Sept. 1, 2007

#22 Evan Royster
So./Fr., TB

Q: Regarding Offensive Line...
A: Obviously, our offensive line did a great job today. We can attack people in so many ways and that is a really good thing when we are playing a good defense.

Q: How do you three guys (the running backs) compliment each other?
A: I think Rodney can be the speed back and be really agile, while Austin and run straight forward. I find myself doing a little bit of both.

Q: Did you find holes better in the second half?
A: Our offensive line coach really recognized things well, so he helped us get back on the right page and we picked up really well in the second half.

#64 Rich Ohrnberger
Sr./Jr., Guard

Q: Regarding the win...
A: We came out with intentions to do exactly what we did.

Q: Did you feel like you had to fall back on the pass a little bit?
A: They threw some stunts and blitz at us, but we practiced that all week. We saw exactly what we thought we would see. We just matched up better with the pass and everything else they were doing.

Q: It seemed like you were able to get the run going as the game went on...
A: At half time, we saw down and talked about it. We came out and ran the ball a lot better.

Q: How are you guys meshing as a unit?
A: We are meshing really well. This week we got all of our signal calls down. A.Q. (Shipley) does a great job in the middle there, while John Shaw is getting used to playing guard. It is coming along well. I feel good about the unit right now.

#40 Dan Connor
Sr./Sr., Linebacker

Q: Summarizing defense today...
A: We practiced the turnovers and take-aways, and guys taking the ball. We got some good hits and really clicked well as a defense.

Q: You felt like you had the whole package?
A: When you can play guys and keep guys fresh and you're confident in your back-up, that's when your defense can be really good .We did not show a ton because we did not know what we were going to get. We went into this game blindly because of their coaching change, but we did some of our base stuff and went out and attacked and played great.

Q: Regarding Notre Dame...
A: We watched a little tape (on Notre Dame) a few weeks ago and last week in camp. It's embarrassing. We played terrible against them last year. Since the beginning of the season, the Notre Dame game is something we have been looking forward to.

Q: Is there a lesson to be learned from the Michigan loss today?
A: That is how you go into an opener. You don't know what you are going to get, and you have to be prepared for everything. Coach Paterno kept telling us to focus on the first game. If you look past it, teams can sneak up on you.

#91 Jared Odrick
So./So., Defensive Tackle

Q: Summarizing game?
A: We felt confident. It felt good to go out there a prove the people who said we are too young wrong. There are a few people asking questions regarding our age, etc. There are only a few guys who actually played last year as true freshman, but even though we did not play that much, little things like getting into the game and having the experience helps a lot. The red-shirt freshman played great today well; just as well as anyone else that has played here in the past couple of years.

Q: Regarding defensive line...
A: We are relentless. I think we executed a lot of our starts and a lot of our assignments. We ran to the utmost potential.

Q: Do you think this year's defense is a little faster than last years?
A: We play a little bit quicker. We have some quicker guys on the d-line. Coach has been coaching full speed all summer. That's all he wants from us-play full speed, know our assignments, and do what we do best, and that's play quick.

#14 Anthony Morelli
Senior, Quarterback

Q: How comfortable were you throwing the ball today?
A: I was real comfortable. We've been working on the pass game a lot this off-season. The offensive line did a great job protecting. Austin Scott also did a great job protecting.

Q: How important was it for you to have a game like this today?
A: I think it was important; especially for myself and the offensive line. When it comes down to it, we can run the ball and throw the ball.

Q: When you're expected to beat a team, is it a sense of relief to get it down and in a convincing fashion?
A: Absolutely. As you've probably heard about Michigan, every day you have a chance of going down.

Q: You have a lot of talent to work with, can you talk about that a little bit?
A: Absolutely. If the running game isn't working, we have enough receivers to work with. If that doesn't work, we have three great running backs. It just depends on what the defense is giving us.

Q: You set a record in the first half, can you comment on that?
A: Yeah, it's a step in the right direction. The defense did a good job not letting them get any points. It's just a step in the right direction.

Q: Did you expect to throw as much as you did, as often as you did?
A: The coaches said they weren't 100 percent sure what they were going to throw at us so we knew we would have to make adjustments. Whatever it takes to win.

Q: How were the guys up front?
A: I thought they did a great job. I didn't have pressure.

Q: How much are you looking forward to Saturday?
A: I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a big game for us. We have to take care of the football. We have to take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves. We have to get in the film room, practice and work hard. We have a big game ahead of us so we definitely have to prepare.

Q: What do you get out of a game like this that's going to help you prepare for next week?
A: Confidence in the passing game. Obviously we were able to throw the ball around a lot today. The receivers did a good job catching. That gives us a lot of confidence. It gives the line a lot of confidence too. They know they can protect long enough and protect against the blitzes

#82, Mickey Shuler
Junior, Tight end

Q: Did the coaches give you any advice today?
A: He told me to stay calm, that I knew my stuff and to go out there and play confident.

