2007 OUTBACK BOWL POST GAME QUOTES

PENN STATE COACH JOE PATERNO

Opening statement: “It’s been a good week for us here; we’ve enjoyed it. Everybody’s been really nice to the kids, and it was a good football game. The Tennessee kid’s fumble really changed the whole thing around. But that’s the way it goes. It was fun to play, the crowd was great on both sides. The Tennessee fans were good; our fans were great. It was great to be part of it.”

On being in the booth instead of on the sidelines for the Outback Bowl: “I was going to try to stay on the sideline. Before the game I went out and it was getting a little muddy. I have a great staff; they’ve been with me for a long time. They need me like they need a hole in the head. All I do is get in the way. I’ve got to yell once in a while so people think I’m earning my money. But I don’t like it up there really, it’s not much fun.”

On quarterback Anthony Morelli’s performance: “I thought Anthony was a real big-time quarterback today. He had great touch on the ball, ran the football team. He had a lot of poise; he ran the show in there even at the end he took a lot of time off the clock. I just thought he grew up today in a lot of different ways. He’s played against some awful tough clubs, defensive clubs. I don’t think sometimes people realize a Wisconsin, how sound they are. They do so many things. He’s had a tough row and I think today he really showed people what kind of quarterback he is, and he’s going to get better.”

On his expectation for the Nittany Lions in the Outback Bowl: “I just was hoping we’d play with a lot of poise and we’d hustle all the time, and the young kids, when they get in there, would carry their load. And I think all of those things happened. If we would have lost by one point and they all happened, and Morelli had a good game and that kind of thing, I would have felt the same way. But, obviously, winning make a big difference, I’m not going to kid you.”

On the fumble return for a touchdown changing the momentum of the game: “Obviously I don’t know what would have happened if they’d have scored. It obviously was a big factor in the game, how big or in what way, I can’t tell you.”

On how rewarding it was to get a win over a high-caliber team: “I think we played well. As I told them the other night, I just want you guys to know I’m proud of you. They have played every game tough and they’ve been good teammates, they’ve helped each other. I really feel good about this team. I thought we’d win at least one more. We didn’t. Today I just wanted them to understand they’re a good football team and play like a good football team, and I think they did.”

On linebacker Paul Posluszny’s influence on the team: “Having a guy like Paul Posluszny, it’s hard to measure. He’s the first guy on the practice field all the time. He’s one of the best football players in the country and he’s out there, he’s the first guy out there. He played a heck of a game.”

On the play of Anthony Scirrotto and the Penn State secondary: “He’s been good all year. He’s a good football player. I think the whole secondary has played well all year. I think Donnie Johnson got one play where he didn’t realize how quick these kids are. We tried to emphasize to our squad all week don’t take a bad angle, don’t underestimate their speed. They ran away from us a couple times.”

On Outback Bowl MVP Tony Hunt: “He’s a tough runner. He’s an excellent pass receiver; we don’t throw the ball to him enough, we should, and he’s an excellent blocker. He’s a money football player. Hunt had a heck of a game. A lot of tough yards he made against a good football team.”

OUTBACK BOWL MVP TONY HUNT

On the Tennessee defense: “I didn’t really think they were that physical of a team. They really boast and brag about their speed and I think we brought something to the table that they really couldn’t handle.”

On his status as an underrated tailback: “I just came in kind of overshadowed by other backs on our team and I really wasn’t the highest recruit coming out of high school. But I don’t think I’m underrated as far as any of the players on our team think or any of the coaches, so it doesn’t really bother me.”

On playing in the Outback Bowl: “Last year was a nightmare; I played about two plays and got hurt, so I was really happy to come out and play this whole game and be as effective as I was.”

