Penn State strength coach Chuck Losey press conference transcript

Penn State strength and conditioning coach Chuck Losey met with the media after his team finished its squat max testing day. He spoke with the assembled media inside the new Lasch weight room for roughly ten minutes and discussed how the group has progressed over the seven weeks of winter conditioning. Here’s the full transcript of his press conference.

Opening Statement

Good seven weeks. Good day. Obviously, to top it off on a squat. Obviously, we’ve still got a winter workout to go tomorrow morning. But the guys, they’ve done a great job these seven weeks. They’ve started 2023 off the right way. Different team. You know, finding ourselves finding and establishing a lot of different things from last year’s team. But we’re off to a good start these seven weeks. So anybody has any questions?

Who has shown leadership in the weight room to you and your staff?

From a leadership perspective, I think obviously the older guys in the program. You know, you’re Keaton Ellis. He’s done a nice job kind of taking the reins. You know, it’s nice when you have somebody at your position that’s as strong with leadership qualities as Tig [Brown] was last year. But Keaton has done a nice job.

I think Olu Fashanu is another guy that comes to mind. He’s done an excellent job, and then just we’ve got older guys on the offensive line. So I think the offensive line as a unit has also brought a lot of value in the leadership area.

Where are Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen now compared to last year at this time?

Both of them have done a phenomenal job. Nick, this is kind of his thing. He is a speed, strength, power athlete all the way. And Kaytron even though his extent he doesn’t have a background as extensive as Nick’s when he got here, Kaytron has thrived in our system. You know, you can see the body change he’s gone through ever since he first got on campus.

He’s done a phenomenal job. So they both have they’ve still got some deficiencies that need to work on. And they know that we address at the beginning of the winter, but they’re working hard at it. Both of them have done a phenomenal job.

How has Drew Allar’s physical advancement gone since he started with you, and what was your goal?

Drew being at the quarterback position, you’ve got to have durability. So that was one thing with a tall, lean frame like Drew had when he first came in. One of his main objectives was to put muscle mass on, which he’s done a great job. I forget the number doesn’t come to mind exactly how much he’s put on, but it’s in excess of 20-25 pounds since he’s been here.

And he looks great. I mean, he looks like a defensive end right now. I’m really happy with his progress. He’s put on the lean mass. He was probably behind from a strength and power standpoint and speed when he first got here. And I’ll tell you what, he’s closing the gap on a lot of guys at that position.

Beau [Pribula] is kind of an elite person, an elite athlete when it comes to speed, strength, and power. So I think the combination of having Drew, who was probably behind the curve when he first got here and having somebody like Beau in the same room and those two in the same class has benefited Drew.

How have the early enrollees done, and who has impressed you?

It’s good. Each time, each year, they get more comfortable. You’re so familiar with these guys throughout the recruiting process [that] by the time they get here, you’ve been in communication with them. You know what they’re doing from a training standpoint. So as far as fitting in and finding their place, they’ve all done a great job.

There’s not a whole lot of hesitancy. It takes them about a week or two to kind of figure out the balance of college life. But once they’ve got that figured out, training is training.

I usually take those guys and put them in what we call a developmental program right off the bat, which I think benefits them because they don’t have to worry about seeing the older guys in the program worrying about comparisons. You know, comparisons will crush people all the time.

They don’t have to worry about that stuff. They’re just in here training as a collective, as the new guys on campus, and they’ve done a great job. I’m really happy.

How has Allar developed as a leader?

He’s done a good job in the sense that he’s pushed outside of his comfort zone. You know, by nature, Drew is probably not the loudest person you’ll ever meet. He’s loud on the field when he’s commanding the offense, obviously. But just his disposition, his nature, he’s not an attention-seeking guy, so he’s quiet-natured.

But I’ve seen him during our workouts in the weight room. He’s made himself uncomfortable. [He’s] put himself in uncomfortable situations too, where he’s forced himself to speak up to other guys. So in that sense, I’m really proud of him.

How important are these seven weeks and if a player can’t lift, can they make that time up?

I mean, everybody’s a full participant. It just depends on what degree. This thing is so finely tuned by the time [we start] we know exactly what we’re getting at the beginning of these seven weeks. We know who’s got any type of soft tissue injury or some type of surgical return to play. I mean, they’re just on a different program, you know, it’s but it’s still full go depending on what they can do.

