Chris Harrell Quotations

What we do in the first game sets the tone for how other teams in the Big Ten view us.

Last year, we'd hang close in games, but we couldn't put together those big plays when we needed them. We'd been getting them from our passing game this year, and today we got it from the running game.

We're pleased to go home with a win, but we're not very satisfied with how we played. On defense there were good times and bad times, and we want to be more consistent.

had a chance to learn and fall in love with the game again.

Going into it there were a lot of jitters. They weren't the type of nerves in that I wasn't confident, but I was nervous about having contact and being in the flow and making sure I picked up right after I left off, ... But after the first few tackles, I got a little more confident and got that attitude back.

It bothered a lot of us. To hear people criticize him, it hurt us.

It bothered a lot of guys. Coming off the field, everyone was talking about, 'We never want to see 20 points on the board again.' That's something we really, really dislike, especially as a defense.

Physically I've been able to add a different aspect to my game by playing the pass and creating some turnovers, ... I definitely consider it a blessing to have been able to sit back and increase aspects of my game like my strength, my speed and the way I play the ball.

Part of why Tony is so hard to tackle is that he's a big guy and you don't know what to expect. Sometimes he'll make a move and go by you or sometimes he'll try to run you over. As a defender, he keeps you guessing. I guess I have to accept being run over sometimes.

Paul, they say you've been getting stronger down here by lifting your trophies.

We have been through a lot. It helped get us this far.

We couldn't control it. At the last minute, you think you're going to move to the right and slam on the brakes, and we did both and kinda slid right into the car. The air bags came out and it was just too late.

We plan on just doing what we can to get our hands on him early -- jam him, slow him down, get him before he starts going. Because once he gets that engine going he's hard to bring down.

There are a lot of guys that are playing now for them that I played all the time in high school and hung out with around town in Cleveland, ... There's a ton of bragging rights at stake.

With that spread offense, we know we are going to have to play a lot of nickel and dime defense and we are going to have to be ready to have our linebackers running all over the field chasing all those receivers.

Those turnovers are really huge for us and we're really proud of ourselves as a secondary and linebackers to try to intercept the ball, get momentum and get things going.

Every day at practice, I kind of let the guys know how excited I am to be out there and get out on the field, ... I try to let the young guys know what kind of opportunity they have to play a game they love at a place like Penn State.

Early on it was very tough for me, especially emotionally, ... There were a lot of tears. I wasn't sure if football was still the game that I should be playing after a neck injury.

It wouldn't hurt to have our kids sleeping on cots, especially when some people are still sleeping in tents and have to endure a lot of hardship. This gives them a deeper understanding of what we're trying to do and who we're trying to help.

Sometimes, when I go back home, they don't see us as much of a threat. I always take that as an insult. I come back, and I make sure to tell my teammates about that.

After the first big hit, I felt really good after I made contact with the guy. I felt all types of energy through me.

As I walked back to the huddle, a lot of guys walked up to me and said 'You're back. You're back,'

That's why we're trying to be leaders and make sure that it doesn't happen the way it did the last bowl game where all of the seniors left and all the older guys went to the NFL. They didn't let the young guys know how important it was to keep this thing going.

A lot of us really had to stick our feet in the ground to make our breaks. The ground was coming up in chunks. It was a big hindrance to us.

A lot of us are really surprised at how they're playing because they have so many athletes on the team. It does kind of bother us that they're 3-3.

There's a big difference from last year. Last year, we really couldn't make any big plays. This year, defenses know we've got the potential for big plays with the speed of those young guys.

They're really gonna be set against not losing two straight home games.

They're gonna make some athletic plays, and that's gonna be a challenge. Just making sure that once they catch the ball, they're coming down, that'll be the biggest deal.

It's not something we want to go in there and repeat. We want to take a different mindset, to go in with a whole different mentality and aggressiveness.

It's not like coach Paterno forgot how to coach football.

It's really important and that's what we've been trying to focus on and let them understand that. Where this program goes after this game whether we win or lose is really going to be on them.

Even when we were up in State College, we started going through the blitzes that we wanted, some of the checks and stuff like that. So it's been on our minds for a good month now.

The big change of pace has been learning how to work through the sweat and being able to drink water, things like that.

It was like he had oil on his jersey. He's a quick guy for his size.

He's so fast. He gets down there almost before the ball does.

This is a huge game for our team. It will show everybody where we rank.