On getting a win in the Outback Bowl: “It means a lot for this team. This is a few wins in a row; it’s a big-time win against a ranked opponent, something that teams were saying we couldn’t do. People were saying we couldn’t beat teams that were ranked because we struggled early on in the year. Coming out, especially with the way Anthony played today, he threw a lot of smart balls, he didn’t make any bad decisions, he had control of the team. So, we have a vocal offensive leader coming back next year that’s really going to take charge. With the defense, we’re returning so many of the younger players that are so great on the defense that both sides of the ball will be so balanced, so I think we’ll have a good year.”

On finishing his career with a win in the Outback Bowl: “It feels great to be able to go out on a note like this. You have to move on, and I’m just happy it happened on these terms with a big win like that in a big game. I’m just really happy the way it ended up.”

On the game plan of heavily running the ball: “That was the game plan all day. Everyone talked so much about their speed and nobody really said anything about how physical they were, so we wanted to come out and see if they could handle us if we ran right at them. They kind of struggled with that so we just kind of stuck to that, got a big defensive play, and just ran the ball down there throat, killing the clock.”

On the Tennessee Volunteers: “I thought it was an excellent ball game. It was very competitive. They played an excellent ball game. It was close to the end. We were just fortunate enough to play it and focus a little more and come out on top.”

QUARTERBACK ANTHONY MORELLI

On spreading the ball around during the game: “All week long we heard that they would put eight in the box and stop the run and make us pass to win. We passed the ball successfully and that enabled us to open up the running game.”

On his comfort level in the Outback Bowl: “I felt a lot more comfortable since we had more time to prepare for the game. We put in a lot of hard work and it carried over on the field today.”

On having fun at the Outback Bowl: “This was the most fun that I’ve had all season I had fun out there from the first play until the last play. I played loose the entire game and felt that was the way to play.”

On the challenge of making the Outback Bowl a fun experience: “I took today as a learning experience, and I was able to slow down the game since we had extra time to prepare and watch more film.”

On the pass to Deon Butler that set up Penn State’s first touchdown: “Deon provides good speed and he has great hands. We have playmakers on our team and we were able to showcase them and their talents today.”

On his feelings about completing the pass to Butler that set up Penn State’s first touchdown:

“I was feeling really good, and I knew it would be a great day for us. We continued to have success and it turned out to be a positive day.”

RECEIVER DERRICK WILLIAMS

On Anthony Morelli’s performance: “Anthony did a great job today. I’ve been saying since we have been down here that Anthony is the best quarterback that I have seen. I think he showed everyone just how good he is today.”

On the weather conditions: “It was a little wet, but we had no excuses. A couple of our receivers dropped a few balls, but I think we did a pretty good job for the most part.”

CORNERBACK JUSTIN KING

On playing against Tennessee wide receiver Robert Meachem: “In the first half, I got a feel for him. I competed more and really got tight on him in the second half while not trying to play to his skills. It was great going up against the other team’s best receiver and it really feels good to be successful.”

RECEIVER DEON BUTLER

On Anthony Morelli’s performance: “The way he played today was a carryover from all of our practices. He had an excellent week of practice and really focused on the team. When he is comfortable in the pocket, he is making plays and making everyone else feel comfortable.”

On Penn State’s prospects for next season: “Today is the start of something good. We need to keep this momentum through spring ball and carry it into next season.

LINEBACKER PAUL POSLUSZNY

On Penn State’s fan support: “Our fans have supported us all year long and for them to come down and cheer us on today was great.”

On playing his last game for Penn State: “This is a once in a lifetime experience. Regardless of where everyone goes from now on, it will never be like this again. I have really been just trying to enjoy the last couple of days.”

On Tony Davis’s fumble recovery for a touchdown: “It was huge, and it was the play of the game. It was great awareness of his part and once he took off no one was going to catch him. It was great that he was able to make a play.

On Penn State’s second half defensive performance: “After we talked with our coaches at halftime, we got things cleared up and were more focused on our reads. We knew our offense could score, so if we held Tennessee we knew we could get a big win.

