STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Ricky Rahne is perched up high in the Beaver Stadium coaching staff box on game days, looking down to deliver the all-22 view to Joe Moorhead and the rest of the Lions' staff.
It doesn't mean the Lions' tight ends coach is any less into the game than special teams coach Charles Huff -- who sprints down the sidelines after a big play jumping up and down -- or any less enthused than James Franklin. In fact, Rahne might be the most excitable assistant coach on the staff, one reason why he said being upstairs during a game might just be the best thing for him and the Lions.
"In the box I still get excited. I’m going to stand up on my chair and I’m going to get angry and I’m going to get excited and things like that," he said.
It's also given him a few unique celebration stories to share with his wife and sons, one that the Lions' staffers on the sidelines aren't privy to. What's it like in the tiny upstairs box crammed with Rahne, graduate assistants and the rest of the Lions' staffers during a game?
"I’m 6-4 and the roof in there is not real big and you’ve got GAs who are really big, Sean Cascarano right now and Tommy Galt last year, and last year Tommy Galt hit his head and was just bleeding everywhere, but it was still obviously exciting," Rahne recalled Thursday afternoon when he met with the media. "There’s things like that. Those are the moments when you work 100 hours per week with these guys and you’re able to see the fruits or your labor and I think a win like that, a moment like that, there’s a lot of emotion on one thing and you’ve got to get together real quick because you’re about to go out in the elevator and see the team that just lost and you have a lot of respect for them."
Expect the box to be buzzing come Saturday night when the No. 2 Nittany Lions play No. 19 Michigan with Beaver Stadium decked out in white.
Here are the other highlights from Rahne's wide-ranging conference call on Thursday afternoon:
Q: What's the progress of Jon Holland and Nick Bowers been like this season?
A: “I think since really last semester- spring semester- started after last season, Jonathan Holland has really dedicated himself to becoming a good football player. He’s been working hard in the weight room and in the classroom. … He’s getting good grades, doing things like that. He’s been really dedicating himself and staying focused and then he’s been able to, you know, I feel good about putting him in games and things like that. Nick Bowers is obviously coming back and getting healthy. Every day you see glimpses of things where we thought he could be a very productive Big Ten football player. He’s big and fast and his physical attributes are off the charts, so we’re really excited about what he brings and then Tom Pancoast has been another guy who progressed this year. He goes in games and does exactly what I ask and he’s made some plays when given some opportunities, so I’ve been happy with the other guys behind Mike and what they’ve been able to bring. “
Q: Self-scouting from the bye week, what was learned that wasn’t obvious about how opponents are attacking you?
A: “I don’t know if there was anything we learned necessarily that wasn’t things we at least thought in terms of ways teams are trying to attack us. It was more of a confirmation process more than anything else. We said to ourselves, ‘OK, this is how we think teams are attacking us’ and we were able to confirm most of those thoughts. There might be a thing here or there that we overestimated how it was happening, but in general I would say. … Most of those were pretty accurate. We watch the game every Sunday as well, so it’s not like it’s the first time you’ve really watched anything. We’ve been studying it every week. More of a situation where we gathered everything and put it in one central thought."
Q: Self-scouting and writing reports on the defense is something Franklin said happened during the bye week. Is that something you’ve done in previous bye weeks too?
A: “Yeah, we’ve always done that and it’s something where we try to take a little time if we can do a short study on the other side of the ball just to give them a different perspective on how teams might be looking at them and how teams might be wanting to attack them or things like that. We’ve always done those sort of things and I think it’s important. But again, it’s also one of those things where I know (co-defensive coordinator) Tim Banks will come in my office and say, ‘Hey, I think this one thing may help you guys this week.’ … The one thing about this staff is there’s not a lot of egos. There’s a lot of guys who want to win football games and a lot of guys who love football, so we're able to exchange ideas freely with each other, and some take and some don’t quite fit and no one gets offended when something like that happens. We’re ready to go and it’s something we do every week and with the bye week we have more time, but it’s something we do throughout the season.”
