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James Franklin’s one track mindset has rubbed off on some of his players. Offensive lineman Ryan Bates is one of those guys who isn’t paying attention to anything other than this week’s game against Ohio State.
Bates met with the media on Tuesday afternoon to discuss Penn State’s upcoming heavyweight bout with Ohio State in Columbus, and was asked some specific questions about head coach Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes. And the lineman provided some not so specific answers.
In a way, it was the perfect sign that the Nittany Lions aren’t worried about anything other than the task at hand.
First, Bates was asked what his impression of Urban Meyer was. Bates’ response?
“He’s a football coach,” he said.
Reporter: "What is your impression of Urban Meyer?"
Ryan Bates: "He's a football coach."— jill (@_jillbeckman) October 24, 2017
Later, a reporter asked Bates what he thought of Urban Meyer’s career record following bye weeks. Meyer, as has been well-documented over the last several days, is an astounding 21-1 after an off week.
But that doesn’t seem to bother Bates either.
“I couldn’t care less,” Bates responded.
Penn State OT Ryan Bates asked for reaction to Urban Meyer's 21-1 record after a bye week: "I couldn't care less."
Says focus is on #PSU. pic.twitter.com/Vo7Oo4GxtG
— Tyler Donohue (@TDsTake) October 24, 2017
Bates’ statements echo the type of message Franklin sends on a weekly basis. He doesn’t care about any of the outside noise, statistics, or critics. All he’s focused on his getting Penn State ready to play its next opponent. In this case, that’s Ohio State.
It really does seem like all of his players have bought into that, as well.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB