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C O A C H S P E A K • E X C E R P T S F R O M J A M E S F R A N K L I N ' S W E E K L Y P R E S S E R How has J.T. Barrett evolved, what is he doing especially well this year? Well I think we all know Kevin Wilson is a really, really good offensive coach and has been successful wherever he's been. I think early in the season they were still trying to find their offensive identity, and they found it now and they're putting up big-time points and yards on everybody. You knew it was just a matter of time, be- cause Kevin's such a good coach and they've got so many good players. I see J.T. playing with a lot of confidence right now, and he's obviously surrounded by a lot of talent and he's doing a great job of distributing the ball to that talent. So, again, you've got an experienced, play- making quarterback who is playing in a scheme that really accents his abilities and his supporting cast. So it's going to be a real challenge, there's no doubt about it. What are the challenges in obvious passing situations when Ohio State puts four defensive ends on the field just because there is so much athleti- cism on the line at that point? I think it's exactly what you said, it's the athleticism. Defensive ends typically have different body types, different movement, different style. We do the same thing. We call it our wild package where we put four defensive ends [on the field]. I think Parker Cothren is one of the better nose guards in the country, but his ability to rush the passer is going to be different, it's going to be more power-based compared to quickness and lateral movement and those types of things. So fortunately for us, we go against pretty good ones in practice all the time. That helps us, but it's going to be a challenge in the game. I would also make the argument that us staying on schedule and not getting into situations where it's third-and-long helps, because people aren't typically comfortable going with four D-ends in the game when the offense could run the ball. That's obviously why you don't play with four D-ends. So I think an important part of it is to [avoid] those situations as much as you possibly can. J.K. Dobbins is having a really good freshman season for Ohio State. How does that compare to Saquon Barkley's freshman season a couple of years ago? They were both guys who really weren't expected to make huge contri- butions and now they have. I'm not sure. I guess I don't necessarily look at it that way. I expected Saquon Barkley to have a big impact as a fresh- man. We recruited J.K. Dobbins, so I think actually Coach [Charles] Huff said about two months ago that he'll be the starting running back before the season's over. And that's no disrespect to Mike Weber, we think he's fantastic, too. So I think that he's a special player, there's no doubt about it. He's playing be- hind a really good offensive line and a good scheme, and just like us they've got a lot of weapons that you have to deal with, which is ideal for running backs. I tell running backs all the time, guys who we're recruiting, not only do you need to help us recruit offensive linemen, but you need to recruit the wide receivers. He's fortunate to be in that position with an athletic quarterback and an experienced quarterback and an experienced offensive line and a lot of speed at the skill position. So he's a talented guy, there's no doubt about it. Now that you've seen the tape of the Michigan game, how did you think your offensive line did overall, and es- pecially Will Fries? They're getting better. I know every- body wanted, in the beginning of the sea- son, for every position, every unit just to be kind of hitting on all cylinders, but that's just not how it works. You've just got to love those guys and keep develop- ing them and keep coaching them. They're getting better. Matt Limegrover does an unbelievable job for us and I think the combination of Will Fries and Chasz Wright, and those two guys' development and those two guys' ability to create depth for us is really good. So I think they played really good against a really good D-line last week, but they're going to have to continue to grow, because I think every- body realizes the type of players that Ohio State has up front, so it's going to be an- other challenge. That's the beauty of this conference. Week-in and week-out, you're going to go against high-level players and you need to continue to develop and you need to con- tinue to grow and you need to continue to learn. Those guys are doing that. You and Marcus Allen arrived at Penn State right around the same time. What has your relationship with him been like over these four years, and in what ways have you seen him grow and change? Really good. I got a really good relation- ship with Marcus and Marcus's mom and dad. I've talked to you guys about him be- fore. He's a unique player. We're in a time where everybody wants to be tough and everybody wants to be hard all the time. That guy, any video you watch, any pic- ture you see or any time you're around him, he has got a smile from ear to ear. He's happy, he's appreciative, he's hard- working, but then he's able to switch and go on the field and be tough and be physi- cal. But he's able to do both, which I think is a really, really important talent. And he has it. He's been a great player for us, he's been a great leader. His energy is infec- tious in our locker room. We had a long talk – me, him and his dad – after the season about his future and what he wanted to do and what was the right time to do it, and he decided to come back to Penn State and really didn't have to. He had, from pretty much everybody I talked to, strong enough grades that you could make the argu- ment [that he could have gone to the NFL]. He felt like there were still some areas and things that he wanted to work on and help our team and also help him- self. And without that relationship, I don't think that happens. His dad was able to be very honest and direct with me, and I was able to be very honest and direct with his dad and with Marcus. So he's a tremendously talented guy and one of the leaders in our locker room. I think he's got a very bright future, not just in football but in his life, because he's one of those people who people are attracted to because of his energy and how positive he is and how intelligent he is. He's got a very, very bright future in whatever he decides to do. O C T O B E R 2 5 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 12

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