Penn State Quotes
Syracuse University Football
Syracuse vs. Penn State
Saturday, August 31, 2013
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
Penn State Head Coach Quotes
Coach Bill O’Brien:
On how winning a game after overcoming as much as they did can help a team:
“We have a lot of tough kids and we give a lot of credit to Syracuse. I think they’re a well-coached team, I believe that they came out with a great defensive game plan and they put a lot of pressure on us – I would have done the same thing. We have to learn how to deal with pressure better on offense and we will. I thought our defense came through big and that’s Penn State defense. I think our special teams showed signs – obviously Sam kicked the ball well today and that was good to see but we’ve got a long way to go. We’re just trying to win the day. We won today – we’re grateful for that. We’re just going to try to do a good job of reviewing it tomorrow as a staff and get the guys back and start getting ready for Eastern Michigan on Monday.”
On letting his QB pass on 3rd and 11:
“I put him in a bad situation there and I have to review that. He made a mistake but I put him in that position so I have to coach that better with those guys and you talk about the interception – they dropped the guy, great call by them, they spotted the guy out from the defensive line, the guy made a great play and I’m not sure if Christian’s ever even seen that before in a live game. So I have to do a better job.”
On giving his QB the freedom to make a mistake:
“Penn State can’t dip our toe in the water. We have to come out ready to go. We’ve got to take our shots. If we make a mistake -- play complimentary football. See if the defense can hold them there. We put them in a very tough spot and luckily they gave up the touchdown there on the one-yard line but then they stopped them. Then we got the ball back and were able to run some time off the clock and then they stopped them again. We have a lot of improvement to do on offense but I think everybody can see that there’s talent on offense and its young mixed with veteran. I just need to do a better job of coaching those guys on offense.”
On how Christian handled himself poise wise:
“He’s a very poised kid. He’s got a fantastic demeanor. He’s got great parents and I think that’s one of the things that stood out to me in recruiting, that he’s a young guy, he’s only 18. He’s got a tremendous future but we’re not ready to waltz him into the College Football Hall of Fame and certainly not the NFL Hall of Fame – we’re just saying he’s a talented guy. He’s got a long way to go. It’s one game. He made some nice throws. He made some mistakes. I made some bad play calls, put him in some bad situations and we’ll just keep learning from each other and he’s a fun guy to coach.”
Penn State Student-Athlete Quotes
Sam Ficken, PK, Jr.
On his low kick early in the game:
“I looked up and I saw it -- I knew it was going to get there. At a point I knew it wasn’t a great hit on the ball but it went in and Coach O’Brien -- he doesn’t care if it’s a pretty kick, as long as it goes in. “
On Coach O’Brien recognizing his performance in the locker during the postgame:
“It means a lot, coming from where I came from, with the rough start last year, for him to give me a shout out in front of the whole team. That’s pretty important for me. It feels good, you know, boosts my confidence even a little bit more.”
Ben Kline, LB, So.
On the rotation:
“I thought the defense played really well overall, position by position. We had a good game. It was a good win. We have a lot to work on but it went well.”
On his play today:
“I have stuff to work on. We’re all working to get better every day and it’s just good our team came out with the win.”
Glenn Carson, LB, Sr.
On his emotions after the game:
“We’ve been talking about starting fast all year and that’s really what we did. Our team really came together and got a win. We played really good complimentary football and are looking to keep things rolling. We have a really special thing going.”
On losing Mike Hull to injury:
“It’s always tough when you lose a guy like Mike Hull. He’s one of the hearts and souls of the defense. He’s just a guy that gets after it every time so it’s tough when a guy like him goes down but you’ve got to keep rolling. That’s part of football and you’ve just got to keep rolling with the punches and hang in there.”
On Stephen Obeng-Agyapong’s performance:
Obeng really stepped up for us. I mean when a guy goes down, you’re looking for that guy to step in. That’s what depth is all about. He’s a kid who works hard. It’s his senior year and it’s really great to see him excel on the field like that.”
