Between the quarterback situation and win No. 400, certainly a lot of media fodder for the press conference today. Here's what Coach had to say. [Transcript]
- On the quarterback situation: "So, I think we let them compete and at the end of the week, and decide who is going to start. I would imagine that maybe we'll probably have to re-think as far as only playing one kid; maybe that we would want to play both, since they are both young kids to try to get them some experience."
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Chaz Powell has "a ways to go" and needs to concentrate more.
- Neither Eric Latimore nor Jack Crawford have practiced yet.
- Believes the team is getting better and is playing with more enthusiasm.
- On win No. 400: "Well, I try not to get involved in that. I don't...you know, I don't go home and think about what we've done. I go home and worry about what we've got to get done."
Robert Bolden is completely healthy, and was held out of Saturday's win over Michigan only as a precaution.
Has seen progress in Bolden's play week-to-week.
On Pat Fitzgerald: "So I've known him; I haven't known him personally until he became the coach at Northwestern, but I've known what kind of a competitor he is. I think he's done a heck of a job with Northwestern. I think when you're around him, you're impressed with him. He's very, very self effacing but very confident and you can sense it in him. I think he does a great job on motivating his kids. And I don't know whether their offense is any different in some other places, but they execute well, are disciplined and they don't beat themselves."
Believes Northwestern quarterback Dan Persa has developed into one of the better quarterbacks "in the country." Says Penn State did look at Persa when he was coming out of Allentown, but for one reason or another, never did more than look.
On Matt McGloin: "I think McGloin is a competitor. He probably turned down a couple of schools with scholarships to come here. He's all been kind of a live wire. I liked him. I think he's got ability. How far he goes will depend on whether he can stay healthy and whether we can start to get a football team that's going to stay intact physically and starts to be able to do some little things a little better than we may have done in a couple of ball games, make a couple more plays than we have not made."
Called the situation at Notre Dame a "tragedy" and noted how difficult it can be some times to keep track of everyone involved in a practice. Also noted that Penn State doesn't allow its video people up in lifts when the wind is more than 30 MPH.
More on 400: "But every once in awhile, you wonder whether somebody couldn't do a better job for the people that I'm responsible for. But you know, I've not ever gotten to the point where I have felt, "hey, I'm going to get out of this thing." But it's going to come. I mean, that's why I don't get excited about 400 if it happens because, geez, you hang around long enough (chuckling), all right? How many years I been the head coach, 40? You know, you've got to win a couple of games in that time."
