Penn State heads into Saturday’s trip to Temple with plenty of confidence after a 45-0 win over Marshall, and the week has produced a handful of revealing comments from the staff and players.
One of the most striking came from defensive tackle Siale Taupaki, who is in his eighth season and spoke plainly about what college football has meant to him personally.
“My parents were struggling and I’m broke. So, while everybody else is still trying to buy their next pendant or buy the next car, I’m really just trying to fill in all the holes that I have back at home, understanding the platform that I’m on, and just seeing all of that stuff and like understanding how far I can take it.”
On the offensive side, head coach Matt Campbell singled out tight end Andrew Rappleyea for his work against Marshall, calling one sequence especially important.
“I thought ‘Rapp’ was phenomenal. The first touchdown, Rapp, maybe my favorite play of the entire game.
Corner crash, he’s in protection. The physicality that he picks that up, it really allows Rocco (Becht) to get to his third progression (on a touchdown pass).
“The back, I don’t know if you saw that, the back falls down on the way out. He’s progression one.
It allows Rocco to step up and really get through his progression. He ends up getting to Koby (Howard).
I thought that was a difference-maker play.”
Campbell also had praise for wide receiver Koby Howard and suggested his role should keep growing.
“What Koby is doing is proving that he should be on the field no matter what the personnel is, and at least have the right to be on it,” Campbell said. “So, I think those things are certainly really exciting for him.”
Another player drawing attention is quarterback Alex Manske, and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser highlighted both his confidence and his all-around ability before the Marshall game.
“He’s got a confidence and an edge to him. He’s a guy that’s good at everything.
He’s a scratch golfer. I asked him the other day at lunch, ‘Have you ever been bad at anything?’”
Campbell also pointed to the play of offensive linemen Brock Riker and Malachi Goodman, with Riker earning especially strong marks.
“Brock graded out the highest on the offense. Had a great day.
Again, I thought from communication standpoint to physicality at the point of attack, I thought he was outstanding. Played really good football.
“I thought Malachi graded out in a really positive way, as well. But I thought Brock was the guy to me, just even on the offense, that was as dynamic as I’d seen him play, even early on in camp.”
Defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, meanwhile, explained why he spent the game from the Beaver Stadium coaching booth and said the setup worked well.
“I spent the majority of my time in the booth in the NFL, and I just felt like the coaches we had on the field; I trust all those guys.
“We wanted to try it out Week 1, I liked it, the players enjoyed it, so we’ll probably keep on doing it.”
Penn State now turns from that shutout over Marshall to Saturday’s game at 1-0 Temple in Philadelphia, with several key voices around the program sounding upbeat about where things stand.
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