Ryan Day and Captains Spoke To The Media Before Their Matchup Against Penn State
10/29/2025 11:39:00 AM | Football
When asked about Penn State's running game and the keys to slow Kaytron Allen down:
“I think he’s running as good as anybody in the country and Singleton’s a really good back as well. Both are breaking a lot of tackles, so we have to do a good job of getting the ball, we have to swarm tackle, we have to get them down to the ground, we have to be violent when we get to the ball, again like any good defense we are built inside out. We have to stop the run first; we know that they are going to come in there and run the ball. For their coach to say that they got to come in here and run the ball, it’s a challenge to our defense. It’s a challenge to our defensive line, challenge to our linebackers, challenge to our entire defense, to make sure that doesn’t happen. They’re a very good team, and our guys know what they're up against. The guys have been locked in this week and know what the challenge is, so now it's about who puts it on the field, and the other part of it is, on offense; we’ve got to run the ball. We’ve got to make sure we’re moving a line of scrimmage and backs are getting downhill breaking tackles and everybody’s involved in that.”
When asked about the next steps with the team and Julian:
“Well, we’ve only played half a season here, so we’ve just have a lot of football ahead of us. First things first, take care of football. Get us into the right place. Command a line of scrimmage, play well on the third down, play well in the red zone. Big routine plays routinely. We have our chance to take shots; we’ve got to hit them, those types of things. People are waiting to see the entire playbook, every play. We are trying to score touchdowns, we’re not just running the ball and hoping we get three or four yards. We have opportunities. We can break some of these runs, we can break tackles, we throw the football and those types of things. It’s about efficiency. That's something in the end that's going to be the difference, the fundamentals. Tackling, blocking, taking care of the football, executing those plays, making guys miss, all those things. Certainly, we’re going to have different things that we can do with attack teams and we will continually work on that, but at the end of the day, we’re driving efficiency right now, and we are challenging our guys, and it's the same thing for Julian.”
On playing Knowles:
“He did a lot of great things here. We know what he likes to do, but we have to be ready for anything. He can throw anything at us, but it's gonna be fun. It's gonna be a challenge.”
On why the team has been so consistent:
“Our preparation. I think our preparation has been on an elite level. We have to continue to do that; the film watching, taking notes and meetings. In practice we've done a great job so far. We just have to keep doing that.”
On why is he thinks Sayin is winning Heisman:
“Oh, because they'll see the rest of the year and they’ll see all these other quarterbacks up there with him but he’s different. He's the best and they'll see.
On why Julian is the best quarterback:
“Accuracy, his awareness, he's very smart. He can throw any ball on the field. His command is way better than what it was. I think the way he's different is he can do things other quarterbacks around the country can't. I've watched games, but I haven't seen other quarterbacks manage a pocket like he has standing there and take a shot and throw a dot over the middle. I haven't seen a quarterback do that and who else is throwing 80% of the country? That's my opinion.”
On eagerness to get to the backend of the season:
“We're super focused. I think Coach Day is instilling the right mindset in us. We know this is really where the season starts, obviously anything that happened before this doesn't really matter and you have to play your best ball in November and moving on.”
On playing Jim Knowles:
“We're just focused on us, just do what we do and go out there and find a way to win.”
On when he first felt the defense click:
“Versus Texas. I thought we really dominated that game and we knew what we were capable of and I think we're just getting better each and every week.”
On being #1 team and the mentality:
“Well we have to get better each day. Every week everyone's approving, so we have to upgrade each week. That's what Coach Day has been preaching to us every week. We have to upgrade, upgrade, upgrade.”
On coming off natty:
“Yeah, it gives us a lot of confidence and each day we know what it takes and you have to be at that standard. So pushing everyone from the top guys, to the leaders and all the way down to the newer guys.”
On knowing Knowles and playing against his defense:
“We have to practice for everything. We know Jim Knowles, what he likes to do, so we've been practicing everything so we're ready for each scenario.”
On getting ready for the game Saturday against Penn State:
“They have talent like everybody else and at the beginning of the season they were probably one of the highest ranked teams, but I mean we got to do the same things to prepare every week, so I can't say we really changed any type of preparation. There is a fire in us that we are playing Penn State, but no different than any other team."
Maintaining where they are as a team:
“Routine, I'll just say, we were talking earlier with Coach today and he was talking about not the anxiety, but the urgency that there is always something in you that somebody wants what you have. You have to go with everyday knowing that and I feel like if you go on everyday knowing that, you don't take anything for granted. You come out every day hungry and they put you in a position on Saturday.”
On their ability to make changes:
“I think it is the way we've been trained, Coach P, Coach Walt, they do a good job making sure that were not just seeing our single position, but were trying to see the full field. See the tails that we can have and if you see all the tails that you can see on the field, you're going to be able to play fast and adjust when the time comes.”
