Gophers star Anthony Smith gets a homecoming Saturday at Penn State

Oh, yeah, I'm excited. I mean, again, you know, our focus is on 1-0 championship every single week. So then, you know, the schedule comes out in the beginning of January and you get to see that we play Penn State at home. I mean, that's a pretty exciting game. I got a lot. It's going to be a good turnout for a lot of Minnesota fans from Pennsylvania. Probably around like 150. Pretty good group. Yeah, overall, I mean, I've grown so much in so many areas. I think Coach DJ's really helped me understand the game a lot better. You know, whether that's the back end or what a QB's mind kind of thinks, what he sees you thinking about, what his whole lineman mind kind of thinking about. You know, being able to play all, playing all positions, I think that's been a really big thing for me this year, just knowing every single position, whether that's rush end, D end, D tackle, all that kind of stuff. Again, my year, I've been really happy about it. I've been really happy, especially with the great group of guys. I mean, I came back and I knew this team was going to be special. I knew that there was a lot of great men on this team. And I've really enjoyed it. I mean, I talk about it all the time. We built those relationships in January. We built those relationships in spring ball. Same with summer and fall camp. So, again, I now know them and just seeing them on a personal level and meeting them where they're at and not where I am. So every single day, just keep on encouraging them. You know, you make a mistake, it happens. Like, you know, the best players make mistakes sometimes. So, again, just teaching them how to respond from that and not letting one mess-up play turn to another play turn to another play. Yeah, their offensive line is really athletic. That's one thing that really shoots out in the film when you watch them. You know, their scheme is really good, and then their QB, he's a heck of a player. I mean, he throws the ball well, and then you can see he gets on his legs and he runs well. So, again, just having an athletic team, you know, and, again, the coaches are going to do the best that they can to have the best game plan for us. That's our job to go execute. That's what we plan on doing. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Yeah, you know, a few teams run seven up, eight up different. Just going into the game, we had our tell, and Drake did a great job knowing if they're coming, knowing if they're dropping out. So, you know, we had two of those where we went to our check, and, you know, the first one, you know, caught them by surprise and worked a little bit better. And then the second one, you know, we're just chasing our guys. But Drake did a great job getting us in the right look. Yeah, I think the number one thing for them is just experience. I had to go through the same thing. I'm a lot better than I was my freshman year, so those reps are only going to help them. But just being by their side, we all can get better, including myself. So just honing in on the small details and just trying to get better each day. Defense, they got a lot of big bodies up front. I think that stands out. You know, they bring... Multiple different pressures, so we got to be ready for that. Their linebackers are active. Thank You know, won't see as much movement this week, but, you know, like every other defense, they have a few quirks here and there that we got to be ready for. Yeah, I mean, we've faced crowd noise before, so just got to go out there and execute. you. Yeah, it starts with me and Drake getting us in the right calls. From there on, it's just using our technique and fundamentals. We've gone against some great defenses, and we know that. We're not going to shy away from that, but we still have to be better. It starts with me leading the group up front. That's a good question. I think it's a good opportunity, just more football. That will be fun to watch. It's interesting about the conference championships. We all grew up watching those, so I think that's interesting. I think more football is always better. Thank you. Yeah, you know, I feel like I was filling the pocket really well. Just continue to trust my teammates and be the best version of myself. I think there's always going to be room for improvement, you know, watching the film, even after good games, bad games, whatever it is. So just continuing to find ways to be, you know, a better leader, a better person, and a better player for this team. I feel like I'm seeing it well. So I think, you know, just continuing to trust what I see and trust my teammates. Yeah. Good question. I think, you know, just continuing to, you know, trust the timing of the routes, trust your line. You know, we have all those practice reps, so, and they see it all week. There's always new looks in the game, but it's, you know, a little faster compared to practice, obviously. So, continue to trust my teammates, trust your line, and keep playing the way we are. Yeah, they're really good. Do a lot of things defensively. They're DC. You know, we played them at USC in 24 and they were really good defense. So they do a lot defensively, have really good players, good schemes. So just got to go out and execute and find ways to be better. Yeah, I think it's awesome. You know, 24 teams, obviously going to be more games. So, you know, I think it's a great opportunity to, you know, get in there and have 24 teams, you know, more competition. Thank It gives everyone a better chance, so it's definitely very exciting. you Yeah, I've simply just continued to focus on right now. very I think this team's really special, and we're really, really close to the last two weeks to winning those games. So I think just continuing to focus on now much. and being the best version of myself for my teammates. Yeah, you know, a lot. I think those games were huge growth moments for me. You know, you got to learn some stuff through playing really good defenses. And those were, you know, definitely, you know, run a really good defenses. And we have another one coming up. So I feel like you, you know, you get better each week and you got to find little things to, you know, challenge yourself as a individual, as a teammate and as a man. So, yeah, just excited for the opportunity. Yeah, it was awesome. He's... Such a big human being, obviously. He's a really good player. Um, you know, You know, the thing I was so impressed about George was he came in the summer, but he was here, like, all spring practice, you know, learning. He only lives, like, 45 minutes away, so he would be here all the time during the spring. That kind of told me all I needed to know about him as an individual, just, you know, works his butt off, grinds, and just loves the process. And he's obviously a really, really good football player, and he's only a freshman, so he's going to be really good. That was a huge play from him, a big-time catch. It was a really cool moment for him as an individual, too. I don't think it necessarily matters at all. I think, you know, it's football, but, you know, I think, you know, environment-wise, you always love the night game. It's just, you know, get that feeling under the lights. You know, high school Friday night lights, that's what you always do. And then so it's always fun playing under the lights. But, you know, any time to go have fun and play football with the boys, you're going to enjoy it. Yeah. Obviously, you know, it started in, like, 93, I believe, is what Coach Fleck said. It was when they joined the Big Ten, and it was their first Big Ten game. So it's obviously super exciting to get the opportunity to play for another rivalry trophy. You know, having four this year is really, really special and really cool. So this is our third one. You know, 1-0 championship season focused on this week. So it's a great opportunity to go to, you know, Penn State and execute. And, you know, we have a really good game plan, so excited about it. Thank you, guys. Appreciate it. Yeah, I mean. I take the Green Dot very seriously, leading the defense alongside whatever other linebackers out there and Coach Mariano as well. So I'm doing my best to get every communication, all calls, checks out there, assuming nothing's just already like assuming something's going. So just always being good with my communication and leading every every way I can. Yeah, I mean, it comes down to doing your job. I mean, you got to play all 60 minutes of a football game and you got to play. Elite football the entire game so it just comes down to doing your job some of those big plays came off just just not doing our job so I mean when we do it you play good football and when you don't you play a good team like that they're gonna capitalize. Yeah he's great player he's definitely a lot of experience. O-line like Ant just said they're they're really athletic up front they're really good certainly gonna post some challenges with his arm and with his legs. Yeah I mean That's one of the cooler atmospheres of college football, so it'll definitely be a cool experience. That's why you come to Minnesota, that's why you play in the Big Ten, to play in the best atmospheres in the country, and it's certainly one of those. So I'm really excited, but once you get out there on the field, it's just another football game. Yeah, I mean, every game's certainly important for us as a team, so no game's more important than the other, but this week we're focused on Penn State, so we're obviously really excited for that opportunity to go win the bell. Yep, thank you guys.