Blue White Illustrated

Illinois Pregame

Penn State Sports Magazine

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which is [among the best] in the con- ference. It's a combination of them protecting him and him getting rid of the ball. It's our strength vs. their strength, so it will be an interesting challenge. Geno Lewis has played a part in some of the bigger wins the program has had since 2013, last week being one of them. What does he need to do to be that type of player more consis- tently? I think it's the point you just made, it's consistency. He does some things that are really, really special. We can all think back to a couple of catches he had against Central Florida. You think about some of the plays he had at the bowl game. You think about obviously the game on Saturday. But it's consis- tency in practice and it's consistency in games. He's got a lot of ability, he really does. Big strong guy with a great catch radius, tremendous leaping abil- ity, but it's consistency. So we love Geno, we're excited about him. But there are some areas that he needs to continue to work on, just like a lot of our guys. You said a lot of nice things about Wendy Laurent before the season, what did you see then, and what do you like more about him now? I think what I've seen, he's just so much more competitive. He's so much more confident. He's changed his body in terms of his body fat and his muscle mass. And I think just the fact that this is year two. He's just more confident with his responsibilities. And at that position, experience really counts, be- cause you're typically the quarterback of the offensive line, telling everybody what to do and identifying the front and the combination block and those things, which is essential for playing O-line. I think it's maturity, and I think it was kind of his approach in the off-season. But he's been much more just competi- tive. How do you guys approach the kicking situation this week. Do you stick with Joey Julius or let other guys get another shot? Joe's our guy. But like every week, Tyler [Davis] is going to get an opportu- nity. I could see at some point this year even maybe this weekend where one of them handles just the kickoff duties and the other one handle just the field goal duties, just because we've got two guys who we think can do it. And especially considering Joe's still a redshirt fresh- man. That's one less thing that we can worry about. And now each guy can focus on really maximizing their impact in that area and really working on their craA, be- cause right now we are a little inconsis- tent. The one he kicked out of bounds is an issue. I don't think it was as dra- matic an issue on Saturday, because he was getting it out almost that far on the kickoff returns. But consistency. The location, whether it's kicked to the middle of the field or whether it's kicked out of bounds. Some of those things can cause stress on the other 10 guys, as well as the coaches on the sideline. Third-and-longs have been trou- blesome, but you did get yourself out of a couple of those situations on Saturday. Can you take us through the things you do in practice to help assist in those specific situations? I think it's planning and having a plan for what you're going to get and what to expect and how to attack it. Obviously, protection factors [into] that, too, be- cause you've got to make decisions. Are you going to hold the ball and throw the ball past the sticks? Or do you do what the fans and media hate and criticize you for: throw the ball short of the sticks, and they tackle you and every- body is unhappy? But we did that on Saturday with [Chris] Godwin, and Godwin, I think, got another 10 yards after the catch. And I think to be honest with you, it needs to be a blend of both. You need to be able to throw the ball, throw it accurately, so that the guy has a chance to advance it and make a play. And then there are times where you've got to protect and throw the ball further down the field. I don't think you can do just one or the other. You've got to do both. Yeah, it's planning for what to expect. It's having enough of both of those two different things. And you also have to be willing to run the ball. If they know you're only going to throw the ball, they get in that sprinter stance, like they're running in the Olympics, and come firing off the ball with no con- cern, expecting to sack the quarter- back. Mixing in some runs doesn't go over too well with the fans and media, but you need to do that kind of stuff from time to time. O C T O B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 15 PSUtixman@gmail.com www.PSUtixman.com Get your PSU Football Tickets at go t ti cke t s? k c i t t t e k PSUtixman@gmail.com .PSUtixman.com www www.PSUtixman.com at PSU Football T Get your k c i t t o PSUtixman@gmail.com .PSUtixman.com PSU Football T Get your s t s e k

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