both of them. Not surprised at all to see Clay having the success he's having.

Q. Did you follow him a little bit?
BRENT PRY: Sure, sure.

Q. Were you worried when they were 1-3?
BRENT PRY: Well, he's one of those guys that's going to persevere. He's going to handle adversity like it needs to be handled, and he's going to have the trust of his players. I'm not going to say I worried. We had our own issues going on in Happy Valley.

Q. James had mentioned that several coaches had been approached by other teams about filling vacancies. I'm sorry if somebody asked you this, were you approached at all? Did you give any conversation to anything?
BRENT PRY: You know, you get phone calls. If you don't act on them, if you're not interested -- at least for me personally, I'm happy where I am. I love the role I have right now. I love being at Penn State, love working for James. I love our group. I love the way we do things. I'm not a guy that's driven to be a head coach. In the right situation, to be a defensive coordinator somewhere else, no aspirations to do that. So it's not something that I've pursued. There are phone calls that you field, and I think some guys will take it a little further. For me I didn't want to waste anybody's time.

Q. Is it just not your personality? You're just comfortable where you are? Or did 20 years ago did you think I'd like to be a head coach someday?
BRENT PRY: No, I think in the right situation, with the right people, that opportunity I hope is out there for me at some point. I've never -- I just believe in patience and things happening for the right reasons. I think my wife and my kids are very happy in State College. That's important to me.

Q. A lot of people don't see that. They don't understand. You and your family have moved a lot. The wife and kid aspect --
BRENT PRY: That's a huge part of it. Not enough -- it's not mentioned enough. There are a lot of hows and why we do things as coaches as far as moving based on family. That's a big part of it. I think that Coach Franklin does a tremendous job of just an inviting, welcoming, warm environment for our families, and that makes a difference. It really does. For a lot of us it does. Maybe not for everybody, but for me personally, that's a huge, huge box on my checklist of where I want to be. He certainly makes that.

Q. I'm not sure how familiar you are with it, but for years there was so little coaching turnover at Penn State. Last year everybody was like oh, my God. Do you feel any vindication for people who are worried about what might happen, or is that not the way you're wired?
BRENT PRY: You really don't have time to think that way. I think if you do, you're thinking about the wrong thing. Once the reins got handed to me, it was, let's go do my job. We had to try to reel in a recruiting class. We had to quiet the grumblings. There was enough on our plates that you just kind of go full steam ahead. That's how coaches are built to be honest.

Q. I'd like to ask on the other side. Moorhead gets a lot of praise for his play calling and everything. How good is he at what he does? What do you see in that cat-and-mouse game that you getting to up against him?
BRENT PRY: I love it. It's made me better as a coach. I've definitely grown this year working against Joe and those guys in practice every day. From a scheme standpoint, from a management standpoint, our practices, and you've been out there, they're highly competitive. And Joe and I are both highly competitive people.

Q. Is he just good in picking up what he sees quickly and processing being in the right place?
BRENT PRY: Yeah, absolutely. He's got a good football mind. I think that putting his guys in the right place, I think that's a big part of it. Presenting a challenge for you defensively that it's hard to find the right answer. So it's been good. It's definitely helped me grow as a coach.

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