Utah Football Quotes: Penn State (Dec. 30)

Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach Andy Ludwig
On keeping players engaged in a non-typical game week…
"Yeah, we've talked about it quite a bit as an offensive unit. Again, we're practicing the same plays this week that we did a week ago and not allowing the routine to become mundane and continuing to work to identify things to improve on, perfect your alignment, your assignment and your techniques, and the guys have responded well. It's a veteran crew, and I look forward to seeing their best effort here coming up on the 2nd."

On Penn State's defense…
"I think the defense we're facing in Penn State is elite, their national rankings are off the chart in every statistical category. That one that jumps out at me is they are the No. 1 defense in the country in creating havoc, which is turnovers, sacks, PBUs, hits on the quarterback. They have very good players, very sophisticated scheme. I know Coach Diaz in his first year has done a phenomenal job with that group. It's the best defense we've seen this year without a doubt."

On continuing "doing what you're doing" in spite of injuries…
"You've seen through the course of the year, it's been a different menu. We've drawn from a different menu each week. For whatever reasons, players going down, players not able to participate this week, new players stepping up, a little shift in the emphasis of what we're trying to do offensively, so this is just another challenge with that.

"But this particular season has been as challenging as any other in terms of having to adjust week in and week out based on the personnel available."

On Ja'Quinden Jackson's transition to running back…
"Lights out. Couldn't be more happy for him, happy for us. He took to that. It was a conversation. We were having some tailback depth issues. I said, hey, when we're working on the hand-offs with the running backs would you please just take a couple as a running back. It looked so natural, and he's gotten better each week, and I think he's on the path to being a big-time running back."

Do any players on the Penn State defense stick out to you?
"Yeah, they all stick out to you. It's a very well-coached football team. They're very disruptive as a unit. That definitely has our attention. I know No. 11, the linebacker, is a premier player in the country, and he wreaks havoc in everything he does. That would be the one player that I would single out that jumps off the screen at me."

On how to deal with the pressure they bring…
"Yeah, we have to do a great job not thinking about blocking the movement but creating movement because that front is moving around dang near every snap. They're not a really big defensive front but they're very athletic, they move very well. That's going to be the match-up of the day is moving those guys up front. But we feel real good about our scheme that we've got going in the plan, but again, not waiting for movement but creating movement on offense will be the key for us."

On managing Penn State's secondary…
"We do what Utah offense does. We're going to run the ball, we're going to play action pass protect the football and protect the quarterback. We're not going into this game with a new recipe because Penn State does this or that. Again, I've got great respect for their players and their scheme, but we have to do what got us to the Rose Bowl, and we've got to attack. We've got to attack this opponent."

On how to use the tight ends…
"Not to the same extent and a different selection of -- with Brant and Dalton, you're drawing from this section of the playbook. Please do not forget Logan, Logan Kendall has come in as a grad transfer and done a phenomenal job for us, often unsung, much like a sixth O-lineman for us but does do a nice job catching passes down the field. But with Brant and Dalton as tight ends, maybe you draw from this selection of the playbook, with Yassmin and Logan, that selection just has to move a little bit, because they are different players. They have different skills and abilities. My job is to highlight those skills and abilities."

What gives you guys the ability as an offense to bounce back from adversity?
"I think a lot of that is attributed to the personality and the culture of the Utah football program which all starts with the head football coach, and our guys are very resilient. We have a veteran crew. We've got a leader in our quarterback, No. 7, Cam Rising does a great job, is very resilient, has been through so much in his career, and that guy finds a way to scratch and claw his way back every day, every week, every game. Look forward to watching him play on the 2nd."

On what sticks out about Penn State…
"Their aggressiveness. They do a great job rerouting physicality with the wide receivers. We have to do a great job of releasing. They have excellent ball skills, and when they are playing off coverage, they do a great job of getting their foot in the ground and breaking and driving on the receiver and the ball, but I've got great respect for the way they play and how they're coached."

