Joe Paterno Presser Notes

For the entire Joe Paterno press conference transcript click here.

Hip questions aside (he feels fine) here are some of the more important questions asked to the head coach, followed by his responses, and then my take.

"

How did the game vs. USC influence the winter and offseason program?

We didn't play well, we didn't coach well and I walked away from it not feeling very good about anything and I think we can do better.

 

Has this been one of the hardest winter workouts?

You'd have to ask them.

Well, I got all young players. We've got some young kids who have never really had to muster and some of them have been overweight and things like that so I felt we had to zero in on getting those people to understand what it's going to take for us to be a good football team.

I thought we've had a good winter program, I really do.

"

Judging from what sure to be captain Sean Lee has said, the answer is yes. This has been the toughest winter workout he has seen. The USC game left a bitter taste in every body's mouth and while the loss in the big game is bad, the motivational tool created from it can be beneficial in the future.

"Do you plan on trying people at different positions in the secondary? Right now we've tried to determine by watching them in the winter program and things like that. We're doing some agility drills and things you're allowed to do [since] you can't do anything with a football."

"But there are a lot of things you can do to evaluate kids; how they change direction, jumping and things of that sort. And we try to plug each kid in."

"We spend an awful lot of time talking personnel on our staff, mainly because, I think, as I've said to you guys many times, I think the toughest job in college particularly is getting the right guys, in the right place, doing the right things, the things they can do."

"So we spend a lot of time doing that, but I don't think we're going to make many changes now. I think we've got them all pretty much where we want them."

In other words, yes. Everybody knows that the secondary is the weakest link on this football team and while the Class of 2009 recruits seem to address that area of concern it will still take some time for them to develop to their potential.

Nobody expects a sudden impact in year one so somebody else will have to step it up in the defensive backfield while the new recruits are groomed to take over.

"Where is Brandon Ware at in terms of his weight? Brandon Ware is at 345 pounds. We want him to be at 320 pounds. Ware has had some back problems."

"He practiced the other day but he missed some winter workouts in the sense that he missed some drills."

"We have bikes out there that they pump when they can't run. I haven't seen enough of him. That's why there's spring practice. It's kind of a fun time. You just have to keep taking looks at different guys. Brandon has something about him. I think he has a chance of being a good football player."

"He has to lose some weight and to his credit, he has lost some. He was at 360 pounds at one point. He's down around 340 pounds. I'd like to seem him around 320 pounds."

Ware can help the defensive line more if he adds some mobility, which is the reason for the weight loss.

"How do you feel about the wide receiver position? (Derek) Moye doesn't have a lot of experience. (Graham) Zug and (Brett) Brackett do. I don't know. I told Guido (D'Elia), I don't even know why we are having a press conference. I have to see these guys."

"I think there's potential there. We have four or five kids. You guys mentioned (Chaz) Powell; he might be the most gifted of them all, but I have to see if he can catch the ball consistently. He has great speed. I'm in the dark as much as you guys are."

"I wish I could tell you, "this guy, this guy, this guy." I can't. I can't even tell you what our first string offensive line is going to be."

The wide receiver position is a question, but I believe it can be stable enough to carry Penn State through the season. They will need to prove themselves against some tough secondaries though.

"

Are you thinking about Sean Lee as a middle linebacker? One of the things about keeping him out is that it gives us a chance to look at all the other kids. We've got some really good athletes at linebacker.

Whether they're good football players, I don't know yet. But as far as watching them do things and timing and things like that, we've got some pretty good athletes.

Lee can play inside or outside. Lee's darn near good enough to be a strong safety athletically, so you may be tempted to play him outside. Right now, if we were going to suit up tomorrow he'd probably play inside, until we find out some things about the other kids.

Why did you bring Sean Lee on the road last year when he was hurt?We brought him along because he has so many leadership qualities. He roomed with another kid and the whole bit, and I felt we owed it to him. He's just been such a good kid, so we brought him along.

It cost us one of the numbers we were allowed to take on the road but we weren't really forced into a situation where we had to leave somebody home that should go in order to take Sean, so it really wasn't a problem.

Sean, as I said, is mature, he's been around, knows the game and he has a great way with people. He's a real asset off the field as well as on the field.

"

Lee is a leader on this team and the coaches should take every precaution available with him. For the defense to be solid in 2009 they will need Lee at linebacker and not on the sideline.