Everything Penn State coach Terry Smith said on Wednesday before Rutgers

Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith held his final pregame media session of the regular season on Wednesday night in State College. You can watch everything he said on the Blue-White Illustrated YouTube channel by clicking here. And, you can read what he said below.

On Penn State receiver Koby Howard’s development

“Yeah, his confidence is building,” Smith said. “It like he gets one or two catches per game. We haven’t been able to get like, a three or four catch game yet. Hopefully that comes Saturday. But he’s getting better and better. He’s running good routes. He’s a competitor. I’m glad we got him involved and got him active. He’s helped us get better.”

Has Smith thought about this being his last regular season game as the interim head coach?

“No, I’m just ready to beat Rutgers,” Smith said. “That’s the only focus that I have right now. We’re trying to get to a bowl game, and that’s, what my focus has been on.

Chaz Coleman injury update 

“Yeah, he’s going to be a game time decision,” Smith said. “He practiced today So, we’ll see how he recovers from that. And then we’ll see how it goes tomorrow, and we’ll take him all the way up to game time and see what happens.”

Smith on his memories of his own Thanksgiving game from 1991

That was the Pitt game? Yeah, I remember that now,” Smith said. “Remember that now, playing against Sean Gilbert and them guys. Yeah, that was a good game.”

Why has Penn State been so affected by decommitments? 

“No, I don’t really know why that is,” Smith said. “We continue to recruit all those guys It’s just challenging for any team with an interim head coach, because the recruits want to know what’s next. And you know, as you get closer to signing day, they get a little bit antsy and nervous, and they just want to know where their home is. So I don’t have a real answer for that.”

What is recruiting like for the Lions at this point? 

“Continue to maintain communication,” Smith said. “Talk to these guys, get on the phone with them. FaceTime them. We sent some guys out on the road this past week to see some guys. We’re just continuing to keep that communication, and you know, if a decision is made, we’ll be ready to move forward rather quickly.”

Is there a sense of freedom for this game? 

“We’re going to be prepared, but the intent and the intensity that we’re going to approach the game is the same as anything. This is a Big Ten matchup. No Big Ten matchup is ever easy. So we’re going to go in there and be ready to battle. They have a lot to play for, like us, we’re both trying to get to the bowl game. It’s a lot at stake for each of these teams.”

How did Koby Howard keep his confidence up during the time he wasn’t playing? 

“Yeah, you got to feed life into these guys,” Smith said. “You got to continue to keep their attitudes high. You got to continue to support them and continue to feed their egos, so to speak, you know, and that’s my job. We have talks almost every day on the field. Sometimes we like Jones each other, which means we’re talking smack to each other, but my job for is to make sure these guys have life and that they have confidence, so that when they get to the field, they’re making the plays. He’s done that the last few weeks now.”

Is it easier to play receiver now compared to when Smith did? 

“No, it’s just the individual talent,” Smith said. “Each guy is different. Some guys can grasp the information, the play calls, the checks, the adjustments. Some guys take a little longer. It’s just each individual. There’s no rhyme or reason. It’s just individual success.”

Did he meet with Pat Kraft about the full-time Penn State job?

“The focus that I’ve had this week, is we have to beat Rutgers,” Smith said. “Again, we want to end on a high note. We want to win our third game in a row. We want to go to a bowl game. And we’re laser focused on that.”

On Zuriah Fisher’s story at Penn State

“He has a storybook telling,” Smith said. “Two ACLs, Mom passed why he’s here on campus, the truest of adversity. And yet here he is, playing exceptional football for us, overachieving, fighting all the odds, and I’m super proud of him. A kid that had that much adversity, could easily quit and walk away from the sport. He’s got his degree. I’m probably more proud about that than even the football. I promised his mom that he would get that. And you know, he’s just been a great kid, and he’s reaping the reward of hard work.” 

What does it mean to be Terry Smith Tough (as he said about Andrew Rappleyea on Monday)? 

“We fight to the death,” Smith said.

What has Director of Player Personnel Kenny Sanders meant to Penn State?

“Kenny’s invaluable,” Smith said. “That guy is in our personnel department. He’s doing a terrific job holding this thing together. He’s one of the guys that went out on the road doing some recruiting for us while the coaches are here trying to get victories. He is a gem. Regardless who the next head coach is, he’s the guy you want around this program”

On Greg Schiano taking over the Rutgers defense

“Yes, Schiano was a coach here when I played,” Smith said. “He was a GA. He moved into full-time. He’s a defensive genius. Very, very sharp. He’s very aggressive in the special team. Since he’s taken over, they’re playing a little less man coverage. They’re zoning things up, trying to just keep everything underneath them. They’re a little more fundamentally sound, so we expect them to play us tougher and tighter. He’s just eliminated a lot of the mistakes and the explosive play. You’re just trying to keep the ball in front of them and not make mistakes to lose the game.”

How do you develop Terry Smith toughness?

“No, it’s, you got to have something in your soul, and we have to teach you how to bring it out,” Smith said. “Toughness is a part of, it’s like building calluses on your hands. When you first start working with your hands, they hurt and they bother you, but when you’re working with your hands for years, it doesn’t affect you at all, and that’s how toughness grows, right? We have to teach them and put them in tough situations so that they can physically be tough and mentally be tough as well.

Who instilled toughness in Terry Smith?

“Family,” Smith said. “My dad, my brother, grew up playing. My brother’s five years older than me. He played at West Virginia, but I always played street football with him, and they told me, there’s no excuses you got to accept that. And I’m this little runt that’s running around with these big guys. I grew up with, like, six guys that went division one on my street, and they were all older than me, so I had to compete with those guys. You get knocked down. I was little. Like I came here as 137 pounds. My dad said you can never lay down on the ground because you’ll never get a shot. That was my mentality. Get up and go.”