On Cameron Rising adjusting to new and younger guys stepping up…
"He's done a very good job. Cam is very good about distributing the football, not locking in on one particular player, but I would point out, Money Parks, Jaylen Dixon, Thomas Yassmin are players that have had to step up with some of the injuries to the tight end position, and Cam hasn't batted an eye. He just rolls through it. He's got his read progressions, he's got things he's got to take care of to get the football distributed, and he's done a nice job with that."

On his relationship over the years with Cameron Rising…
"Yeah, I've got so much respect for Cam. I'll share this with you. My first day back at the University of Utah was January 10, 2019. Cam was on his official visit that day. He showed up, so I've known Cam as long as I've known any other Ute player. The thing that I respect so much about Cam is his tenacity and his resolve because that 2019 season is one of the very few quarterbacks in the country that did not get granted a waiver to become immediately eligible…

"So he just redshirted, gave our defense a great look, came back the next year. That would be 2020. Injured after the first 15 plays against USC in the COVID year, got injured, had to rehab a shoulder injury, battled back, keeps battling back. We brought in a transfer quarterback because we weren't sure if Cam's shoulder was going to be healthy enough, did not win that quarterback battle, got voted captain the next day. Takes over against San Diego State in the third game of the year, completely changes the '21 season for us, and the rest is history.

"The guy just battles. He just battles."

On Sataoa Laumea…
"He's a big-time player now, and we moved him in fall camp from right guard to right tackle, and that really solidified the entire line. He does a great job in pass protection. He is our most athletic offensive lineman. Don't tell Braeden Daniels I said that. But he can really run, and he's got great physicality about him. He's a good dude. That's what I've got on Sataoa."

On last year's Rose Bowl Game vs. Ohio State…
"It was awesome. It was awesome. I'll tell you what, it's like watching a tennis match up there in the press box in that second quarter. Things were moving really fast.

"But just to see the players just take the game over, playing above the Xs and Os, it was very rewarding, obviously. Need to find a way to win the game. Didn't score enough points in the second half.

"But it was a heck of a game. That was one for the ages."

Sophomore Running Back Micah Bernard
On appearing in back-to-back Rose Bowl games…
"It's very exciting. It's a very different feeling. I think it's more of a come on, we've got to get this one feeling. Last year it was nice to be here, but this one is going to be the one."

Is this more of a business trip?
"It is, it's more of a business trip. We done everything last year, so Disneyland and everything, it was cool, but it's a business trip. We got to do it last year, and we're strictly here for business, to get a W."

What type of support did you receive from friends and family last year who got to see you play on this huge stage?
"A lot of support. Everybody didn't know what was going on last year with me playing DB and now running back, and now they ain't got to worry about that because I'm going out there to play running back this year and they're going to give me the same support they did last year."

On the importance of being considered an all-around complete back…
"It's so important. That's what they're looking for now, and you've got to adapt yourself to the game and what people are looking for. Last year I did exceptionally well, but this year I think my numbers have doubled so far this season."

On what is key in this game at the running back position…
"I think it's just you've got to play hard the whole game. They don't stop playing hard. There are some tough guys. They're physical. But we're tough and physical, too. We've just got to go out there and play our brand of football and not let them play theirs."

What makes this unit so resilient?
"Just the coaching. The coaching puts you in a good situation. They tell us to never give up, always believe. You've got a great leader in Cam. He helps us believe all the time. It's just everybody is just a well-knit team."

On how practice has been this week…
"I think we're doing pretty good at practice. We've got the game plan in. Everybody knows what we have to do, what we have to get done, and for the rest of the week, just making sure we're locked in mentally. We're going to do what we've got to do physically. We've just got to be locked in mentally."

On having the full Lawry's Beef Bowl experience this year (last year was limited due to pandemic safety protocols)…
"Yeah, it was way different. The food just tasted different when you have it catered than when it's actually cooked right there and brought to you. The steak was good. I think the corn was the best part of it, though."

