I call Penn State's Von Walker, Brian Gaia, Saeed Blacknall and Nick Scott on my cell phone

I know when that hotline bling, that can only mean one thing — the Penn State teleconferences goin’ up on a Tuesday.

Sorry I just mixed two Drake references to start of this blog post. 

No, I’m not.

Anyhow, space in the paper tomorrow is tight, so here is your ramblin’ roundup of today’s conference calls with linebacker Von Walker, center Brian Gaia, wide receiver Saeed Blacknall and defensive back Nick Scott.

Walker said he’s expecting big strides from special teams this year, after under-performance, to say the least, last year.

“We’ve improved every year since this coaching staff has got here, and I think this year is going to be the year that we’re really going to take off,” Walker said. “I mean, this year we spent more time on special teams than any other year I’ve been here.”

Special teams has worked different drills in practice including more man-on-man, live situations and hold ups. Walker said bringing that in-game atmosphere to practice has upped the speed and intensity. He also added special teams coach Charles Huff’s passion and pride has rubbed off on the players, making them play faster, smarter and stronger.

Scott chimed in on the special teams situation as well, saying with his second year in the system, he feels more comfortable and like more players have accepted the importance of special teams’ play.

“I definitely think this is the year, for sure,” Scott said. “You look back at some of the games that we’ve had, you can see how important it is because some of the plays we made or we didn’t make may or may not have cost us the game. For example, Northwestern. If we didn’t give up that kickoff return for a touchdown, then that’s our game.”

Scott made the transfer in the offseason from running back to defensive back after former defensive coordinator Bob Shoop had been in his ear for awhile saying Scott could be a great safety at the collegiate level. After this past season, he had a conversation with coach James Franklin about his interest in contributing more to other areas of the team.

Scott played the first seven spring practices as a corner before shifting to strong safety. He said he played safety in high school, and the position suits his personality better — Huff, also the running backs coach, nicknamed Scott ”Spaz” for his erratic movement and decision-making on the field.

“It’s less rules and regulations and reads,” Scott said of safety. “And it’s more see quarterback, see ball, get ball type of deal.”

Walker agreed with Scott’s personal assessment of his ”sporadic” playing style.

“On the field, he’s an animal. He’s a wild dude. I mean, he makes plays all over the place. He’s almost three people at once,” Walker said. “He might not admit it ... but he’s one of the locker room clowns. I mean, that guy, he’s had me in tears sometimes laughing. He’s absolutely hilarious.”

Scott’s been able to maintain that ”goofy” personality when it comes to his old running back buddies Mark Allen and Saquon Barkley. He and Allen are still talking smack about if Scott pushed Allen out of bounds before he could score last weekend.

“We’re still friends,” Scott said, “for the most part.”

Switching gears to another position switch, former guard Gaia has practiced exclusively at center this spring, saying the transition has been easy with a center-friendly offense — as in the fast tempo helps tire out defensive lines, and the center calls the blocking and can decide if he wants to block someone alone or not.

Franklin discussed the change with Gaia at the end-of-season meeting, giving Gaia all winter to work on his snapping. Gaia said he likes playing center despite not having experience with it and was happy to go where the team needed him.

“I’m kind of in control of how we block up front and stuff like that, so I like putting everyone on the same page,” Gaia said. “I would say last year communication was one of my stronger suits, so just being center allows me to have more control.

“Now I can pretty much tell people what to do,” he said.

Wouldn’t we all like a bit of that power? (I asked him about the QBs, too, but that’ll be in my story for Thursday once Trace McSorley and Tommy Stevens meet with the media after spring practice Wednesday.)

For Blacknall, he said he felt like all the receivers received (lmao) a fresh start this spring as everyone was on a level playing field learning the new offense. And while he’s poised to have a breakout season, he’s not letting on about the high expectations filling his thoughts. Instead, he said he is just ready to seize whatever opportunity comes his way.

Blacknall did say the receivers had a bit of a ”careful what you wish for” moment during the first few padded practices, as running through six plays in three minutes was exhausting. They had wanted a spread, no-huddle offense where they could use all their weapons all at once, but it took a few practices to get used to the pace.

Some random things that didn’t fit into this weird story/blog hybrid I’ve got going on:

• Scott said he’s pretty good at basketball and fancies himself a decent singer and dancer. But only when he’s listening to Chris Brown. And he always has the volume turned up way loud so he can’t hear himself. So, I say he post a video or something, and we can be the judges.
• Blacknall said the receivers watched a lot of Fordham (where new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead was head coach before Penn State) tape to study the new offense, and that the players have iPads so they can watch it on the go. Blacknall also said he has an app on his phone where he can watch tape, too. Technology, man, it’s a wonder.
• Who saw my tweet rant about Saquon hitting the quan? Because there was a brief moment in this video where Jarvis Miller hitteth the quan, but I just need Hit the (Sa)Qu(o)n to be a thing, OK?

All right, I think I should wrap this thing up, yeah? As always, email or tweet if you want to chat. (P.S. who saw this video of Anthony Mackie saying my name? Papa Doc from 8 Mile, what a ledge.)