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COAChSPEAK |EXCERPTS FROM BILL O'BRIEN'S WEEKLY PRESSER You praised your seniors almost from day one and throughout the year. What mark do you hope they will leave at Penn State? Really, it's hard to put into words what this senior class means to this football program, to this athletic de- partment and to this university. You know, these are young guys who have been through a lot. They have been through a lot off the field. They have been through the death of their former head coach, a leg- endary coach. They have been through the things that went on off the field that don't need to be re- peated – we just all know. They have hung tough, dealing with the NCAA and the sanctions that came out in the summertime. They've been through the fact that they had to lead this football team and keep these guys together. At the age of 21, 22, some of them 23 years old, that's pretty heavy stuff, and you can't say enough about them. I think people have to understand within those walls over there at the football building these guys will always mean a lot to this football program. Bill Belton has had one carry in the last three games. Is he still competing in practice the way you want him to, or does this lack of playing time come from some- thing else, like an issue with his work habits or attitude? Billy and I have had a lot of conver- sations over the last month, and he's really improved his practice habits quite a bit. Basically, you've got a guy in [Zach] Zwinak that's gained 100 yards in four straight games. It's hard to go against the grain and say, 'OK, Zach we're going to take you out just to play another guy.' He is a guy that's on a bit of a roll. That's what happens. Billy came in early in the season, got injured, missed a bunch of time. Derek Day came in against Virginia, was in- jured, then Zwinak stepped up and Zordich stepped up, Dukes played a little bit. I think it was Temple he got injured, and that's what happens at NEXT IN LINE O'Brien said Mike Hull will take over Michael Mauti's responsibilities at outside line- backer. "[Hull] is a rock-solid dude," he said, "so he's going to go in there and play as hard as he can." Tim Owen that position. One guy comes in and takes advantage of his opportunity, and it's hard to get him off the field. Billy is a competitive guy. He's doing better off the field in the classroom, I believe, and we still see a very bright future for Billy. Can you give an update on the severity of Michael Mauti's injury and talk about the guy who will re- place him, Mike Hull? I respect the question – I really do, but I don't want to get into the de- tails of Mike's knee injury. He won't play against Wisconsin and that's a tough deal for us and a tougher deal for him. As time goes on, I'm sure you will hear about the details of his injury, but I can't comment on that right now. Mike Hull, here is a guy who's been our fourth linebacker all year. He's made big plays for us on defense and special teamse, he's an instinctive guy. He's a Pittsburgh guy and he's a football guy. He was in my office last night and we were talking football. This guy is a rock-solid football dude, so he's going to go in there and play as hard as he can and it's going to be fun to watch him play. As somebody who worked at Maryland, what is your reaction to Maryland and Rutgers joining the league and what kind of an impact is that going to have on Penn N O V E M B E R 2 1 , 2 0 1 2 13 State football? I think it's cool. You have the East Coast market now, and for many years Penn State was the East Coast team. Now, to me, we're starting to get that whole Atlantic corridor there, and those are two great schools with good football traditions. I worked at Maryland. I coached there for Ralph Friedgen, who, in my opinion, did a fantastic job there. I can remember when I was at Mary- land we had some great players: Ver- non Davis, Shawne Merriman, D'Qwelll Jackson, Josh Allen. What would your advice be for [Matt McGloin] at this point as he looks for [a pro career] later? My advice is to play football as long as they let you play football. You mean go get a real job? No. Play as long as you can. Personally I'll do whatever I can to help him. I think he's a great kid, I think he's a competitive kid, I love coaching him and I love watching him play. I hope he gets that opportunity [to play professionally]. It's not easy. It's not easy in that league and [quarter- back] is the hardest position to play in that league. It's very competitive. It's a very competitive position in that league, but I know he will com- pete and if given the opportunity he will go in there and do the best he can. I hope he tries to play forever. B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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