Live updates: Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen, players
Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen is meeting with reporters on Tuesday afternoon ahead of his Nittany Lions’ CFP date with SMU.
Follow our updates from the session, here:
Live updates: Penn State defensive players
(Penn State will feature interview opportunities with Dvon J-Thomas, Kobe King, Zane Durant, Abdul Carter, Dom DeLuca, and Nick Singleton next.)
Nick on why duo has worked with Kaytron
12/17/2024 12:41:05 PMNot being selfish. They’re good teammates. Loves Kaytron, his brother. Just being good teammates. It’s been really good.
Nick Singleton on Drew Allar coming back and what it means:
12/17/2024 12:40:04 PMJust builds momentum with a guy like Drew. He’s a captain and always sets the tone. Having him around the program will be really good.
Nick Singleton on playing through bumps and bruises:
12/17/2024 12:38:54 PMFeels good. Shoutout to the training room. There every day. They’re his teammates. Feels good right now and trying to stay healthy through the rest of the season.
Nick Singleton coming back next year
12/17/2024 12:39:04 PMSaw Drew coming back yesterday. That’s phenomenal. Just worried on the season. Will figure out where he stands with that after the season. But for now SMU.
Dom DeLuca on not having Beau here:
12/17/2024 12:20:49 PMTough decision for him. But happy for him. Will do great things in the future. Can’t wait to see where he is.
Dom on Kobe King growing as a leader:
12/17/2024 12:16:30 PMHe’s becoming a lot more vocal with his communication pre and post snap. Talk about that every time off the field. Keys they’re noticing presnap. Helps everyone.
Dom DeLuca on Abdul Carter as the best player in college football:
12/17/2024 12:15:27 PMNot surprised at all by how well he’s doing. He’s a freak athlete. His day to day is incredible. Learning from it, too. It’s awesome.
Abdul Carter on playing in the cold:
12/17/2024 12:08:47 PMWeather doesn’t matter, hot or cold. But them coming into Penn State’s environment is an advantage. But it’s cold for everyone. All about your mindset for the game.
Abdul Carter on coaches calling him “the best” vs. being slighted by awards:
12/17/2024 12:05:01 PMDefinitely gives an extra edge. Uses it as motivation but not get discourage. Feels like he’s the best player in general. Always classified as “defensive” but impact is just the same. Uses it all as motivation.
Abdul Carter on being held/tackled vs. Oregon:
12/17/2024 12:03:40 PMJust try to keep playing and not get discouraged. Whether he gets the call or not. Keep working and will get a call or a sack eventually.
Zane Durant on if weather is a factor for warm-weather guys:
12/17/2024 11:53:34 AMYes. Definitely. The first time you go into it, you’re not aware of it. But there are things you can do to stay warm.
Zane Durant on decision for next year:
12/17/2024 11:53:00 AMHasn’t made a decision. Just focused on next year.
Zane Durant on All-Big Ten snub:
12/17/2024 11:52:00 AMDoesn’t really pay attention to that stuff. Wants to be the best in America, but he knows who he is and has to keep proving it.
Zane Durant on Jennings:
12/17/2024 11:51:03 AMHe’s a dynamic player. Athletic. Great passer. Works well within their system. It’s a good challenge for Penn State up front.
Kobe King on coming back next year:
12/17/2024 11:47:18 AMNot really thinking about that right now. Focused on SMU because it’s game week. Great day for practice to attack. Then execute.
Kobe King on Jennings:
12/17/2024 11:46:28 AMWith him and his ability to extend plays, secondary covering longer and an extra play, guys getting home, and guys doing their jobs. He’s one of the best quarterbacks they have seen from his athletic ability. He’s fast. Gotta lock into the game plan, understand what to do and execute it.
Kobe King on Tony Rojas:
12/17/2024 11:43:11 AMJust like any other player, everyone has ups and downs. Started season great. Had some adversity but bounced back from that. Building confidence since. Playing faster. WIll have a great finish to the season.
