Check out Penn State football coach Joe Paterno's weekly press conference at the link below.
Listen to Joe Paterno Here.
1. What are your impressions of Jimmy Clausen?
It's hard to say what his impressions of Clausen are.
They know he was a heck of a high school player. He
had some injury issues. All three kids that played QB
for Notre Dame did well, but they didn't have enough
opportunities to make things happen because Georgia
Tech played a heck of a football game. It was a tough
game. It would have been tough for anyone to beat
Georgia Tech. Notre Dame hung tough though. They
stayed in the game when a lesser team would have been
out of it early.
Notre Dame has three good quarterbacks. If Charlie
Weis thinks the young kid is the best one, then that's
who Penn State will have to play against.
2. How different is this Notre Dame team from the one
you saw last season in Week 2?
They're unsettled at quarterback now of course. Once
they settle on a quarterback, they'll start to get
better. They're very comparable athletically to the
teams they have played in the past, especially last
year. Joe thinks it's a good, solid team that is very
comparable to the team Penn State faced in South Bend
a year ago.
3. How much has Anthony Morelli grown up since the
Notre Dame game last year?
In all fairness to Anthony, the team stunk out the
joint at Notre Dame last year. The coaching wasn't
very good, and by that Joe means he did a lousy job.
Morelli is a much better quarterbck now than he was a
year ago. That was a tough job he had last year to
take a football team that was still shaky about somet
things out there. Morelli has more confidence now. The
wideouts are better. The team is better overall.
The thing people don't realize is how good Notre Dame
is. Georgia Tech played such a good game last week
that people are not giving Notre Dame enough credit.
4. After looking at the film, how pleased were you
with the defensive effort?
They were solid. Florida International killed
themselves with turnovers and penalties. Then they got
behind and probably had to do some things they didn't
want to do. Joe is reluctant to talk about how well
the defense played. Overall, the team hustled. They
lined up properly. The offense had a few problems
early with their stunts but overall it was about as
good a team performance as you can expect in the first
game.
5. How much better is Sean Lee now than he was last
year?
Lee was a good linebacker last year. Joe can't say how
much better he is now. All Joe knows is that Connor
and Lee give Penn State two great linebackers. He's
fast, tough and makes plays. Connor and Lee are great
to have around, especially considering the youth of
the defensive line.
6. Assess the performance of the running backs.
Scott and Kinlaw did a good job. Early in the game,
they didn't have much of a chance because they were
throwing a lot. When the offense settled down, both
Scott and Kinlaw did a good job, as did Royster.
They're going to get better,. They all did a good job
in pass protection. They were in the game. Florida
International is a little quicker and better
athletically than they indicated on Saturday. They got
themselves in a situation where they had to do a lot
of things to try and turn the tide. They have some
pretty good athletes.
7. What kind of maturtion have you seen from Chris
Bell?
Is he closer to making an impact on the field?
Until the team gets into a situation where they have
to do some things under duress, Joe can't answer that
question. Can Chris Bell be a great receiver?
He can
be. He needs to be more consistent. In fairness to
him, he's really practiced well the past week. He
pouted a little when he realized he wasn't going to
play as much as he wanted to, but he played 25-30
plays on Saturday and did well.
The players are babes in the woods. They're going to
find out how good they are this week when a good,
tough Notre Dame football team comes in with their
ears pinned back and their great traditioin.
8. How do you keep the players from getting too
emotional about this game?
Joe has no idea what the players are thinking. If
they're dumb enough that they think they don't have to
get better than last week and they don't understand
that Georgia Tech played a great game, the team won't
be very good anyway. Joe doesn't think it will be a
problem for the team to realize they have to be ready.
It's Notre Dame for crying out loud. They won't come
here with their tail between their legs. They've got
pride, tradition and talent. Whether the players are
mature enough to understand this, we'll see.
9. Is it a concern that things came so easily last
week and the players haven't been challenged prior to
a big game?
There's always a concern. That's why you play. Sure,
Joe's concerned about it., Joe wants to see if the
team can live with a win where everythig went their
way. Now they have to see if they can play well
against a team that had nothing go their way but are
much better than they showed.
10. Are you pleased with the way Hayes and Davis
played at new positions?
Joe doesn't know. He thinks Tony Davis did a good job
at strong safety. Penn State wasn't in a position
where someone had to make a play in the clutch. Joe
doesn't know where his team is now. They'll find out
this Saturday.
11. Are you surprised that Charlie Weis is starting a
true freshman at quarterback and have you ever started
a freshman at quarterback?
