Blake Gillikin | P | Jr./Jr.
Q: Over the course of this season, how much have you progressed?
BG: Starting off the season, I had a little bit of a problem with consistency, it probably bled into the middle half of the season as well. The last five or six games, I think I have started to become more consistent and I think that's started to help out our team with field position more. I know during the middle [part] of the season we struggled with winning the field position battle and we're trying to get back to winning that because that is important for us.
Q: What changed to help you?
BG: For me, I think it is technique and my approach to the game. During the offseason, I had a certain habit that I kind of acclimated during my training and it kind of bled into the first half of the season. I fixed it and kind of saw the results as well.
Q: Being named a First Team Academic All-American, what would mean more to you – academic award or [athletic] award?
BG: Obviously, it is two different areas. One of my goals when I came here was to be an Academic All-American and to accomplish that goal is a big deal for me. Obviously, the next step is to be an All-American on the field and that's what I am going to be working for next year, as well.
Yetur Gross-Matos | DE | So./So.
Q: What challenges does Kentucky's Benny Snell present for you?
YGM: He's a really good player. I'm pretty sure he's an All-American. He has great play potential. We'll try to keep him within the box and not let him out.
Q: Talk about Kentucky's quarterback, Terry Wilson. What kind of challenges does he present for you?
YGM: It's obviously more difficult when the quarterback is as mobile as he is. If you're not taking great angles on him or trying to get in too close, he'll just turn right around on you. For us it comes down to being more disciplined.
Q: Who are some of the guys that made your job easier this year? There's a lot of focus on the guys who get the sacks and the TFLs, but who are some of the guys that were in there freeing things up?
YGM: Robert Windsor. He makes my life a lot easier, especially when it comes to running the stunts and the twists. When I run the twists with him, he's very patient with my moves. I'd probably say that he's the guy that's most helpful for me.
Jan Johnson | LB | Gr./Jr.
Q: You guys have had a lot of success against run-heavy offenses and they have Benny Snell. He's got over 1,000 yards on the season. How do you use that success that you've had coming into a game like this?
JJ: I think we just go back to what we've practiced for a while. I mean, they run a similar style to our offense, so we've had a lot of chances to run a defensive against what their kind of scheme is. I think that we just kind of revert back to what we've practiced throughout the whole season.
Q: Can you talk about the progress you've made as a defensive unit?
JJ: I think we've tightened up. The first game against App State had a lot of new starters, a lot of new people in the defense and we gave up more points than we thought and more yards than we thought. I think that we've tightened it up throughout the year. I think it's just people getting more comfortable with what we're doing. The communication has gotten a lot better from the start of the season, and people have been executing better.
Q: Jan, your run defense has been one of the better run defenses in the Big Ten, but Kentucky kind of presents some new looks, some wildcat and things like that. What kind of challenges that could present for you guys?
JJ: I've seen a couple of them on film. It's just making sure that we align the correct way. You know we faced some things like that throughout the year. Some wildcat, some unbalanced sets, it's just making sure that will be recognized them and just get aligned to them.
Q: How much of that is on you as the middle linebacker?
JJ: It's a lot on me, just making sure that I can recognize it and set the defense in the right play, but it's also a part on everyone just keying in and making sure that we can recognize it. So, part of the whole communication thing I mentioned before too is just if everyone's on the same page, they know that it's easy, it's quick to switch.
Juwan Johnson | WR | Sr./Jr.
Q: What has your relationship with KJ [Hamler] been like? How have you seen him improve?
JJ: It has definitely spring boarded. Last year, obviously, he wasn't playing, he was young, but this year, he has been on the field. We talk more a lot, we communicate a lot more. We have actually became really good friends over this past year with football and outside of school. Being good guys, getting to know him a little bit more, coming from sort of different backgrounds and knowing his background and where he comes from.
Q: Have you learned anything from KJ? Do you think you were able to teach him anything?
JJ: We sort of feed off each other to be honest. Our energy, our techniques. With him being an inside guy, I try and pickup stuff that he does so I can use that on the outside. Sort of the same thing with me being on the outside and him using that on the inside. So truly just feeding off of each other and bettering ourselves and bettering our techniques.
Q: Have you graduated yet? How much of an important thing is that for you?