Kobe King on SMU RB:
12/17/2024 11:40:53 AMEven before he knew he’d been a receiver, knew he was. One of the best backs in the country. Great team. Great scheme. QB great guy too. Athleticism the best they’ve seen all year. Have to bring it to them on Saturday.
Kobe King on Abdul Carter season:
12/17/2024 11:39:58 AMWhat stood out was how dominant he wanted to be and how dominant he was. His intentionality in games and practice. Doing things on game day. Abdul is a great guy, player, and teammate. He has dominated this season.
Kobe King on Drew Allar coming back:
12/17/2024 11:39:08 AMMeans a lot for the program. Faith in the QB coming back. Great for him to do what he wants to do here to accomplish his goals here. But also good for the team. The connections and bonds with the receivers and coaches and guys on the team.
Dvon J-Thomas on lessons from Oregon:
12/17/2024 11:35:38 AMTeams will try to go tempo on them, but they’ve adjusted. Tom Allen has done an incredible job getting them prepared. The biggest thing is getting set and having ears open in case they need to adjust on the fly.
Dvon J-Thomas on advice for teammates weighing decision to go pro or come back:
12/17/2024 11:32:31 AMYou look at the difference between last year and this year, you see how much further they’ve come. Weigh things carefully. There is a lot you have to deal with, but a lot that you get blessed with in turn. Another year with brothers doing something that has never been done before. That speaks to who they are as players. Everyone should give it a second look at think critically about it because you’re only in college once. The league is going to be there.
Dvon J-Thomas on the crowd factor:
12/17/2024 11:30:08 AMYou go back to Michigan or at Iowa, crowd noise is huge, especially on snap count. Then they go to cadence and physical movements are tells. Those physical movements matter. They’re going to have a tough time in the White Out adjusting to that noise level.
Dvon J-Thomas on portal stuff now:
12/17/2024 11:28:43 AMThe situation sucks. That’s just the nature of college football right now. With this playoff run teams are having with portal only open for certain amount of time, puts players in tough situations based on how you want to grow individually. There needs to be a change in college football if the playoffs are like this and go this long, portal needs adjustment as well.
Dvon J-Thomas on Jennings:
12/17/2024 11:26:37 AMHe’s a huge threat on his feet. Especially extending plays is the biggest thing. That’s the last thing you want. When guys like that extend plays, things tend to happen, especially with great QBs like him.
Live updates: Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen
(Press conference is set to begin at noon. Page does not automatically refresh. Updates will appear in reverse chronological order. Tom Allen press conference concludes at 12:21 p.m.)
Zion Tracy:
12/17/2024 11:21:29 AMHe gives you tremendous cover ability at the position, but also the ability to tackle. Different ways you can play that guy based on his skillset. Has made really big plays and that’s the expectation going into this weekend. Another guy who a couple of months ago, his attention to detail hadn’t been there consistently and then it flipped, and elevated him. You could tell he understood calls and where he puts eyes, and where not to. His raw athleticism is elite. Really fast, long arms, tough kid who has really developed this year. Need that to continue. Built to play this game for a long time. Position flexibility, inside, outside, and even safety in certain calls.
Kobe King:
12/17/2024 11:19:29 AMHe’s had a tremendous season. Way better in space than people realize. Consistency. Has loose hips. Can bend. He needed to grow in ownership of running the defense verbally and he has. Works so hard, practices harder, brings it every day. Play and production has matched prep, which is impressive. Elevates the whole room. Excited for him to have a tremendous game on Saturday. If you want to play a great game, you have to have tremendous linebacker play, and Penn State believes it has that.
Challenges of Jennings:
12/17/2024 11:17:38 AMWhen guy can extend the play and he can hurt you with legs, but he’s looking to throw the football and those are the most dangerous ones. You can’t just abort your pass responsibilities with guys like that. The ability to have that threat is tremendous. He’s also very accurate. Especially on the move. That sticks out. Special talent. Has his full attention after studying him for last couple of weeks. He’s a dual-player-quarterback that throws extremely well, has accuracy, quick release, can throw in tight windows, and beat you with his legs. Built system around him. Creates challenges for everyone every week.
