Penn State Football
Defensive Student-Athlete Quotes
vs. Appalachian State – September 1, 2018
Yetur Gross-Matos | DE | So./So.
Q: What do you think changed between the first half and the second half of this game?
A: We went into halftime and Coach Brent Pry made some good changes for us and we made some corrections on certain things we had been messing up on. We then came out in the second half with more pressure.
Q: What goes through your head when Amani Oruwariye makes that play? Can you take us through it through your eyes?
A: I came underneath and I was right there for the sack, he (Zac Thomas) threw it out right before I got there and then I saw it in the air and I saw the receivers going for the ball. I was praying to god that they didn't catch the ball. One thing about Amani is he does that all the time so it was pretty expected.
Q: You have never played that many snaps in a college game before, how did you hold up and what was it like to have that much of a role at this point in your college career?
A: Obviously my role has expanded here because it is my second year. I thought that it was really cool. From a conditioning stand point, I didn't think that it was very different at all.
Q: Was there ever a point out there tonight that you feared this game was going to get away from you?
A: No. I have see Trace McSorley do some crazy stuff, so when he went back out there I figured we were going to win.
Jan Johnson | MLB | Gr./Jr.
Q: Jan, you weren't the only one that was getting your first chunk of playing time today. As you looked around at the fresh faces, what were some of the things that you were seeing on the defensive side of the ball?
A: I think we were determined. I think that we knew what we had to do and our guys stepped up. The young players played hard and played well. There are just some things that we need to correct and work on as a defense.
Q: The overtime gave you guys a chance to regroup and catch your breath. Then the offense got the ball first, were you glad that the offense got the ball first and made it into a one-stop and its over type of situation?
A: Generally, we would want to go on defense first so we know what our offense needs to do. But, as soon as our offense got the ball we all believed in them. We knew they were going to go down and score and then we were going to have four plays to stop them. They got the close first down on fourth and one but Amani [Oruwariye] came up big at the end.
Q: You've been on the sidelines to watch Trace [McSorley] do his thing many times. Do you think that drives like the one at the end sort of get taken for granted?
A: Trace [McSorley] is just amazing at what he does. He's the best quarterback in the country. He stays composed, I don't think there was any doubt in his mind that they were going to go down and score. He made the right reads, made the right passes, threw the ball right where it needed to be. The offensive line did a great job of creating holes for Miles [Sanders] to run through, so I just knew they were going to go down and score.
Amani Oruwariye | CB | Gr./Sr.
Q: How was the locker room after a game like today?
A: It's happy, I mean our seniors know how hard it is to get wins. We've been through so much so we know we're going to have to use this as a grooming process throughout the season. We enjoy wins at the end of the day. We came out with a win and that's all that matters.
Q: Take us back to that last play, what do you see when the ball is in the air?
A: I just see the guy in front of me and know that I have to make a play to win.
Q: At what point did you know that you were going to catch this ball?
A: As soon as the ball left his hands I just knew. Playing with confidence and playing with technique you always just have to know it's never a 50/50 ball. Always have to make a 100.
Q: Was there ever a point where you thought this game was getting away from you guys?
A: No, that's the thing about this team. We're still learning a lot about this team and being able to fight through that we could tell that we're a team that is going to be resilient throughout the whole fourth quarter and overtime. Nobody was putting their heads down on the sideline. Everybody was saying "Let's go," when it was going to be the defense, offense players were like "It's going to be us." Everyone was just uplifting each other and that helped us out.
Q: Do you guys feel like you have a lot to clean up before next Saturday?
A: Oh definitely. We definitely have a lot of film to watch to clean up but it's a learning process.
Q: Were there more mistakes made out there than anticipated today?
A: First game of the season there is always going to be times where we make mistakes. We try to eliminate and minimize them as much as possible but there is definitely mistakes that we have to clean and move on from.
Garrett Taylor | S | Sr./RS-Jr.
Q: What can you learn from a win like this?
A: I think it says a lot about the character of our team. We had a little adversity, we came back and tied it up when we were down. We did a really good job making sure guys on the sideline didn't have their heads down. Our team has a lot of fight, a lot of grit. Coach Franklin always says good teams and good seasons always have a game like that. When we went to the Big Ten Championship it was Minnesota in overtime and now it was Appalachian State so hopefully we can build off this and do better.
Q: Is there a sense that this team has seen anything that can be thrown at you and is there a confidence that comes from that?
A: Yeah, I think this team has kind of been through it all. In terms of game experience we've seen all we can see and there's nothing that is going to shake us or get us off our game. We also practice a lot of those situations. The two-minute drills, four-minute, stuff like that so we've seen it all before.