Junior Offensive Lineman Braeden Daniels
On leadership that Cameron Rising provides…
"You know, he's very helpful, just from helping us bring energy to practice and off the field to, you know, put an arm over you when you need help or you need a brother to be by you.

"Just a great guy overall. When it's time to work, it's time to work, and, you know, you can tell when he's serious. Everybody else's demeanor starts to change a little bit. We just try to get work done and become better."

On how this group has developed since the Florida game…
"Definitely there is like going to be changes, you know, throughout the season. It was a great game and a great chance to get out there and be able to compete, but I feel like that was just like kind of the start.

"You know, we needed to kind of break that seal a little bit and see what we kind of had, and it was something that we had to face the adversity and it was something we overcame, and overall we ended up here and that's what we have been working for."

On playing in the Rose Bowl Game again…
"You know, it's nothing but a blessing. Some people get to only play in it once, and to get to play in it twice is awesome and something that is exciting."

On the community support for the Utes…
"Man, last year, you know, just – I feel like it was Utah football game, a home game for us, and it was awesome to have the fans and just nuts to see all of them go crazy when we scored.

"You get to see the number of Ohio State fans and the number of Utah fans, and we just outnumbered them. Hoping it like that this year."

On differences between this year's team and last year's…
"You know, definitely just after being here last year and getting the experience and being able to see what the Rose Bowl is like, all the traditions, and then coming back this year and knowing it's like more business-like and more like we came here for a reason and we want the trophy and we want to go and take it.

"We know it's not ours and we have to go work for it. That's just the vibe and the way we want to represent the team this year."

On what he sees from the Penn State defense…
"You know, I've heard that they're a lot like our Utah defense and they're physical, and I feel like we're a physical team as well. It's going to be a battle in the trenches. We're missing a couple components and they're missing a couple components, but it's going to be a fun game and a good environment to play in."

On getting back to the Rose Bowl Game, after the loss at Oregon…
"You know, we just tried to have a lot of faith and belief and just really keep our head down, keep working, believe that everything is going to work out in our favor, which it did.

"So just keep our head on the straight and narrow, have that tunnel vision, and have the same focus we had at the beginning of the year."

On being a leader of the offensive line…
"You know, it's definitely been different just coming in and having to lead the offensive line, and, you know, kind of just taking on that role. If the offensive line doesn't do good I'm the person they're looking at.

"I think that I've done my due diligence and been able to help the offensive line in ways that can make us better and ways that can protect Cam a little different or a different way or style of doing things.

"I think just helping the offensive line in the way we embrace a different part of the game I guess, and having like -- it's a tough-guy sport, so embracing that part of it is something that I feel like has been a big role for us, battling injuries and stuff like that. It's been good.

"But Jim Harding, he's been great to us and he's just been taking time with us. It's been awesome."

Junior Quarterback Cameron Rising
On what has led to his coming back with confidence throughout 2022…
"Just unwavering belief. I believe in this team. I believe in what the coach's game plan is, just unwavering and not going away from it and just falling back on our training when it is times of chaos to make sure that you are prepared for whatever comes."

When did you realize this team had that?
"You can kind of get a feel for that just going through fall camp, when we're running gases and guys are still going hard, and it's rep 10 you just get that feeling that guys don't have that quit in them. And then once the season came around, it just started to be evident."

On how to deal with Penn State's defense…
"Do what we've done all year, just have those guys up front, those five linemen that just do everything they can. They take it personal with whoever they are facing, and just want to make sure that they dominate the line of scrimmage and so that's what it's going to be about."

What does it mean to have a chance at winning the last "traditional" Rose Bowl Game?
"It's big and that's why it's going to, I think, be etched in history whoever comes out on top and that's why you've just got to make sure that we continue to prepare and just do everything we can be ready for it."

How does Penn State compare to the defenses you've seen in the Pac-12?
"I think at the end of the day, it's football, and you go out there and play and there's going to be a scheme and everything and it's just going to have its subtle nuances that changes and it's really just hard for me to kind of compare two defenses, especially when they do different things.

"But I think both conferences are going to have great defenses and that's why I think both the conferences are so good."

On the impact of Dalton Kincaid…
"Yeah, Dalton is a big-time player. He's going to be playing on Sundays for a reason. We've just got to have the next man up and that's really what it comes down to. I know the guys in that room have been taking it personal and are doing everything that they can to be ready to go."

On Penn State's blitz packages…
"When they do it, they like to bring in their dime packages so that they have the fastest guys on the field. I think what they do is some very good things and it makes it really hard on the offense because they -- just as much as they come, they drop out into coverage, so that's why you've got to find that happy medium and just be able to adjust to whatever they want to do."

Sophomore Wide Receiver Devaughn Vele
On what it means to be playing in the Rose Bowl Game…
"It means a lot. I was a big fan of the Rose Bowl game growing up from California. Watched the games. My first Rose Bowl game I ever watched was the USC-Texas game.

"It's an honor to be here, and I'm excited for what's in store for us and going through the bowl activities for another year and hopefully come out with a different outcome."

On staying together after the Oregon loss to ultimately get back here…
"Just understanding that it's just another adversity that we had to deal with. We understood that the odds were against us after that loss against Oregon, but we also understood that there's still a chance. And when there's still a chance, we're going to keep doing everything we can to make sure we make the most of our opportunities so that chance, when it comes, we'll be ready for it.

"We understood that it was going to take everything we had and not only that for the stars to align, and it did. One thing I'm very proud of for this team is that when we did get the chance, it wasn't one of those things where it's, like, oh, you know, you only got in because of the other teams, but then we wouldn't be ready to play in the championship game because we lost to Oregon. You know, that it was a fluke we beat USC the first time. No, we came in there and dominated, and we showed everybody that we're a team that no matter what adversity hits us, we're always prepared and we're always going to hit it back in the mouth.

"So that's one thing I'm very proud of this team that we were able to overcome that this year."

On how this offense still performs at a high level even after losing some guys…
"It's testament to the philosophy of 'next man up.' We have one hell of a team. We have a lot of great players. A lot of young players as well that are coming in, and they have to mature fast, and that's just how it is. That's what Utah football is all about.

"When you are ready to play, your number is going to be called, and you have to be ready for it. Those guys when their number is called, they always are ready.

"So although it's tough for us to lose great players in Dalton (Kincaid) and Tavion (Thomas) and then Brant (Kuithe) as well, we understand as well that we have guys that can fill in those spots and bring their own creativity to the offense and put up those numbers that we normally put up because that's just the philosophy we have here at Utah."

On the community and fan base support…
"It's amazing. Our fan base is really amazing. It's the same thing that happened last year. The fans that came out to the Rose Bowl last year were unbelievable. It felt like it was just a home game again. It's just in California.

"I'm expecting the same thing this year. I understand that our fans are big supporters of everything that we do, and they were with us even when everything seemed against us. So we're always grateful to them, and it's an honor for us to be able to play for them on such a big national stage."

On Penn State's defense…
"I believe it's physicality. They're a very physical defense. They play a lot like how we are. You know what I mean?

"They harp on defense. They put man-on-man. You've got to have your best athletes try to beat our best athletes, and that's just what I see in their defense, and they have a ton of great players. They have a lot of good leadership on that team.

"It's going to be a dogfight. It's what you would want and what you expect from the Rose Bowl game. You have two of the best teams playing against each other on a big national bowl game stage, so it's going to be a great game.

"We're looking forward it to it. We just have to make sure we execute the game plan that's given to us, and I think the biggest thing is being more physical. I feel like whoever is the more physical team on Monday is going to be the ones that come out with the W."

Have you enjoyed punt return duties this year?
"Yeah. It's been fun. It's been interesting. It's taken a lot of -- it took a lot for me to get accustomed to.

"I'm a lot taller than a lot of punt returners, so a lot of those guys are mostly elusive, quick players. I'm more of a little top-end speed like at the end.

"It's made me get out of my comfort zone, but it's made me a better receiver in my opinion bringing out different parts of the aspects of football into my game play. So I'm grateful for the opportunity, and I'll keep doing it as long as they want me back there returning those punts."

Junior Tight End Thomas Yassmin
What has been the highlight of the week for you so far?
"I mean, Disneyland is always everyone's favorite highlight, especially being here the first few days, it's nice, just walking around. I'm a child when I go there. I love it, Star Wars, the whole shebang."

What is your mindset going into this game as kind of the featured tight end?
"I mean, I just try and treat it like any other game. Obviously the number of reps I'm going to be taking and my role is going to increase, but for me personally I just gotta treat it as any other game and just go in there with the attitude that, yeah, might be a little more tired at the end of certain drives, but I'm just going to try to do the same things that I try and do every other game and just not treat it any differently."

On the offense still putting up strong numbers even despite injuries…
"I think it's just a credit to our recruiting and our depth. We have guys, you've seen, freshmen stepping up, guys that haven't seen college snaps before, myself included. Unfortunately, I didn't see any snaps the first few years. They have the mentality and they have the attitude that someone goes down, the next man's got to step up and we've got to be able to run with the same amount of efficiency we always have been. Can't really stop what we have right now for any reason. Just gotta keep it going."

On challenges that Penn State's defense presents…
"Like I said, they're very similar, very physical. They're very strong up front. They've got great DBs, great secondary. Overall they're just a well-structured defense, very respectable, very physical. We just have to match that, come out, do our thing as well."

On staying together after the Oregon loss…
"I think, as Coach always said, control what you can control. And for us that was just winning that game against Colorado. And that final week there wasn't much else we could do. We dropped the games that unfortunately we didn't want to. But other things fell into place. And Coach Whitt was saying the whole time, control what you can control, and hopefully the other things fall into place. And that's what happened.

"And we got our opportunity in the Pac-12 Championship game. And I think we showed why we deserve to be back here again."

On how important a Rose Bowl win would be this year…
"I think, I can't speak for everyone on the team, but last year it was not the best feeling walking away from that game with a loss, a game that has so much prestige and tradition throughout college football.

"Last year was awesome to be able to get there. We're coming here, we want to get this W and want to walk away with that same feeling we had in the Pac-12 Championship game. So to get another first historic win for the program."

On enjoying the Rose Bowl experience while also taking care of business…
"The coaches are pretty forward about it, separating what we're here for and also separating time that we have for fun. And they want us to enjoy this week. It's an experience.

"I think we've definitely had our time to have fun but also when we need to get serious, pretty good at switching to that too."

On post-Colorado as the Pac-12 Championship matchup came to be…
"I think as soon as that game finished we're back in the locker room. We had the Oregon State game up. Check, that that happened. And then early flight back home, I think everybody put the Washington game on. Check, that happened. And I think already it was Arizona needed to win at the time. And I think that was after the fourth quarter of the Washington game where everyone's, like, we're going back to the championship game.

"Then we all got that team text message, come back here Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon and start preparing for Friday. It was pretty awesome."

On missing guys at some positions…
"I don't think it's necessarily affected the team. I think like we've had in other situations before, it's just next man up. I've got to fill my role with Dalton being out and other guys gotta step up in Clark's absence. And I don't think it will be a problem for us.

"And I think, whilst those guys are unbelievable players and they do what they do, the coordinators are also great in helping adjust to missing those guys and sort of playing to our strengths.

"Whilst stuff will change I'm sure a little bit schematically or whatever, but it's just next man up and we've got to go out there and sort of run at the same efficiency we've always been running."

Transcripts provided by ASAP Sports/FastScripts

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Micah Bernard

Braeden Daniels

Jaylen Dixon

Ja'Quinden Jackson

Logan Kendall

Dalton Kincaid

Sataoa Laumea

Money Parks

Cameron Rising

Devaughn Vele

Thomas Yassmin

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