NEWS FLASH: ESPN ARTICLE ON OUR DEFENSE.
Adam Rittenburg wrote a piece for ESPN that praises our defense without completely dismissing the offense. Some of the coaches’ post-game comments piqued my interest in particular.
Day, Ryan:
“That was the most confident and energetic group that I’ve been around, probably since ’19, out there on the field today,” Day told ESPN. “The whole group was into it, they had that look in their eye and they were getting the crowd involved.” ‘Guys, they’re ready to snap the ball, let’s go,’ I said a couple of times. But I adore it.
“That’s the confidence that’s building week in and week out.”
Knowles, Jim:
“They now have confidence that they can win the game on defense,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said. “I don’t look at stats, but I believe Penn State had a good defense, so we told them before the game, ‘Hey, you’re not just playing Penn State’s offense.'” You’re a member of Penn State’s defense. We have to make two plays if they make one. If they can create two, we can make three.’ So there’s a sense of maturity, leadership, and perhaps a chip on the shoulder.
“We’ve done a lot of work to have everyone have faith in this.”
Is it insane to imagine that this offense will be better in 5 weeks when we hopefully get Ebuka and Henderson back and McCord continues to gain game experience? When you combine that with a defense that is playing flawlessly, this season has the potential to become something truly great very quickly. Regardless, you did an excellent job through 7.