Q: Did you call your dad and tell him you were getting to start?
A: Yeah, I talked to him. I envisioned myself starting so I kind of thought I was going to start. All my friends and family were asking me if I was going to start. I told them I didn't know because the coaches wouldn't tell us yet. Then Friday I called everyone.

Q: Were you nervous at all about getting out there and playing?
A: No. First play I thought I'd be nervous but I wasn't at all. I was anxious though.

Q: You had to work hard to put on weight. Do you think that helped you?
A: I came in at 214, I was more of a receiver but I wasn't quick enough to be a receiver. We have a great weight room and great strength coaches and hard work pays off in the weight room.

Q: Were you surprised about that touchdown?
A: I kind of stumbled there because I thought someone was on my back. I was getting ready for the hit. I turned upfield and saw an endzone I knew I was getting in.

Q: Was it important to you to keep the family name going here at Penn State?
A: Yeah, it always is. My whole family went here; all of my sisters went here. It has great tradition, great family atmosphere. I've always wanted to come to Penn State since I was a little kid. It really wasn't much of a choice for me. When they offered me a scholarship, I was taking it.

#45, Sean Lee
Junior, Linebacker

Q: How was big of a test was this for you guys?
A: I thought a good test, a good first game. They played hard and I think their program will continue to get better. I think next week will definitely be a bigger test but this was a good first game for us.

Q: Can you talk about Ollie Ogbu?
A: He was showing his fire. He is such an intense competitor. He's a tough guy. He's stepped up as a leader. He brings an intensity to practice. I think he's going to step up in the future.

Q: Is there a revenge factor against Notre Dame this time?
A: I think it's a new year so I don't know if it's revenge. I think we wish it was a lot better of a game. We're going to be ready this week. We know the implications of this game. It's very exciting. We're going to be ready to play.

Q: We're you guys ready for FIU's offense or was it your talent?
A: I think it was a combination of both. The coaches did a great job of preparing us. We watched a lot of tape that gave us a lot of different looking. I think athletically we might have been a little better and that made up for the mismatches.

Q: How do you think they're young quarterback is feeling?
A: I thought he was a good athlete. He had a good arm. He didn't get a lot of time but I'm sure he's a good athlete. He'll get better.

#76 Gerald Codogan
Junior, Tackle

Q: The beginning of the game you struggled a little bit with the running game, how do you guys think you did?
A: I think we picked up the stunts good, as far the blitzing linebackers, as far as the defensive lineman stunts. I think we picked them up very well.

Q: Where they giving you problems early you think?
A: No, I wouldn't say they were giving us problems. But just some new things we may have never seen and we messed up a little bit at times. But other than that I think we picked up the stunts really well.

Q: What do you guys get out of a game like this, with a score of 59-0?
A: This is our first game. We don't take it lightly. This is our first game together as an offensive unit. Being able to talk, and it was a game. A game experience is what we got out of it.

Q: Do you think the offense missed Quarless today, or do you think Schuler did a good job stepping in?
A: I think Schuler did a great job stepping up to the plate. You know he scored a touchdown. I can't say he did a bad job. He did a great job. We did well today.

#57 A.Q. Shipley
Junior, Center

Q: Do you have an overall assessment of the line's play?
A: Pass protection I think we gave Anthony all day. We didn't really run the ball. Our focus was really to get Anthony going in the first half. Once we ran the ball in the second half, we really got it going. Rodney scored, Austin scored, we were able to move the ball well. After we get to see the film, we will get a better view of it.

Q: Do you think you will have to run the ball more as the season goes on?
A: Oh without a doubt. Against a team like Notre Dame, any team we have to play a good team, we will have to run the ball to get things going. Like they said, we wanted to get Anthony's confidence going.

Q: Where they doing things to take the running game away?
A: We knew coming in that they were going to move. They ran blitz after blitz, running six from each side, which is virtually impossible to stop when you want to run the ball. They did that early on, once we were able to pick that up on the pass, the second half came around and they began to settle down the blitz and we ran right through them.

Q: You got Notre Dame next week. How excited are you?
A: It's going to be great. Anytime that you play a night game against a team with great tradition, it's great. Everything about that school, everything they bring, Charlie Weis, that team, they're great, and they just have great tradition.

#33 Austin Scott
Senior, Running Back

Q: What do you guys take from a game like this?
A: It's a great start. It's good for a team to get the momentum going. And we feel good about getting ready for the next week.

Q: How do you guys feel about a game against Notre Dame next week?
A: We definitely will be prepared. Make sure we are paying attention at practice. All the little details and fine-tunes everything so that we are crisp when it comes to the game.

Q: What was different about the second half in regards to the running game?
A: Second half we just made a few adjustments up front. We ran a couple plays outside for a couple big runs. We also made the key blocks.

