ALTOONA, Pa. -- Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth appeared on the “Marty Smith’s America” podcast today to discuss a plethora of topics following the Big Ten’s decision to return to play last week.
Here are some of the highlights of their conversation:
• On his mindset through the uncertainty surrounding the Big Ten: “There were days where I would wake up just kind of being like, 'What am I doing still at Penn State?” Freiermuth said. “Why am I not working toward my future in the NFL, and why aren’t I working out today, or I don’t feel like working out. It was just so hard because there’s always that end goal of a national championship or a Big Ten championship.”
He went on to say: “This has been the hardest time mentally for me that I’ve ever been a part of a situation or movement,” he said. “I was struggling pretty hard mentally. I was leaning on my support system. They were there for me, but it’s just hard because no one knows what to say.”
• On seeing his name in the news for opting-out: “It’s definitely weird. Because I just feel like, the report that came out that I was leaving, it wasn’t true. So I was kind of frustrated and kind of being like, all right, well, there’s reports out there of me that’s not really true. But I didn’t want to say anything out front public immediately because I just wanted time to digest it. But it’s definitely weird.”
• On staying at Penn State or going pro in the midst of the Big Ten craziness: “With the uncertainty of the Big Ten coming back and the season getting canceled, obviously there was some open dialogue between me and Coach Franklin and my tight ends coach, Coach Bowen, about the chance of me leaving and the pros and the cons. When the Big Ten announced they were coming back, I called Coach [James] Franklin and said those conversations are dead. I’m coming back, and I can’t wait to play.
“He was like, I’m about to go on Big Ten Network, so why don’t you come up. Because there was some reports out there that I was going to leave. So he said, why don’t you come up and tell everyone you’re saying. So I just wanted to show everyone in Nittany Nation, I’m here, I love Penn State and can’t wait to play for Penn State another season.”
• On watching the other conferences play while they couldn’t: “It was just very hard, especially with the Big Ten being one of the top, if not the best conferences in the country, I just felt like the SEC, the ACC and these other kind of small conferences are playing, why can’t we get the opportunity to play?” Freiermuth said. “I’m very thankful for the players and the parents, especially my mom, who really helped, who’s the leader of the players association here, put out a message that we feel comfortable playing.”
• On being compared to Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end and Woodland Hills product Rob Gronkowski: “Gronk, in my opinion, is the best tight end in forever, to be honest,” Freiermuth said. “I think he brings the kind of mentality that he’s not going to get stopped. That’s kind of what I bring to my game. He’s really good at all three phases. I just try to emulate his game into my game and watch film on him.”
• On taking the next step before turning pro: “I think this year I need to take the next step at being better at the point of attack, creating movement on the line of scrimmage, and then obviously just winning vs. man coverage, continue to be a security blanket for (Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford) and continue to get open.” Freiermuth is a projected first round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and won pre-season All-American honors from the Walter Camp Foundation.