Fifth-year senior defensive end Daniel Joseph may be a Canadien that played his first four seasons of college football at Penn State, but a Southern side of him came out in his media availability Wednesday following NC State’s 45-24 loss to Virginia Tech.
He also took a page out of Tom Petty's book when he was asked about the Wolfpack’s mentality following its first loss of the season.
“We definitely learned, 'You know what, we ain't going to back down to nobody,’” Joseph assured. “We're going to keep fighting no matter what. In this COVID era, that has to be better than ever, just being able to go into each game with that mentality and constantly fighting.
“That was definitely something I learned about this team. Guys on this team are not going to back down or roll over for anybody no matter the situation.”
It’s a required mindset for the Pack as the team prepares for another physical matchup against No. 24 Pittsburgh at Heinz Field this weekend.
NC State hasn’t faced Pitt since 2017 but Joseph faced the Panthers in each of the past four seasons as a player for Penn State and offered some insight on what to expect Saturday.
“It starts and ends up front,” Joseph said. “It will be a great challenge this week for us collectively because they have a really, really good front. I played against a few guys on that front already, I know how they play and I know where their mentality is. If you win that battle, you have a really good chance to win this game.”
The opposing offensive line isn’t the only position group the 6-foot-3, 260-pounder was able to provide a scouting report on.
Pittsburgh senior quarterback Kenny Pickett started against the Nittany Lions in the last two meetings between the two in-state rivals. In 2018, Pickett struggled in a 51-6 drubbing in Heinz Field completing 9 of 18 passes for 55 yards and one interception.
He played much better last season in Happy Valley completing 35 of 51 passes for 372 yards in a more competitive 17-10 Penn State win.
“He's decisive and he has experience within that offensive scheme,” Joseph said. “He's a guy that loves to run and extend plays. His ability to use his feet, to extend plays, makes him a lot more challenging to play as a defender.
“When you got a guy who is running around after you effectively stopped his initial reads, at that point it's time for you to let your instincts take over and play ball. He likes to scramble, he likes to get out of the pocket, so what's going to be difficult this week is making sure we contain him within that pocket.”
Despite his familiarity with the Wolfpack’s opponent this Saturday, he’s let the coaching staff handle the game preparation from a strategy standpoint but has not been afraid to offer help when called upon.
“My job is to execute the game plan,” Joseph said. “To the best of my knowledge, I try my best to refer back to any old notes I still have about Pitt from when I played them in the past. I just try to refresh my memory of previous games, what they ran and different offensive schemes they hit us with.”
Joseph had a strong performance in his NC State debut in the 45-42 win over Wake Forest registering five tackles, including two for loss, and two sacks. One of his sacks came in crunch time when he took down Deacons quarterback Sam Hartman for a six-yard loss that forced fourth-and-21 on Wake’s final possession of the game. The Deacs failed to convert on the next play and allowed the Pack to take over for a victory formation.
He had a quieter stat line in Saturday’s loss to the Hokies but was still the fourth-highest graded player on the Wolfpack defense in game two according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
The veteran defensive end has been encouraged by his team’s response following the demoralizing outcome in Blacksburg.
“This week, guys have actually been a lot more motivated even more to come back and attack this week a lot more aggressively, which has been a great thing,” Joseph said. “People have played at a much higher level of intensity and competition throughout practice this week.”
“That increase in preparation and intensity has been a big difference.”
——
• Talk about it inside The Wolves' Den
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolfpacker
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolfpacker
• Like us on Facebook