JJ: I will graduate on Saturday. That is very important to be honest. Just coming here to this prestigious university and getting that degree is very humbling for me. Quite the moment for me and my mother. Knowing that she was able to have three boys and that they are all graduated. So that is a credit to her and a credit to my parents.
Connor McGovern | OL | Jr./Jr.
Q: How hard is it to focus on that all of that, (NFL draft), finals, Kentucky? Is it really hard to keep it all separate and keep it all together in a three-week window?
CM: It's a little challenging but I got a plus this year. All my finals were done last week, basically, so I got the whole week off to prepare and work out a little bit extra.
Q: How refreshed are you when you get this break to get away from the coaches? From your freshman year to now, can you explain maybe how meaningful that is now in your career?
CM: Definitely now it's a lot more meaningful. I know I took advantage of it my freshman year. I took the time off, didn't do much, just relaxed. But this year, getting in, doing extra rehab, extra workouts, just make sure my body's feeling right.
Q: What can you tell us about Kentucky's defense, specifically Josh Allen?
CM: Josh Allen's a great player. They're odd-front, three-four, they rotate. It's kind of like the defense we saw the past couple weeks where it could go from odd to even, they rotate around. They've got great linebackers. The defensive front likes to hold up blocks. A lot of the linebackers get reads. Josh Allen will do what he wants to do.
Trace McSorley | QB | Gr. / Sr.
Q: Has it dawned on you at all that you are entering your final game at Penn State?
TM: A little bit, but honestly I'm just trying focus on the game and focus on Kentucky and being able to go down to Orlando and finish the year off right.
Q: What would it mean to be part of three-straight 10-win seasons?
TM: I mean that'd be huge. Obviously, for our team, that's our goal. It's hard to win 10 games two years in a row, but it's harder to do it three years. I mean if you look at teams that can do that, it's Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, those programs that are always at the top. So, if we can do that, I think that it puts us in a really good spot for the future and it's something that is a testament to all the hard work that we put in this year.
Q: Have you cherished this last go round?
TM: Yeah, I have, I've cherished it. I just tried to take in everything and take advantage of every opportunity I've gotten.
Q: Everyone speaks so highly of you, what is the legacy you are trying to leave behind?
TM: Yeah, I want to leave a legacy as a winner. The expectations weren't necessarily super high, but I exceeded those expectations. I had goals for myself and I went on to achieve them. It was just by coming in every day, being humble, working hard and elevating the love of my teammates and being someone who was good to have in the locker when a guy saw him walk through there, someone who was approachable or just someone who is always around always trying to help his teammates. And then just somebody who worked hard. Someone who came in every single day, went 100-percent at everything he did and didn't leave anything else on the table.
Shareef Miller | DE | Sr./Jr.
Q: If it's your last game in a Penn State uniform, how do you want Penn State fans to remember you?
SM: If it is my last game, I just want Penn State fans remembering a guy that gave everything he had, was real passionate, and that loved to win. To come from where I come from, just having that support from Penn state fans and the community, it's real great. So, I want them to remember me as being a great person and a great player.
Q: What was the best thing you did this year?
SM: The best thing I did this year was being a leader for the young guys. Being that voice for everyone on the team. Being the guy that is going to keep it real and not shy away, while also being the guy that anyone can come and talk to.
Q: Did you know that you would become that?
SM: I didn't, it just naturally happened. I'm not a talker. I wasn't really a talker, but I knew I was the oldest in the room now and so I had to step up and take that role.
Q: Did someone ask you to do that, to be that leader?
SM: No, nobody asked me. I just took it upon myself that I needed to. It was a huge impact on the defensive line and the whole team because I know my teammates and coaches listen when I talk. So, it showed a level of respect to have people actually listen to me.
Amani Oruwariye | CB | Gr./Sr.
Q: Outside of Benny Snell and a mobile quarterback, what are the other weapons you have to look out for in this Kentucky offense?
AO: I know they have a receiver No. 1, Lynn Bowden, he is explosive and he's a guy that pops out on film when I started watching it. He is dangerous with the ball in his hands, so we definitely have to look out for him and account for him.
Q: How far would you say that you have come, not just this year, but from the time you stepped on campus? What are your biggest areas of development?