Q: Were you anxious today? Can you compare it to your very first game?
A: Yeah, I was definitely anxious. My first game I did not really know what to expect. I was just very anxious to get out there to play.

Q: Were you satisfied with your play?
A: Yeah, I was satisfied. I would've liked to play a little longer. But in the end, we came out with a victory. That is most important.

Q: How comfortable is it for you to be a part of a running back committee?
A: It's fine. Most programs have it like that. It's just something you have to get used to. Every time you get the ball, you just got to go and make the best out of it. You can't be accountable for every time you get the ball, but once you get the ball, that is the only time you can be accountable.

Assistant Coach Tom Bradley

Earlier this week, the team said they wanted to post a shut out today, could you comment on that?
It was a difficult game for us to prepare for because we had no idea what to expect. We exposed them to a lot of different things and had to play so generic during the game. We didn't do a lot of things on defense because there was no way we could get them ready for all of the things they might do. It was a hard game to prepare for; we looked at LSU tape, Miami Dolphins tape, just a lot of scenarios. We only looked at them one day, personnel-wise, but still not knowing where their personnel would play. We watched them in pre-game to get a little of an idea where their personnel would be.

What do you see out there that you liked?
We got to the ball and tackled pretty well today. We created some turnovers. When you play defense, you only worry about a couple of things: did you win the game, did you keep them out of the end zone, and did you create turnovers. We did all three today. Like any first game, there were mistakes and we realize that.

Could you talk about the rotation on the defensive line?
We felt from the get-go that we would have to rotate a lot of people up front in order to get the maximum potential from those guys. We don't really have any guys like Jay Alford or Tamba Hali who can play 70 plays a game. They will be able to some day, but they are young kids and I know Coach Johnson had told them we are going to rotate as many as we can in there. That's why when we had the setbacks in the preseason with Phil Taylor and losing the young freshman, it hurt us a little bit, because we knew our depth was going to have to come through.

How nice was it to see the zero on the scoreboard?
It's always great to see the zero up. I didn't expect it because, in the opening game, a million things can happen. There were a couple of times they had shots because we weren't in the right position. There are a whole bunch of things we need to work on. They are not naive enough to think that just because you pitch a shut out in the opener that they are not capable of playing a lot better.

How pleased were you that the defensive line consistently got a good push today?
When you can get pressure with four guys and not guess by going to your zone blitz game or your zero blitzes, you don't expose yourself to as many big plays. Today, we were able to do that and we thought that we could be able to do that without having to go after them a whole bunch. We just thought we had to play solid, fundamental defense.

Junior wide receiver Derrick Williams

What did you think about the win and the effort today?
It's a good place to start and we have to take it into next week. Everything is looking real good.

How much of an advantage is it for the offense to get the ball in your opponent's territory, like the defense was able to do today with all of the turnovers?
Anytime you can start near the red zone, it's an advantage. The defense did a great job today forcing turnovers and all we had to do was make a few plays. A lot of guys got their hands on the ball and a lot of guys made plays.

What are any adjustments that need to be made for next week?
We really haven't watch Notre Dame yet, so when we get in there on Monday, the coaches will have a game plan for us. The one thing we need to do is practice hard all week and then execute the game plan.

A lot of people got their hands on the ball today, do you get impatient when the ball doesn't come your way?
Everyone wants the ball in their hands, but the game can only go around one time on one play. But, as long as people make plays, it counts. Anthony (Morelli) did a great job spreading the ball today and I think that guys made big plays. I thought we looked good.

Junior wide receiver Jordan Norwood

How do you think the team did today?
I think it well. There are always things that you have to work on. But we were excited about it being the first game of the season. We started off a little bit slow, but then we got things going. I think we played well.

Can you talk about the rhythm that the passing game got into as the game went along?
It took a little while to get into a rhythm, maybe a half of a quarter. Maybe we had some butterflies. But once we got into a rhythm, we executed the game plan.

What do you get out of a game like this, winning in the manner you did, and how does it set you up for next week?
We are glad to win. As we found out, no one is guaranteed to win anything. We will take a lot from it, go back and watch the film on Monday and see what we did right and wrong and build from there.

Senior wide receiver Terrell Golden

Can you talk about the passing game today?
It was a pretty good day. It was something that we have been working really hard on. There are still a lot of things to improve upon, but today was a good start.

Can you talk about depth of the receiving corps and Anthony Morelli's ability to spread the ball around?
I imagine you will see that more this year. We have a deep receiving corps. All of the guys across the board can make a play when needed.

What do you get out of a game like this, winning in the manner you did, and how does it set you up for next week?
Don't let the score fool you. Florida International came out and played really tough. But we got our timing down. It was really good to get out and play against someone other than your teammates. A lot of young guys got a lot of good experience. So, we will take that and head into practice Monday and get ready for Notre Dame.