LINEBACKER DAN CONNOR

On getting a signature win over Tennessee: “Playing a lot of ranked teams this season, we wanted to make a statement on the national level. It’s a great feeling to beat a nationally ranked team at the end of the season.”

JAY PATERNO

On seeing something different in Anthony Morelli this week and today: “He was just more relaxed today. We told him that it didn’t matter who we played in this game; we were going to win. We concentrated on the little things in practice and he really took it to heart. He had a lot of faith in us and he did a good job today.

TENNESSEE COACH PHILLIP FULMER

Opening statement: “First of all I’ll start with congratulating coach Paterno and Penn State and their outstanding football program. They represent what’s some of the best about college football and we were honored to have the chance to play against them. We thank the Outback Bowl and all of the sponsors, hosts, everyone involved. We had a fantastic week and we appreciate that. We’re very disappointed in the game and the results of the game although I thought both sides fought hard.”

On a few plays deciding the game: “It comes down to a few plays, always, in the game. There were a few plays in the game that made a huge difference. Everybody will want to point to the fumble, and that obviously was a very big one. But there were a lot of plays during the course of the ballgame that could have made a difference. We’ll take from it and learn from it.”

On the first fumble on an attempted reverse: “It was a great call, not a good call; it was a great call. The formation they were in, they had a tendency to have a lot of people over there. The one tackle that didn’t slant out, I guess he had containment responsibility. If we had just gotten a pitch like we had worked on so well in practice and actually scrimmaged it last Tuesday and it went for a touchdown, I think it was definitely headed for a long play. But that’s football. You’ve got to be able to execute those things consistently.”

On Outback Bowl MVP Tony Hunt: “I told you guys when I came here that was my biggest concern. I don’t know how many yards he had but they were tough yards. We didn’t do a good job of getting off blocks, which is a credit to their offensive front. They did a nice job with a couple of misdirection things that kept us a little bit off balance. But he fell forward and ran hard and I think he’s a really fine back and one of the more underrated backs that I’ve seen as far as what we thought of him versus the accolades he had gotten. He’s a very good football player.”

On holding Penn State to 10 points through the first three quarters: “I felt very good about it. The fact is there was an energy on our sideline in the fourth quarter because we had been a very good fourth quarter team this year. We felt like we were going to win the ballgame.

On quarterback Erik Ainge’s performance: “Erik made a couple of really undisciplined plays to be honest with you. Again, they’re young and learning and not professionals, and even professionals make mistakes. We’ve got to get back to using the system as it’s meant to be and not try to force balls to individuals perhaps or make plays that aren’t really designed to be made.”

On two fumbles influencing Arian Foster’s confidence: “I thought coming into the game just by what I’d seen in practice and our conversations with Arian that he’d handle himself well and he ran the ball really hard and really well and had great vision and got himself north and south. The pitch; I don’t know if it was his fault or the receiver’s. I really won’t know until I see it. The second one, you know he has a tendency at times to carry the ball as high and tight as he’s supposed to carry it. I just talked to him a little bit ago and obviously he’s got his head down really, really bad right now. He’s a tough guy and a good player and he’ll be fine.”

On Penn State’s defense: “They’re a really good defensive team and their national stats reflect that. You look at most of their games and they did about the same things. I thought they were a fine defensive football team. They’re right up there in the top three or four.”

On the Tennessee offense and receiver Robert Meachem: “I think we were our own worst enemies today at times. They rolled up on Meachem some and tired to double him some. They did a good job of that. They killed us down and distance. We’d make a play or something and end up with second and long and third and long and it’s very difficult against anybody, particularly against a good football team, to make those situations. We didn’t do a very good job, particularly in the first half, of keeping the down and distance normal.”

DEFENSIVE BACK ANTWAAN STEWART

On affect of Penn State fumble return: “If I wouldn’t have given up a big play they never would have had ten points. We shouldn’t have had our backs to the wall like that.”