Tony Sacca started when at Notre Dame when he was a
true freshman. For Joe to say what's best for Notre
Dame at this time when they're being coached by
someone who has had so much success at the pro and
college levels, Joe can't. If they have decided to go
with a freshman, they know what they're doing. The
freshman has to go there and get a job done. It's a
challenge sure. Anytime you put a freshman in a
situation where they're on the road and on tv, it's a
challenge. All Joe is worrying about is whether his
team will be prepared to face such a good team.
12. Do you know where Appalachian State is located and
anything about the program?
Joe knows it's in Boone, NC. He did basic training at
Fort Bragg in 1945. They're a heck of a football
program. They won back-to-back national championships
at their level and Jerry Moore is a great football
coach.
Is it good for the Big Ten?
No. Michigan is a lot
better than that. What it does show is that there are
a lot of good athletes out there who don't get to go
to Michigan or Penn State and they made the most of
their opportunity. Now, the media people are calling
it the greatest upset of all time. Joe always thought
that when the Devil was sent below, that was the
greatest upset, but they didn't have newspaper people
back then.
13. How does the Michigan upset impact the Big Ten's
image?
Joe doesn't know. Wisconsin beat a good Washington
State team. That's up to the media people. Joe doesn't
think about it.
14. Talk about the 1982 team and what you remember
about them. They are coming back for a reunion this
week.
Joe remembers they were a heck of a football team.
They were pretty good in 1981, won the Fiesta Bowl
that year after only losing one game to Miami.
Blackledge was a heck of a football player and a great
leader. Curt Warner was a heck of a football player.
It was one of the best teams Penn State has ever had.
15. Talk about insulating your team from the Notre
Dame hype and your feelings about the series betwween
the teams.
It's been a good series. It's been good for both
teams. Joe hopes that Notre Dame has as much respect
for Penn State as Penn State does for Notre Dame. Joe
got to know Father Joyce very well and thinks he is
one of the greatest people he has ever met.
It's unfortunate that the teams won't play more often.
Joe was disappointed when Notre Dame turned down an
offer to join the Big Ten. Joe likes playing Notre
Dame. It's fun. They'll come here with a good football
team and lots of fans. Joe hopes Penn State fans will
welcome Notre Dame here and not bother their fans with
a lot of nonsense.
Joe's glad that the students are so excited about the
game. He's looking forward to it as well.
16. Do you ever miss being an independent?
That's tough. Is being a non-independent the best
thing for Penn State?
Yes. Is it the best thing for
Penn State football?
Joe doesn't know. Getting into
the Big Ten was really a great thing for the
university. It's been a great thing for the varsity
sports programs and the academic side of the
university. When you look back on everything, it was
probably the right move for the football program. For
the whole university, it was a good move.
17. Has Lydell Sargeant solidified himself as a
starter and how intense is the competition between him
and AJ Wallace?
Sargeant played a solid game Saturday. Not a great
game, but solid. He's also learning two positions
because he's the nickelback when Penn State goes to
the nickel and Wallace plays corner in those sets.
18. Last year, you said that Notre Dame had outcoached
you. Was that calls during the game or the whole game
preparation?
Probably the whole bit. Penn State never took anything
away from them last year. They didn't take advantage
of anything either. Mentally, the team wasn't quite
ready for it. Joe takes the blame. There were some
kids who had not had much experience and they weren't
ready for some things. Joe put them in a tough spot.
19. Have you gained an appreciation for night games?
Joe likes the night games until he goes to bed and
realizes that he has to get up early the next day. Joe
was very pleased with the crowd against Florida
International. He can't remember a noon kickoff where
the students were so into the game. He knows that
everyone will be excited for this night game and he's
glad there's so much interest.
20. Is the plan to redshirt the entire freshman class?
The decisions haven't been made yet. They have a lot
of redshirt freshman and sophomores who just got their
first action on Saturday like Bowman, Gbadyu and
Maybin that got backed up behind other kids last year.
The coaches are going to worry about preparing for
Notre Dame now. If some freshman start showing that
they're better than some of the kids playing, then
they'll play.
The preseason practice schedule made it tough to
challen ge the kids. They only had 5 two-a-day
sessions because the players were in summer school.
There's a couple of kids that are really good football
players that might pop into the picture very quickly.
21. Is there a chance that Quarless will play this
weekend?
Joe doubts it.
22. Do you anticipate competition between Shuler and
Quarless when he is allowed to reutrn?
When they decide that Quarless can be part of the
competiition, he'll have to beat out Shuler and Jordan
Lyons. Lyons and Shuler both played better than the
coaches expected them to play. Quarless won't get his
starting spot back without fighting for it. That game
ought to be a confidence builder for Shuler. The
coaches will learn a lot more about the football team
in the next couple of weeks.
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