It's great to have Dan back. He's a great player, and we're a better football team with him.

I came because of the tradition Penn State has, especially at linebacker, ... That was one of the main factors in my decision. I also liked the coaching staff and the people here. I just felt comfortable.

I think he's gotten a lot better as the season went on. The kid's got a cannon for an arm. He's able to pick apart defenses and read his receivers downfield. It's going to be a challenge to stop the vertical passing game that they have.

[On Chris Harrell's near fatal late-hit penalty on Wildcat quarterback Brett Basanez in the fourth quarter, which would have forced Northwestern to punt deep in its own territory with the Lions down two points:] That could have changed the whole course of the game, ... But we could have folded at that point, but you just have to know there's always going to be adversity. None of these games are going to be easy. Nothing will be given to us.

That's a great question, ... It's going to be a long day at the hotel on Saturday. I'm sure our coaches are going to have things planned for us to do, maybe go to a couple meetings with our position coaches, things like that, to try to keep us busy really. Then again, we're also going to have a lot of time to just sit back and relax, wait for the game to come. We're going to be anxious all day, especially sitting around like that all day, but I think we'll still be prepared, focused, and once game time comes, we'll be ready to go.

I wouldn't say I use them as a measuring stick, ... It's definitely a form of motivation. Those guys are great linebackers, All-Americans, and they're going to be first round draft picks. You can't take anything away from them. The situation they're in right now, that's where we want to be at. Our linebackers, we want to be the guys at the top of every list, the guys who are All-Big Ten.