Q: Are you pleased with the blocking of the tight ends overall this season?
A: “Yeah, I’ve been generally happy with how we’ve been blocking. Obviously there’s gonna be plays here and there where we probably should’ve been more physical or thought we should’ve finished in a more dominant position, but as a genral rule I think we’ve been blocking pretty well. I would like to see us get a little bit more movement at the point of attack, but I think that’s something that as an offensive coach that’s something you’re searching for and are never going to be satisfied with that. The tight end position is evolving constantly and it’s something where it’s not gonna be the same when guys were 270-275 pounds and only asked to catch a six-yard stick route. The position has evolved and I’ve had to evolve my way of thinking, and I coached the position in the past and it’s not a deal where I’m lowering my expectations, I’m changing how I teach things and things of that nature.”
Q: What’s the most exciting part of White Out weekend from a recruiting perspective?
A: “Yeah, it’s exciting to be able to see the collection of talent that you can get into the building on a weekend like this. Sometimes it’s even more exciting when you can look back 2-3 years and think about how many great players, as you look through college football, how many great players were at this game. It’s an exciting time for everybody. There’s a lot of great things going on on campus this weekend and people have been asking me about that as well, but quite frankly it doesn’t really change much in terms of our players and our coaches preparation. We’re gonna go out there and play the game that we love and the fan support, fan excitement with 109,000 people all in white is something that’s a pretty special experience, and I know that’s also something we like to get around the recruits because that’s something very few, if any, can give recruits the same experience we can on a White Out.”
Q: What do you see from Michigan in terms of the defensive challenges they present?
A: “Michigan has very good football coaches and I have a lot of respect for coach Jim Harbaugh as a head coach and I’ve known Don Brown for a while and I have an extreme amout of resepct for his football knowledge and how he teaches the game of football and how he coaches it. He’s a guy who is going to attack and take no prisoners and play a very similar – they play on defense a lot like we play on offense. They’re going to attack and they’re going to attack. It’s a great matchup. In terms of focusing on our positions, you try to give the guys as many of the looks as you can while trying to simplify as much as humanly possible and get reps as opposed to trying to have them remember everything against every play. You give them concepts and take it that way.”
Q: I think you were on the field before Joe [Moorhead] came on staff. What’s the difference between being on the field and in the press box? Are you and Moorhead in constant communication? How much does he rely on what you see in the sky?
A: “I was both before, so that’s why your mind is playing tricks on you. I was on the field one year and up in another so I’ve been both and, now that I’m up top, coach Moorhead is asking me questions and obviously I’m able to see all-22, which on the field you’re not able to see. I think the thing that makes coming into work every day enjoyable with our offensive staff is that we have such great communication with one another. I’m able to talk to coach [Josh] Gattis, he’s able to talk to me, I’m able to talk to coach [Matt] Limegrover, coach [Charles] Huff and then coach Moorhead. We’re all able to make suggestions. No one is looking to assign blame. … Being up top I can have a little bit better view on that sometimes, but down below they’re able to see into the eyes of the players. See the mentality and the details in terms of inside and outside leverage of corners on the field and so it’s definitely a group process. … We’ve been pretty lucky that we’ve gotten it right most times and I think that’s what’s helped us in the second half of games.”
Q: What have you learned about and from Moorhead in these two years?
A: “I think that Joe Moorhead is the best offensive coordinator in the country. I would say that to anybody and I’ve worked with some great men and I’ve played for some great men. I just think the world of Joe and what he brings to the table. The one thing that is underestimated with Joe is his ability to get the players to play hard for him and believe in him and believe in our system. That’s something that is underestimated. Obviously he calls a lot of great plays and I think we as a staff do a great job of designing plays and making adjustments, but none of that matters if the kids don’t believe and he does a great job of motivating our team, and I’ve learned that from him. I’m able to take the great motivation skills coach Franklin has and combine them with Moorhead and I think it’s made me a better football coach in the year and a half we’ve been together.”