Syracuse vs. Penn State
Saturday, August 31, 2013
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
Penn State Head Coach Quotes
Coach Bill O’Brien:
On how winning a game after overcoming as much as they did can help a team:
“We have a lot of tough kids and we give a lot of credit to Syracuse. I think they’re a well-coached team, I believe that they came out with a great defensive game plan and they put a lot of pressure on us – I would have done the same thing. We have to learn how to deal with pressure better on offense and we will. I thought our defense came through big and that’s Penn State defense. I think our special teams showed signs – obviously Sam kicked the ball well today and that was good to see but we’ve got a long way to go. We’re just trying to win the day. We won today – we’re grateful for that. We’re just going to try to do a good job of reviewing it tomorrow as a staff and get the guys back and start getting ready for Eastern Michigan on Monday.”
On letting his QB pass on 3rd and 11:
“I put him in a bad situation there and I have to review that. He made a mistake but I put him in that position so I have to coach that better with those guys and you talk about the interception – they dropped the guy, great call by them, they spotted the guy out from the defensive line, the guy made a great play and I’m not sure if Christian’s ever even seen that before in a live game. So I have to do a better job.”
On giving his QB the freedom to make a mistake:
“Penn State can’t dip our toe in the water. We have to come out ready to go. We’ve got to take our shots. If we make a mistake -- play complimentary football. See if the defense can hold them there. We put them in a very tough spot and luckily they gave up the touchdown there on the one-yard line but then they stopped them. Then we got the ball back and were able to run some time off the clock and then they stopped them again. We have a lot of improvement to do on offense but I think everybody can see that there’s talent on offense and its young mixed with veteran. I just need to do a better job of coaching those guys on offense.”
On how Christian handled himself poise wise:
“He’s a very poised kid. He’s got a fantastic demeanor. He’s got great parents and I think that’s one of the things that stood out to me in recruiting, that he’s a young guy, he’s only 18. He’s got a tremendous future but we’re not ready to waltz him into the College Football Hall of Fame and certainly not the NFL Hall of Fame – we’re just saying he’s a talented guy. He’s got a long way to go. It’s one game. He made some nice throws. He made some mistakes. I made some bad play calls, put him in some bad situations and we’ll just keep learning from each other and he’s a fun guy to coach.”
Penn State Student-Athlete Quotes
Sam Ficken, PK, Jr.
On his low kick early in the game:
“I looked up and I saw it -- I knew it was going to get there. At a point I knew it wasn’t a great hit on the ball but it went in and Coach O’Brien -- he doesn’t care if it’s a pretty kick, as long as it goes in. “
On Coach O’Brien recognizing his performance in the locker during the postgame:
“It means a lot, coming from where I came from, with the rough start last year, for him to give me a shout out in front of the whole team. That’s pretty important for me. It feels good, you know, boosts my confidence even a little bit more.”
Ben Kline, LB, So.
On the rotation:
“I thought the defense played really well overall, position by position. We had a good game. It was a good win. We have a lot to work on but it went well.”
On his play today:
“I have stuff to work on. We’re all working to get better every day and it’s just good our team came out with the win.”
Glenn Carson, LB, Sr.
On his emotions after the game:
“We’ve been talking about starting fast all year and that’s really what we did. Our team really came together and got a win. We played really good complimentary football and are looking to keep things rolling. We have a really special thing going.”
On losing Mike Hull to injury:
“It’s always tough when you lose a guy like Mike Hull. He’s one of the hearts and souls of the defense. He’s just a guy that gets after it every time so it’s tough when a guy like him goes down but you’ve got to keep rolling. That’s part of football and you’ve just got to keep rolling with the punches and hang in there.”
On Stephen Obeng-Agyapong’s performance:
Obeng really stepped up for us. I mean when a guy goes down, you’re looking for that guy to step in. That’s what depth is all about. He’s a kid who works hard. It’s his senior year and it’s really great to see him excel on the field like that.”