But there is no, I hate to use the term limited. It’s just limited in a sense that they’re not fully healthy. But trust me; they’re working as hard as everybody else here. It’s just different.

How have the new transfers Storm Duck and Malik McClain fit in?

They’re good. Yeah. I mean, they’re coming in as grad transfers. They’re more developed. Actually, I really like this about the transfer portal. It’s kind of nice for these guys. They are developed, but they’re also developed within a certain system. Us strength coaches are as guilty as anybody.

Your system is your system. And when you get a guy who’s been in a certain system for three years or four years, and then they make that change into somebody else’s system, they’ve thrived. I don’t think we’ve had a grad transfer who hasn’t thrived. And Storm and McClain have been no different. Storm has been phenomenal.

He’s a perfect example of how you should conduct your business when you show up on campus as a grad transfer. He’s just put his head down. He’s worked he’s been one of the most consistent guys in the program day in and day out. I’ve been really, really happy with that.

And McClain, he’s awesome. He’s a big, tall, long athlete, very, very athletic. He’s always got a smile on his face. He’s been the same thing. He’s the same guy every day. He’s consistent; he’s mature. I’ve been really happy with those guys.

How unique is Zane Durant as an athlete?

I’m around great athletes all the time, so it’s hard to say what’s unique about him. I mean, he’s a stud in here for us. He’s a full package. We’re just excited to see him play this year. I don’t know if I can really say anything is unique about him. What’s unique about Zane, his personality and the fact that you know exactly where he is when he’s in the room, which you love that about him. He’s got a great energy about him himself, and he’s a catalyst to other guys in here as far as bringing energy. That’s what’s unique about him.

What have you seen from Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton now that they’ve gone through your winter conditioning program?

Yeah, they’re very advanced, with an on-field skill set, but from a training age standpoint, they’re still early in their development. So again, that piece where we were going to come in, we’re going to grind on the same as we are everybody else.

Their ceilings are just higher than a lot of other guys you work with. There’s not a ton of difference, but they just have a tremendous ceiling, and we’ve expected a lot of them as young people in the program from a leadership standpoint. You have different levels of leadership on the team, and you always expect your guys who contribute early like that to take an early leadership role within their class or within that class that’s adjacent to them.

But I think they both done a pretty good job with it. I’m happy with.

Where have you seen Chop Robinson grow, and what have you seen from Davon Townley?

He’s been good. I mean, Townley was good. Obviously, you guys know his story. He wasn’t quite sure what his future was going to be. But ever since he’s been back in the mix, he’s training hard. He’s got a body weight goal that he needs to hit in order for him to play defensive tackle for us. He’s going to have to get his weight up.

So he’s working hard at it. His approach has been great. He’s another guy who comes in and just handles his business. You know exactly what you’re going to get every day. And we preach that to them over and over again. As long as he does that every day, he’s going to like the results, and he’s going to like where he ends up.

Chop’s phenomenal. I mean, Chop is freaky in nature. He’s another one that’s thrived in our system. You know his twitch, his suddenness, his ability to just change directions the way that he does; he’s phenomenal. So he’s been great. I love Chop Robinson.

What have you seen from Kaden Saunders?

I think Kaden’s big thing was when he first got here, you know, he’s a highly-touted recruit. He kind of figured it out early. He’s like, “Wow, I gotta work. These guys are good too.” But one of his biggest goals when he first got here, which we addressed early, was that he was too big.

He was overweight for his body composition. So we’ve been whittling away at his body composition for the past year, and he’s done phenomenally. He’s completely changed his body. He looks lean. He’s getting stronger in here.

And I think with that confidence; he’s a different player right now than what he was. Certainly, this time last year. He really started to find his stride during the year here in this past season. I’m really happy with Kaden.

What were the keys to the O-line proving what they did last season?

Yeah, I mean, the offensive line is one of those positions where it’s hard. There’s a learning curve there. Most of your contributors usually are, and you usually don’t have your guys come out of high school and contribute to the offensive line. It’s just one of those positions on the field that you need seasoned guys in there.

And I think last year was a product of they didn’t like the results we had the year before with the offensive line, so they were motivated throughout the entire ’22 year. They did a phenomenal job, but also, they were seasoned, you know, just older guys in the room.

And I think Trauwein’s done a phenomenal job.I think Frank Leonard coming in has done a phenomenal job for us. That combination of all those things falling into place at the right time, mixed in with the hard work they put in here; they’re reaping the benefit now.