Q: What's the biggest misconception about football you hear or see from fans or the media?
A: “I got two. One is a personal pet peeve of mine. I am alone in this in some regards. I am adamantly against the concept of a blindside tackle. I played the position at quarterback and when I’m looking to my right it’s true I can’t see the guy coming off the left side, but when I’m looking to the left I can’t see the guy coming off the right side. The concept of a blindside tackle to me is one of the most ridiculous concepts ever. It’s fine in the NFL, where the hashmarks are about 3 ½ feet apart from each other. They can have a left tackle and everybody plays their right outside linebacker and their pass rusher and things like that, but in college football where they play strong and weak and they play those sorts of things at defensive end, the left tackle position is, while extremely important, is highly overrated in terms of it’s more importance compared to the right tackle. That’s one.
The other one that I would say is everybody when you’re up in the stands and I’m up in the booth -- everyone can see a guy who is wide open down the field, but if that guy wasn’t in the quarterback’s progression he’s not going to throw him the ball. I think a lot of times people say, ‘How did he miss that guy?’ Well, because the defense busted and the coverage would never indicate that that guy would be open and they were going through a progression based on coverages, so the quarterback’s doing what he’s taught and what he’s told and those sorts of things. I think that is another one I would say.”
Q: Anything else you’d like to get off your chest?
A: [Laughs] "No, no I’m good. The guys on the staff know how I feel about that tackle thing. I always thought it was crazy.”
Q: What’s the difference with the turnaround for Ohio State preparations after you guys are coming off this night game. James said in the past the graduate assistants will start Saturday afternoon getting a jump start on the next opponent, but what’s the difference? Is there one for position coaches with this game being at 7:30 p.m. and the turnaround compared to if it was at noon?
A: “Honestly, the main thing it takes away is time with my family. My mom, who I love more than anything in the world, probably only second to my wife, is in town this weekend and with it being a night game I just can’t really get any time with her. If it was a noon game, I would get to go home after the game, sit in my recliner, pet my Saint Bernard and talk to my wife and my mom and those sort of things. For football coaches that’s one of the main differences. You know right after the game it’s not like you’re going to start immediately on the next opponent as a position coach. You need some time to decompress and either enjoy a win hopefully or digest a loss. I think that’s one thing that’s important. You gotta be able to take that time in order to start fresh the next week.”
Q: When you’re upstairs during the game do you guys keep the windows open in the booth for open air?
A: “No, we keep the windows closed. We learned that in the first year. I would like to think I have a lot of things that are right about me, but sometimes my vocabulary can dip into some areas where I wish it didn’t, so we’ve learned to keep the windows closed. But yeah, the windows are closed and it is hot. I don’t know how, but it’s 120 degrees in there no matter what.”
Q: Do you hear the fans more than you would on the field and have to block that element out or can you concentrate pretty good?
A: “There are two types of headsets: one with the single ear and the headset with the dual ear. I prefer the dual ear, so quite frankly I really don’t hear the fans that much. Guys with single ears, they can obviously [hear] a little bit more and I would also say, and I mean this in all honesty, the fans sitting below our coaching box they’re great people. I’ve never heard them say anything, even when we were struggling, they didn’t say a negative thing, honest they really didn’t. When we’ve done well they’ve been appreciative. They’re there to enjoy football just like everybody else. You don’t really hear it that much.”
Q: If you’re not taking home the award for most excitable coach on the staff who would it be?
A: “Coach Franklin, clearly. He’s a guy who the thing that’s made him great is his passion. The fact that he’s able to be passionate and he’s not as buttoned down as some of the other coaches around this country, I think it’s what helps players relate to him. … He’s able to wear his emotions on his sleeve a little bit and have fun and everybody knows how much he enjoys the game of football. I think obviously he’d be great and you know, there’s a lot. I think that’s one great thing about our staff, that we have a lot of guys who coach with a lot of passion.”