Apparently, Mike Pouncey is a graduate of the JoePa School of Dealing with Freshmen.
“Freshmen? I didn’t even know they exist,” Joe Paterno said back in April.
While Paterno doesn’t even acknowledge their existence, Pouncey does. Although, it seems, he would prefer they not exist around him in their current high-decibel state. Or, at the very least, shut the hell up and just play football every once in awhile.
Asked recently about the newest members of the Florida football program, the offensive lineman was not shy in giving his opinion about a “whole recruiting class [that] is just cocky.”
“At the end of the day the freshmen need to just shut their mouths and just come play,” Pouncey said with a chuckle. “They haven’t done nothing on Saturday, and most of the fans don’t even know who they are. Until they prove themselves they just need to sit back and let the older guys play. ...
“You always want to shut them up. I hate when guys come in and talk too much and don’t show nothing on the field. But with this great recruiting class all of them played good, it’s just time for them to shut up and play on Saturday.”
That right there is what you would call a senior taking ownership of his team. The vets set the tone, not vice versa.
And, if I were Urban Meyer, you would not be able to wipe the smile off my face knowing that players like Pouncey are around to police themselves and their teammates.