QA: Silas Redd
Coming off a career-high 29 carries against Indiana on Saturday, how is Penn State tailback Silas Redd holding up?
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Other than a rolled ankle, pretty well, he said.
Through five games, Redd has racked up 432 yards and four touchdowns on 91 attempts, already eclipsing his carries (and nearly yardage) from the 2010 season.
Today, he caught up with Penn State beat writers for a short teleconference in advance of this weekend's big game against Iowa. Check out the transcript below:
What are your thoughts about the running game Saturday? How do you think it went and is it improving as the weeks go on?
Redd: I definitely think we're improving. I think we gained 193 total rush yards on Saturday, which is pretty good. I definitely think we're improving as the weeks go on.
Some people still wonder how good you guys are or aren't. Do you understand that sense and what do you think Saturday means to proving what kind of team you are?
Redd: Well, I definitely agree. I don't think we've reached our potential yet. But, we're not that far away from it. We've just gotta polish up on a few things and hopefully this weekend we can start proving that.
How soon do you think Chima can be at 100 percent?
Redd: It's a nagging injury that he has with his ankle. He's doing a lot of pivoting and posting on that ankle, and it's real nagging. He's doing the best he can right now, but it's definitely given him some problems.
How do you think Mike Farrell has done filling in for him?
Redd: Mike is coming off an injury as well, so I think he's done a great job filling in for Chima when he's in the game.
You have 91 carries almost at midway through the season, more than you had all last year. How are you doing physically? Are you doing anything special to stay fresh during the week knowing you're going to get 20 carries a game?
Redd: Last week I was supposed to start getting a massage on Thursdays, but I made the appointment too late last week and this week I actually have to go home quickly for a family emergency. I'll be back Friday but I'm going to start getting massages as the weeks go on - probably on Thursday nights - just to get my body ready for Saturday, and Sundays after the game, make sure I ice and stretch and do what I have to do to stay healthy.
How did you feel after Saturday's 29 carries? Was it really hard to recover from something like that?
Redd: I rolled my ankle a bit, so that was really the extent of my pain after the game. My legs felt pretty good. Naturally they were sore, but nothing out of the ordinary. Since then I've felt pretty good.
How do you feel now with the ankle?
Redd: I feel fine. I've been getting it taped every day for practice and actually, the tape has been giving me a little bit of a spring, so I think I'm going to continue taping both of my ankles for the rest of the year.
A lot of people have questioned the offensive line in front of you. What would you say as to why they are getting better? What evidence would you use for that?
Redd: Well, I mean, 193 yards on the ground isn't bad at all. I just think that we're starting to gel a little bit more from week to week. Our pass blocking, I think, has been very good in these games and like I said, I think our run blocking has been improving week by week. That's all we can do is keep going forward.
What stands out about Iowa's defense?
Redd: Iowa's defense, they play very hard and their ends and outside linebackers give them a lot of support and they have a lot of support from their secondary. What I talk about every week is just finishing blocks and just finishing plays, especially from our wide receivers and things like that. If we can get those guys and break a seam and not have to worry about a corner or somebody trailing us down, we're going to have a lot of success. If we just improve on finishing and not making mistakes and turnovers in the red zone, things like that, then I think we're going to do fine on Saturday.
When you're watching in practice, what do you see from Curtis Dukes? Do you need to see more of him or is Brandon Beachum healthy and will he be ready to go on Saturday?
Redd: Well, Beach is still in the red cross. He's been doing a lot of our early drills and indi(vidual) work in practice, but as far as the heavy stuff, he's been sitting out. I think Dukes has been doing a great job, when I've been getting tired of being in the game, he definitely creates a spark for us.
A lot of running backs thrive on getting a lot of carries. Did you carry it a lot in high school and what are your thoughts on getting 20-25-30 carries a game the rest of the season?
Redd: My junior year, my fullback and I had both had 1,000 yards. We split the ball carries pretty evenly. But, my senior year, I think one game I had like 37-38 carries. I was kind of used to it, but obviously college is different than high school. But I felt good after 29 carries, so I think I can definitely handle 30-35 carries.
As a competitor, does Iowa's recently dominance in the series motivate you at all?
Redd: Absolutely that motivates us. Even looking past that, it's a big game regardless because they're in the Big Ten and we're 1-0 in the Big Ten and trying to continue to get to Indianapolis. Even looking aside from them beating us eight out of nine times, it's a big game regardless. But, that definitely gives us some extra incentive and extra motivation.
