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PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 30, 2018DeAndre ThompkinsUniversity Park, Pennsylvania Q. I'm just curious, how would you evaluate the special teams performance overall so far this season, and how would you evaluate your season up to this point, as well? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: Special teams we have a lot of thing that we've got to key upon. We have a lot of guys who can make plays in certain positions, and it's just trying to figure out where guys can fit best, and Coach Galiano does a great job of that. So I think that we have a little adversity here and there, no season is going to be perfect on offense, defense or special teams, so just trying to find a mix of guys that can do the certain jobs that Coach Galiano wants them to do and do them consistently, and I think we've been doing a pretty good job of that. And as far as my season, ups and downs here and there, but most importantly, just keep doing my job, do whatever Coach Rahne and Coach Corley wants me to do, and do it consistently to the best of my ability. Q. Obviously statistically Saturday was your best receiving game of the season. Was there anything that was different about that game, either in the way you approached it or the way you did your job? Basically why was Saturday such a good game for you? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: I just approached it just like I approach every other game. I was well prepared for it. Just the ball seemed to find me a little bit more this game than others, and I'm not complaining about that. I just tried to make the best of my abilities. I got more opportunities this game than other games, and hopefully we can continue to improve upon that. Q. You mentioned earlier this season, regardless of whether passes are coming your way, you're going to try your best to be a really good blocker. The block you threw for Trace down the stretch to free him up for the final stretch of that touchdown, was that one of your proudest moments as a blocker, and what was the conversation like with him after that? You were the first one to meet him in the end zone. DeANDRE THOMPKINS: Yeah, it always feels good to be that guy to makes that one block that springs a touchdown. Just knowing that he was behind me running full speed and I turned around and he was gone, you know, it kind of puts a smile on your face. And then when you get in the end zone, you're just happy for everyone, just happy for him to get back in the game. He had a little injury and came back, and he just took off, and I was surprised he was running as fast as he was. But to have him to spring loose like that and to know that I played a big part of that just puts a smile on my face. Q. James Franklin just kind of made his case why he believes Trace is the best player in college football. If we asked you the same question, and I am, what would your case be for Trace as that best player in CFB right now? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: I mean, his resume says everything. Look at the games he's been playing in, the big moments he's been clutching, and then think about the guys who he's made better around him and the guys he's been playing around. It just speaks a lot about who he is and who his character is, and then look at the things he does off the field, as well, having his degree, working for another degree and stuff like that, and then look at his parents, man. His parents are a big part of him and what he does, and he just bleeds on and off the field blue and white, and everybody in Penn State and the alumni knows that, and he's just a very infectious guy positivity-wise. Q. KJ is from Michigan, gets a chance to go home this game. He's obviously a very energetic guy all the time. Do you expect any more juice out of him this week, and do you have to maybe try and keep him even keel before taking a trip like this? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: You know, any time a player gets to go back home and perform in his home state, it means a lot to him. I know KJ is going to take full advantage of that. And it's one of those things that you don't really dial back somebody with that kind of personality because that's who they are. You kind of don't want to control nobody like that. It's just -- he's just one of those guys that he is who he is. He's going to be who he is, whether rain, sleet, snow, Michigan, California, Florida, whatever. I'm always going to make sure he does his job to the best of his ability, and what he does outside of that really don't matter. Q. We know Juwan is not 100 percent right now health-wise. I won't ask you to get into that, but he got 10 snaps last week, missed a half against Indiana. Brandon didn't have a catch last week, but you stepped up. The three of you are so much older than the other receivers in that room. How have you three, regardless of what you're producing on game day, maintained that leadership role throughout the course of game week? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: You know, we have a next-man-up mentality, no matter who's in, whether it's one of us three or one of the younger guys. No matter who's in, just as long as they do their job consistently and make sure they're doing the right thing at all times, and we get a win, that's the only thing that matters. You know, we want to be in, want to do this, want to do that, but at the end of the day, we just want the team to win, whether that's us being in the game getting 50 plus catches or whether that's not being in much and just blocking, it doesn't matter to us. We're older guys and we understand the politics of the game, and we understand no matter what, the team goal comes before the individual success. Q. I'm curious, do you think the team has put it all together in one game this year? How important is that to happen this week? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: I believe that it's a process. You know, not just one game where everything is going to click. It's a game of football. You never know what's going to happen, when it's going to happen. But I think we've learned as each week goes on, we've learned a little bit about our team and capitalized on it, and I think that's something that we do very well. Each game has its own identity, and we've figured out what the identity was of that game, attacked it and tried to improve upon it and moved on to the next week. Q. At Ohio State last year when you caught the ball in the end zone, that was against ward, wasn't it? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: Yes, sir. Q. And he's having a good rookie year. Do you take some special pride in that for how well he's playing and you were able to score in that situation? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: I mean, last year is last year. We're on to this year. He's doing great things in the league, and I'm proud of him and proud of his success, but right now the most important thing is Michigan. Q. Going off of -- you guys got a lot of freshman receivers that have stepped in, done their job. How have you kind of helped them along, because obviously I'm sure there's a competitiveness there, too. You guys want to be on the field but it's kind of part of your job to help them. How do you balance that? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: Yeah, that's a good question. As an older guy, you've been through the ropes. You know little things here and there that some of the younger guys don't really know yet. But like I said, overall, the most important thing is team success, whether that's guys getting more reps than the other guys, so be it, but just as long as you're in the game and you're on my team you're going to know what you're doing, when to do it and why you have to do it. That's why the older guys like me and Juwan and Polk try to teach the younger guys is no matter whether you're in or not or what happens, you've got to know what you're doing or when you're doing it, because whether I'm in there or you're in there, it has to be the perfect play for the perfect look, and you have to be doing your job. It's kind of a balance of you're competitive, you're trying to make each other better, but at the end of the day, you know that the team win is more important than trying to make, I guess, a split between two people. Q. Along those lines, we've seen a little bit of Jahan. What can you tell us about his game, and how do you see him developing not only to the end of this year but going on through his career here at Penn State? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: Yeah, Jahan is a very special player. He has very raw potential. There's little things that as a receiver only experience can teach you, and that's something that he's going to have to look forward to as he gets older. But I feel like he has a lot of things that you can't really teach for a younger guy. He's very fluid in his motions. He catches the ball very well. He has a good mindset, and he's just -- the way he moves is just fantastic. Like he's very smooth. He's not very choppy. He trusts himself. Those things are only going to send him further when he gets older. Q. You've had two wide receiver coaches now the past two years. What are the differences between these guys, and what are the similarities, and how much does a new position coach affect a room throughout the course of a year? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: It's kind of one of those things, you've got to be, I guess, their player to kind of figure out. It's kind of hard to describe their two personalities. Gattis is one of those guys that he's very attention to detail. He pays attention to really small, fine things, and he's very knowledgeable about the game. Coach Corley is the same. You know, he's very tuned into the details. Very little things are important to him. They're just two separate people. It's not really much of an impact in the room because still, no matter who it is, they're still giving the same message, attention to detail, fundamentals are important, and overall team success is more important than individual success. I don't think it's really much of a difference as far as which coach is in the same. The same message is being applied to everyone. Q. Are there differences because you can go on YouTube and find 500 people tell you how to play slot receiver. Are they coaching you guys the same sorts of things, or are there adjustments in terms of how he wants you to play the game versus how Josh Gattis wanted you to play? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: That's a good question. I think that both receiver coaches coach within the scheme. You can go on YouTube and look up all these drills and stuff like that, but whether it applies into a game situation or a certain scheme that we're trying to do, there's certain things you can and can't do as a receiver, and those are just things that you have to learn, watching film, talking to coaches, stuff like that. I think both coaches do a great job of having certain techniques with certain schemes that match certain looks on the defense, and they have different ways of teaching it, but I think it's the same concept as you teach within the scheme and what you're learning and coordinate it with the OC and stuff like that. Q. Michigan's stadium is nicknamed the big house. Obviously you've played in front of a bunch of massive crowds here at Penn State. Do you ever really get used to play in front of six-figure crowds, and as you get older through your career, does that change for you? Do you get more comfortable? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: To an extent you do. You don't really get numb to it I would say. You still look up and you still see 100 plus thousand people. You're not going to sit and not pretend like you don't see that. But you do start to understand that your job is more important than all of these people. As you get older, you start to not really shut out, but start to focus, have a more tunnel vision and don't let the outside things affect you. So you know, the big house is the big house; everybody knows how many people is in there, how crazy the fans are, how ecstatic they are, but they also know about Penn State and Beaver Stadium. They're very similar. The crowd can affect the game, but once you have that tunnel vision, man, nothing can really affect you. Q. When you guys flew back from Ann Arbor in 2016, Penn State was 16-14 under James Franklin, since then 25-6. What was the team's mind set coming off that 39-point loss, and what do you think are the most significant changes about where this team is now in the past 30 games? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: I mean, that was two years ago. It's two completely different teams. I can't really speak on two years ago, but I can speak on now, and I think our mindset is to go in this game and try to come out with a win. We know it's going to be tough, we know it's going to be gritty and not going to be pretty. But the big house is the big house, Michigan is a really good team, and we're a really good team, so it's going to be a really good game. Q. You guys have had some really vocal leaders, some guys who were more quiet. I'm not sure how much interaction you have with Shareef Miller, but he seems to be really direct when he's talking with us. Is he that same way around you guys, and if so, what does it mean when you have a guy that leads in a different style than some other people? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: Yeah, Shareef is very straightforward. That's something me and him have really good things in common. But I feel like it opens up the room to different people. Maybe you need somebody who's straightforward who's going to tell you what you need to hear right then and there. Maybe you need another approach. I think it gives our team a diversity. It gives different guys the ability to talk to different people, and I think it's just a good outlet for certain players, even coaches. Q. On a different note, Juwan was wearing these goggles in warmups like two weeks ago, I guess. Have you worn them at all -- DeANDRE THOMPKINS: Yeah. Q. Has it helped you? What's kind of the thought process behind it? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: Believe it or not, the goggles like fog up. Like they have a material that fogs up -- Q. You're not going to -- DeANDRE THOMPKINS: They're good in the sense it teaches you to row focus on the ball when the ball is in the air. Like for example, when the ball is in the sun and you can't really see it, it kind of mimics that interaction. It fogs up your vision and cleared it up, so you have to refocus on the ball and have to relocate it. So as a receiver that's something very valuable, you're catching in traffic, you have a lot of guys crossing your face, where there's a competitive catch and you have something in your face or a defender's hands in your face, and like I said before, when the ball is in the sun, it kind of gives you that -- it makes you feel more comfortable in that situation to not freak out and not -- try to catch the ball. Q. Have you guys worked using those before, or is that new this year? DeANDRE THOMPKINS: Yeah, actually believe it or not, Chris Godwin was the first one to have those, so we worked on them for a while. We'll catch jugs with them. Whether it's in our free time, to go catch with it, or Juwan will use it pregame. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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