Abdul Carter:
12/17/2024 11:15:40 AMHe’s been tremendous. Move him around and that will continue. Best defensive player in the country and has proven that each week. This is another opportunity for him to do what he does best, which is disrupt. Choosing to focus on him frees up other guys. And he still does a great job beating what is thrown at him. So much flexibility, which is his value to his future. Tremendous 1 on 1 nightmare for offensive players. As good of burst off the ball as anyone he’s ever seen.
Diversity of SMU passing attack:
12/17/2024 11:14:03 AMAnytime you have more guys to defend and take away, it’s a challenge. Talented team and weapons they can get the ball to. Forces you to say everyone has to do their job. Have to be sound across the board. Everyone matters who they are matched up with. They have many guys who can contribute. Puts stress on your defense. But excited about the challenge.
Impact of CB transfers:
12/17/2024 11:12:45 AM
Thinking about Jalen Kimber’s poise. He doesn’t get phased. He’s experienced and has been playing a long time. Stood out when they took him and it’s been true. So consistent in approach to practice and play has been that way as well. Sometimes you don’t always know. But he’s been tremendous and expected to be a big piece going through this.
And A.J. has been tremendous with tremendous talent. Probably played best game of the season against Oregon. Toughness, athleticism, can cover.
Two tremendous additions to the program. Portal gives you chance to fill some gaps with that type of player. To hit on both players has been really big. Expecting them to play very best football these last four weeks.
Tony Rojas:
12/17/2024 11:10:49 AMTremendous upside. Young player still growing and developing. You’ve seen flashes that shows at a high level. Next four weeks very important for him as a player. Learning in the system. As a backer, you also have to communicate. Has tremendous attitude and works so hard. Keep developing and growing. Have seen that and know he has it in him. Want that high level consistency. That’s what’s expected of him and backers.
DT rotation
12/17/2024 11:09:35 AMBlanding and Gilliam you want to step into fourth and fifth spot. Five as a bonus guys. So Ty and Xavier are competing to be fourth and fifth guy. Want to see guys rise up. Depth important at every position, but especially up front. It’s physically demanding. Have to play at a high level and that’s why you rotate those guys.
College football landscape:
12/17/2024 11:08:21 AM
Bottom line is that NCAA and AFCA has to take a strong look at the calendar for negative situations it puts your team in. Coach has done a great job of one focus on SMU. Definitely needs to be looked at and it will be. But how do you get guys locked in, and they are, and ready to play best football on Saturday.
Lessons from Oregon:
12/17/2024 11:07:16 AMDidn’t play to standard, and they did. It’s about being able to take that information, a lot of meeting time and film study and analyzing since then to be in best position to be successful. At the same time, any time a team does something to you that causes struggles and makes you play the way you don’t want to, gives you valuable feedback to use moving forward, which they will this week.
Adjustment from the field to the booth
12/17/2024 11:06:03 AM
It was an adjustment. A good adjustment and change. Works closely with Dan Connor, who is a great communicator and coach. One less thing for him to have to deal with. Even the crowd noise in the box vs. the field and communication with the players. Took a while to get used to. Everything having the mic on the linebacker, the ipads to evaluate, together made the decision to go up a lot easier. Guys on the staff that can check and correct in an efficient way is another reason to feel good about going up top. Then the quality of players, handling those adjustments coming off the field.
Took some time, but once in new structure, got rolling from there and it has been positive.
Impressions of SMU
12/17/2024 11:04:04 AMImpressive offensive unit. The thing that jumps out is their athleticism at receiver, tight end. Running back is a converted receiver and challenges with that schematically. Then the QB. Kid makes them go. He’s young buy live arm. He’s truly a dual-threat QB with ability to create when things don’t go as planned. Forces you to be extremely difficult to prevent those plays. One of the top offenses in the country. Big challenge.
