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P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L staff last year, recently took the time to talk to reporters about the line's devel- opment. ON THE IMPORTANCE OF EXPERIENCE You're always searching for answers. [But it helps to have] a group of guys who are seasoned, even our young guys. Ryan Bates is a veteran now. He started every game last year. Connor McGovern as a true freshman last year wasn't even in the starting lineup for [the season opener], and then there's Steven Gonzalez. People don't realize that Steven Gonzalez and Chasz Wright, going into last year's fall camp, were both listed as [third string]. Just the experience they've gained in understanding what it takes to prepare each week – I really liked the way they approached last week's game [against Akron]. Then lead- ing up to this week there's a maturity even with some of those guys who are still fairly young in their career, so that's been great. Then to get back Brendan Mahon, who has a lot of games under his belt and has a lot of those experiences as a vet- eran [is beneficial]. ON THE BATTLE AT RIGHT TACKLE We won some very big games at the end of last season... and performed, I would say, pretty well overall in the bowl game, a high-level bowl game. So Chasz [Wright] is a valuable member of what we've had going on, but when you have a guy like Andrew Nelson who is able to get back and be healthy and be productive, that opens up a lot of pathways to make sure you get your best five on the field, and those guys all know it in that room as well and they're welcoming Andrew back. We're going to wait to get him to where he can get back on the field and contribute. Then it's my job – making sure it all works in a good way. ON McGOVERN'S MOVE TO CENTER I think as with anything, confidence is a great thing. It will buoy you, it will always [enable] you to get out of your comfort zone the more comfortable you feel. I think that's where Connor is right now, as opposed to really at any point last year. He kind of had a kid brother complex last year. Brian [Gaia] kind of took it upon himself to lead Connor around last year, make sure he was in the right spots, doing the right things, and I think Connor feels really comfortable with his role now. He doesn't have to be the vocal leader of that group, having guys like Brendan Mahon and Andrew Nelson in the room, they are the vocal leaders being the older guys. It's now more of an even plane with Connor. ON THE COMPETITION AMONG LINEMEN How everything happened last year, sometimes, believe it or not, it's actually easier [to make decisions about playing time] because you just don't have that many choices. You just look at the next guy and say, 'Hey, get in there.' Then you figure it out from there. Whereas, if you have guys who have done it at a high level – like we have right now – I think the impor- tant thing is making sure that at any one point in time you have your best five out on the field. ON MIKE MIRANDA We didn't want to burn his redshirt unless we knew it was going to be worth his while. That's an important thing, especially on the offensive line. If you're going to have a [true freshman] play, the idea is that this guy is going to contribute for you throughout the season. The thing we didn't want to do was do mop-up duty and force everyone into a corner of having to play Mike Miranda before it really was necessary or he was completely ready, so Steve [Gonzalez] played the whole game [vs. Akron]. … It was good for Steve because really in that [starting] group I think he's the guy who can benefit from every single game snap he gets. To be honest with you, he played really well. He impressed me. ■ A Penn State football book by Lou Prato with a forward by Adam Taliaferro The Remarkable Journey of the 2012 Nittany Lions Price: $14.95 plus shipping Published by Triumph Books (soft cover) Autographed copies available via louprato@comcast.net or through Lou Prato & Associates at 814-954-5171 Autographed copies of Lou's book We Are Penn State: The Remarkable Journey of the 2012 Nittany Lions are still available via louprato@comcast.net or through Lou Prato & Associates at 814-954-5171. Price: $19.95 plus tax where applicable and shipping

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