James Franklin was back on Monday to meet the beat and talk about what Penn State did last weekend against FIU and look ahead to Saturday’s final non-conference game against Villanova. Want to read the whole transcript – including boxer shorts jokes – click HERE. Otherwise, follow along for my recap.
Opening Statement
It was a long opening statement. Other than the normal, here are Villanova guys to watch, Franklin said some good things about his team (managing game well, not burning timeouts, few
penalties, being physical) and the not so good (missing assignments on field goal protection, not being good enough on third/fourth down with offense and defense).
Defensive Thoughts
Penn State got two regulars back from injury on Saturday with Zuriah Fisher and Zion Tracy seeing their first time this season. Franklin seemed particularly happy with Fisher making his first appearance since the Cotton Bowl loss back after the 2023 season. Franklin noted that the defense as a whole can continue to learn to play faster and that will be emphasized as the season progresses.
Downfield Blocking
Franklin praised some of the efforts of his wide receivers and tights ends blocking down the field following a question about Kaytron Allen’s long touchdown run.
Learning to Let it Go
Asked about Drew Allar and his emotions on Saturday, Franklin noted that having a “next play” mentality is something that he preaches to all players. He did not that Drew missed some throws that he normally makes.
Offensive Line Strides
The offensive line has been maligned a little bit in early weeks, but Franklin said there was improvement in physicality from week one to week two. He added that the group has to do a better job identifying some things before the snap, but that there was overall improvement.
Playing Plenty of People
Franklin said the plan Saturday would be to continue to play a lot of players in order to cultivate depth with the group. He closed this answer by noting that the offense is doing a good job of spreading around touches, but that they need to be better at converting first downs to get even more touches to people.
Striking a Balance
It’s tough to win games. This has been a familiar refrain from Franklin over his time at Penn State. He said there is a challenge in balancing out the 1-0 mentality with also holding his players accountable to playing at the program’s overall expectations. He added that he opens up team meetings after games by showing a list of teams that were expected to win that didn’t to further emphasize that winning each week is what’s most important.
On Coleman
Chaz Coleman had his first sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery, and nearly touchdown on Saturday. Franklin said a lot of complimentary things about the freshman, while also adding that Dani Dennis-Sutton had served as a good mentor for him.
Seeking Explosives
Franklin listed a lot of reasons why Penn State didn’t have as many explosive plays on offense as he would have liked. One of the big ones he noted was drops, saying that there were too many.
Thinking Too Much
In a question about Nicholas Singleton, Franklin lumped the senior running back together with Allar and said that both need to quit thinking so much on Saturdays. Franklin said the coaching/teaching should happen during the week and that Saturday should be the time to just go play.
Developing Linebackers
There were no names given, but Franklin talked about some of the changes that have been made in the defensive system and how the Lions will need to develop more linebackers.
There was a follow-up question about Knowles’s defense and how it was asking linebackers to do some different things. Franklin also gave some context about how they’re trying to balance installing everything in what Tony Rojas called a “hard” defense.
Deep Ball Placement
Franklin was asked a general question about how he likes the deep ball to be thrown by his quarterback. He noted that you always want to hit a receiver in stride, but leaving it short allows a chance for the receiver to make a play or draw a penalty.
Special Teams
Franklin spoke a little about how Coach Justin Lustig (don’t call him Justin, check the transcript) figures out the puzzle of who will play special teams. He talked some more about the improvements that Penn State hopes to continue to make in that aspect of the game.
Lots of Pass Catchers
Franklin shifted a question about Luke Reynolds into a rundown of the number of different players that Drew Allar is finding faith in throwing the ball to each week.
Obviously Count: 14
