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COACHSPEAK | EXCERPTS FROM BILL O'BRIEN'S WEEKLY PRESSER Garry Gilliam is on the list of players to be honored before the game on Saturday. He decided not to return for the sixth year that he was granted. What did he mean to your program? I'm not going to get into the discussions because those are personal between myself and some of these guys including Garry, Kyle Baublitz and Alex Kenney. Those guys basically sat down with me and they've decided to move on to the next stage of their lives next year. They'd like to be introduced on Saturday, so especially Baublitz and Gilliam. So that's what we decided to do. Those two guys are great guys. They've been really good players for us and good leaders for us. We're looking forward to watching them play these last two games, especially this last home game. GIVE 'EM A HAND Bill O'Brien watched former QB Matt McGloin throw for three touchdowns in his NFL starting debut with the Oakland Raiders. "Smart guys who work hard that have talent, they thrive in that league," O'Brien said. "They really do." Tim Owen Could you talk for a moment about Baublitz. What's he like around here? He didn't really get a chance to play much before you got to Penn State, but he has the last two years. First of all, he's a great person, a really bright guy and excellent student. He comes from a great family. On the football field he's a very, very tough kid. I don't know if anybody even knows that the last three or four weeks he's been playing with a bum ankle and he's played through it and he's played tough. That means a lot to us. When you play defensive tackle at this level, that's not easy – the day‑to‑day practice regimen and then playing in the games. He's meant a lot to us. I know the younger players look up to a guy like that and know he's contributed a lot to this program. Eric Shrive made his first start on Saturday. I wonder if you've had any thoughts on his career both on the field and off the field. How have you seen him develop as a person in your time at Penn State? I've developed a close relationship with Eric. He's a great kid, he's a tough kid. A Scranton guy – what else would you expect? N O V E M B E R I'm sure he would tell you his playing career maybe hasn't worked out exactly the way he saw it coming out of high school. But he's brought a toughness to our practice field. He's worked hard and accepted his role every week. It was good to get him that start last week. Then off the field, what else can you say about him? The work that he's done, especially with Lift for Life and involving the younger players to teach them how to carry that tradition on. The amount of money he's raised for kidney cancer research – you just can't say enough about what he's done. I really believe that with whatever Eric Shrive decides to do, he'll be a big success at it. Did you get a chance to watch Matt McGloin play on Sunday for the Oakland Raiders? If so, what did you think? What's been the key to his development, to go from walkon to NFL starter? Did I watch Matt McGloin? Yeah, I watched the game. I thought he played a heck of a game. That's not an easy defense to go against – Houston Texans. Wade Phillips is an excellent coach and been in the NFL for a long time. J.J. 2 0 , 2 0 1 3 14 Watt – some of the guys they have on that side of the ball. So I thought he played well, the team played well, they ran the ball well, and they were balanced. He completed passes. He threw the ball accurately, played with poise. Can't say enough about him. He's a smart guy. Smart guys who work hard that have talent, they really thrive in that league. They really do. I think that he'll thrive in that league. How NFL-ready do you think Allen Robinson is? What do you think he needs to refine the most? Yeah, I'm not going down that road. We're very focused on Nebraska. That's not a road I'm going down. That's ridiculous. So he's very focused on Nebraska. He's looking forward to the Nebraska game. Is the offensive line playing the best it has played all year? I think the offensive line has played fine all year. We have two guys that had over 700 yards rushing. When you look at the sack totals, some of those sacks are on the quarterback or on a missed pick-up by the back. I don't know. You SEE O'BRIEN PAGE 16 B LUE WH I T E ON L I N E .COM

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