O'Brien perplexed by lack of honors for football team
STATE COLLEGE - Bill O'Brien says his players really don't care about winning individual awards, but that doesn't mean he isn't confounded by the absence of some of them from midseason watch lists.
STATE COLLEGE - Bill O'Brien says his players really don't care about winning individual awards, but that doesn't mean he isn't confounded by the absence of some of them from midseason watch lists.
Although Penn State's two star linebackers, Michael Mauti and Gerald Hodges, were named to Phil Steele's College Football's midseason All-American teams, both were snubbed from the Lombardi Award watch list. The Lombardi Award goes to the best linebacker or lineman in the country.
"I do think that there's a certain amount of ridiculousness that a guy like Mike Mauti or Gerald Hodges or [defensive lineman] Jordan Hill, those three guys defensively aren't on," O'Brien said. "I don't even know the awards, guys. You'd have to sit down and explain to me the awards. But if there's a linebacker, defensive lineman award, whatever the awards are, I can't imagine that there's that many linebackers or defensive linemen in the country better than those guys. And I'm telling you, [linebacker] Glenn Carson has had a heck of a year."
Mauti is fourth in the Big Ten in tackles per game, at 9.5, while Hodges is 10th (8.3). Mauti is also third in interceptions (two) and second in forced fumbles (two). Mauti has a national defensive player of the week award and two Big Ten defensive player of the week awards, and Hodges has one of the latter.
"I don't know, I'm trying to figure it all out, like shouldn't the award lists come out when the season is over and we compile the whole 12-game season?" O'Brien said. "I don't know. I don't know how the awards work. But for those guys not to be on award lists, I don't know."
O'Brien said he hopes there isn't a stigma attached to Penn State's sanctioned program.
No Twitter fan
O'Brien doesn't like the whole social media thing. On Tuesday, he was asked about cornerback Stephon Morris' tweet that read, "Pls stop looking ahead to next week. This is a huge game, we hate them they hate us. Were focused on Iowa that's it. One game at a time."
Said O'Brien: "You know what I hate? I hate Twitter. I think these guys are young guys, and I think tweet this, Spacebook that, whatever. We've got to go play the game. We don't have any hatred for Iowa. We respect Iowa."
Go for it
Penn State has gone for it on fourth down 20 times this season and converted 13.
O'Brien said his aggressiveness has nothing to do with the fact that placekicker Sam Ficken is 3-for-9 on field-goal attempts.
"It's more about game-planning and knowing what you might get on fourth down, where is the ball, how's the game going, how's your defense playing," he said.