AO: Since my freshman year, I have just grown in confidence, learned how to watch film better, just learned how to trust my training and my technique, learned the system better. I just think overall, just grown as a player, grown as a leader on the team.
Q: Do you thrive in getting those good matchups against the other team's best receiver?
AO: Yeah, I thrive on that. At the end of the day, it is a game. You want to test yourself, you won't get better by staying the same and not challenging yourself. I love going against the other team's top receiver and giving them a long day.
Miles Sanders | RB | Jr./Jr.
Q: What was your first impression of Josh Allen? How good is he?
MS: I mean, he is the SEC Defensive Player of the Year for a reason. You turn on film and you kind of see him automatically with the game record in his eyes. He's a great player. It's going to be a good challenge for us.
Q: How do you prepare for a guy like that?
MS: You try to play harder. You play your heart out. You can't fear no man, in my eyes. He's the same player – he's a player too. He's playing the game for a reason, we've all got reasons to play.
Q: Everyone hypes up the SEC, they say it's the best conference in college football. Do you have an underdog mentality going up against an SEC team?
MS: It's exciting going up against an SEC team, it's a great opportunity. As far as the Big Ten, I think we go up against great teams here. As far as the Big Ten East, you know with us, Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State, and a couple good teams on the other side. So I'm pretty sure that everyone knows the Big Ten is very competitive, just as much as the SEC.
Nick Scott | S | Gr./Sr.
Q: Coach claims practices have been fun. Have they?
NS: Yeah, I think they've been fun. When we're not playing for an opponent we can sort of amp it up a little bit. The competition goes through the roof because we don't have any games on the weekends so the offense and defense are jawing back and forth and we make fun out of it.
Q: What has been fun about it?
NS: Just the level of competition and how people have been competing day in and day out. Like I said, when we go offense vs. defense, we do those competitive periods for five push-ups, five push-ups on the line for each period. So it's kind of like a game in that sense.
Q: Is preparation for a bowl game any different?
NS: I would say now that we know who our opponent is and everything like that it's going to start to get normal. But beforehand, I was just talking a little bit about how Coach Franklin has been getting the threes and the fours and redshirts more full-speed reps and rotating them in more with the ones and things like that just to make sure they're still developing and everyone's staying fresh for the bowl game.
Q: How fun is it to face a different opponent than you normally see? Because there are teams on the schedule that you see every year, this is something completely different.
NS: It's always fun to go to bowl games and sort of play different teams from different conferences and things like that. We're just really excited about the opportunity to play another good team, a competitive team like ourselves, and give them our best shot.
Q: Kentucky has kind of made a reputation on defense. Do you guys take that as a particular challenge that it's going to be a lower-scoring type of game, possibly?
NS: They're definitely real challenging on defense. They've got a dude – Josh Allen, I believe he was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year – real talented. I know our offensive players only look at that as a challenge and are excited about the opportunity to play against a guy on the defense with so much notoriety.
Garrett Taylor | S | Sr./Jr.
Q: What are you feeling gearing up for your final game?
GT: I think we're all very excited. It's another opportunity to go out on the national stage, compete against the best, and show what we have as a team and as a defense. We're approaching it the right way and I think guys are super excited and working super hard.
Q: Can you talk about the evolution of this defense throughout the year?
GT: I think you've seen throughout the season how we've gotten better and better each game. The young guys got more comfortable out there. It's a lot different getting practice reps than game reps. A lot of young guys grew up fast. Obviously, Micah (Parsons), and Yetur (Gross-Matos) had great seasons. I think we're just better as a defense when everyone is doing their job when they're supposed to be doing it.
Q: How much have you watched of Kentucky at this point?
GT: We've watched a pretty decent amount. We started last week just watching film on our own as players. The coaches have started getting into the game plan a bit. They're obviously a very talented team and have an All-American running back and offensive lineman. They want to try to get him the ball. For us, we're going to try to do our jobs and stay in our gaps and I think we'll be fine.
Q: What's your role when it comes to containing a scrambler like Terry Wilson?
GT: Just making sure I'm doing my job. If I'm down in the box and I'm going to contain the player, then I have to make sure I keep my outside arm free, especially with a quarterback who is mobile. That's going to be huge in this game. If I'm down in the box and supposed to contain the rush lane and the B gap or something, I have to make sure I'm there when I'm supposed to be there.