On effect of this game regarding effort to turn program around: “It’s just another stepping stone. We built on last year and this year we got a little further and I think next year they’ll do even better. We have a lot of experience coming back and younger players that have a lot of potential so I think they are going to be motivated to do whatever they have to do.”

On not getting 10 wins: “It hurts not getting 13 wins so the fact we only have nine obviously hurts. A a program like Tennessee that’s what you do, that’s what I came here for and just to go out there and not perform the way we could have performed that hurts.”

Were you surprised at how much Penn State threw the ball early? “No that didn’t surprise me. I put that on my back. I should have played better technique on it but I wasn’t surprised.”

QUARTERBACK ERIK AINGE

On the playing conditions: “Three turnovers in a game like that when it’s tough to throw, rain makes it hard to throw, and you turn the ball over you put yourself in a bad situation.”

Was the offense rusty after a long layoff? “I don’t think we were that rusty on offense, I think we were just being stupid. Penalty here, penalty there, we had bad down and distance. When we had down and distance in our favor we pretty much did what we wanted. Dumb penalties and turnovers is what cost us the game.”

On interception: “That’s a good play by their free safety. He saw me catch it the ball and get ready to throw the ball immediately and Meachem ran a good route and I just stared at him too long. It was very poor on my part.”

What was Penn State doing defensively to take Meachem out of the game? “They do a good job of staying on top of everything and trying to run underneath so we knew Jason was going to have a good game today and get a lot of balls because they were going to give Robert a lot of attention. He still had opportunities to catch the ball and opportunities to get him the ball but he dropped a couple and I missed him a couple times.

Did they take away the middle of the field more in 2nd half? “They did a good job of changing up what they were doing the entire game and it was hard to get a bead on them, but like I said when we had down and distance in our favor we did what we wanted and when we had stupid penalties and mistakes, missed assignments we put ourselves in a bad situation.”

RUNNING BACK LAMARCUS COKER

On how the team finished the season with a loss to Penn State: “All in all we had a good season, a better season than last year, it wasn’t the best season, it wasn’t the season we wanted but the Outback Bowl is a great bowl, it’s a New Year’s Day bowl and we were happy to be here, they treated us well and we would love to come back any time. We made mistakes and Penn State is a fundamentally sound team and they executed well and we knew that coming into the game that they would not make many mistakes. The team that makes the fewest mistakes usually wins and that’s what happened today.”

What do you have to do in off-season to have a breakout year next season? “I need to get strong. Coaches tell me that all the time, I need to get in the weight room and get strong. I would love to break out of more tackles like Penn State running back did, he carried a couple players on his back so I think that’s something I need to add to my game.”

On fumble: “Fumbling is frustrating for any running back, but you have to have a short memory. All in all, we had a great season. The Outback Bowl is a great bowl and they treated us well. Penn State is a very fundamentally-sound team and they made fewer mistakes than we did today.”

GUARD RAMON FOSTER

On rebounding from this game: “This was the ending and the beginning of 2007 and we’ll take this to spring practice and learn from what happened today and move forward.”

LINEBACKER RYAN KARL

On the performance of the defense: “We weren’t fatigued, but Tony Hunt is a great running back and they ran the ball well. The thing that hurts the most was the big momentum swing after the fumble. It was just disappointing because if we score there we have all the momentum and maybe they have to throw the ball more.”

DEFENSIVE END XAVIER MITCHELL

Did they do anything different offensively, seemed like they threw the ball more? “I think so. When you do well with the run you can pass better off the play action so they did throw more but we should have expected that.”

Were you worn down late in the game as a big guy? “No, absolutely not. We were concentrating on getting the ball back a lot of us were missing tackles trying to strip the ball.”

On Tony Hunt: “He is one of the best and hard runners we’ve faced this year.”

What do you take from this? “You’ve got to grow from it. Everyday is a challenge and it’s a tough loss, but that’s the best way to learn from things, to be in a game like this, it defines you in the end what you do with something like that.”