Penn State Football Head Coach James Franklin talks with the media ahead of the 2024 Fiesta Bowl versus Boise State.
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COACH FRANKLIN: Well, we appreciate it. We are obviously excited to represent the Big Ten and Penn State in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. Real briefly, I would love to give a shout out to Coach Katie [Schumacher-Cawley] and our women's volleyball team, who just won the national championship. Phenomenal for a lot of different reasons, the success they had this year, so I wanted to give them a quick shout out.
We are honored to be here and represent the Big Ten. And playing a tremendous opponent like Boise. I’ve got a ton of respect for that university and that football program. They've really been an exciting team and exciting program for a long time. A lot of history there, a lot of exciting games that I have been able to watch.
Obviously, Coach [Spencer] Danielson has done a great job in year one, being promoted from within, former defensive coordinator. And has done a great job; has done a really, really good job, understanding that team, understanding what they need to do to be successful. Obviously, we have a common opponent in Oregon, and they played them extremely well in their one loss, 37-34. But this is going to be an exciting game and a tremendous challenge.
Dirk Koetter, the offensive coordinator, is kind of a legend in the business. Everybody knows Coach Koetter and what he's been able to do. That will be a real challenge for us. It was, I think, a brilliant move bringing him back. He's from Pocatello, Idaho. I spent a year in Pocatello, Idaho, at Idaho State.
Obviously on defense, in Coach [Erik] Chinander, defensive coordinator. Again, he’s got a great background and got a great history as well. And obviously, Coach Danielson is very involved in that as well. Then Stacey Collins, their special teams coordinator, was on our staff here at Penn State. So he knows us well. We know him as well. He's done a really good job. He was at Boise when we hired him and then returned back there, getting back to the West Coast.
So real good opportunity, exciting. We're looking forward to getting there and we've had great experiences there in the past, and we're looking forward to the opportunity.
Q. What are your initial impressions of the Boise State backfield, particularly the quarterback and the running back?
Obviously, it all starts and revolves around [Ashton] Jeanty. In any other year, I think he wins the Heisman, and you could make the argument that he should have won it this year. He's hard to tackle. He's compact, 5'10". He has the ability to run away from you, has the ability to make you miss. They get him involved in the pass game, they get him involved in the run game.
And then the quarterback is athletic as well. He reminds me a little bit of the quarterback (Garrett Greene) that we faced from West Virginia, that we had a ton of respect for on tape when we played them.
But they're a problem. I think it starts and ends with the running back and I think they do a really good job of not only getting him the ball in the run game, but also in the pass game. But then also using him in play action pass to create some opportunities to get some explosive plays down the field in the passing game.
It will be a definite challenge for us, but they're kind of a two-headed monster, both athletic guys. Both are not the biggest guys in the world, but really good productive football players that have done it week in and week out against everybody.
Q. How would you assess the play of Abdul [Carter] against SMU and what he offers your defense moving forward? I know we asked you a bunch about him, he really stood out in that first playoff game.
Yes, just obviously very disruptive, like he's been all year long. I also think if you went back and did a study, the amount of holding calls that have been called against him, I think is probably up there as high as anywhere in the country -- but also holding calls that could have been called.
He is just a problem. And he's an issue in the run game, as well as the pass game, with tackles for loss, sacks. Just like we're spending time talking about their running back, they're spending time talking about our defensive end and playmaker, Abdul Carter. So that will be an interesting matchup, and that will be an interesting chess game with both coaching staffs, and how we use those guys so that they both can be as effective as possible in this game.
Q. I wanted to ask you a little bit more Ashton Jeanty. You mentioned probably would have been the Heisman winner any year except for this one. Is there any back that you would compare him to throughout your coaching career, or guys that you think are a little bit similar running style?
I'm not sure. When you look at his stature, you're thinking about certain backs. But I don't know if I have somebody that jumps out in my mind, that he reminds me of when I'm watching him on tape. Really, he does a lot of things really well. He can run away from you and score from a distance. Breaks a ton of tackles.
Like his yards after contact, I think I read it somewhere, like 1,300 yards of his rushing yards are after contact, which is a ridiculous stat. I don't know if I have ever seen that before, but his ability to make people miss, break tackles, finish runs, is really impressive.
But I don't know if I got somebody that jumps out in my mind in terms of who reminds me of this guy. But the thing that jumps out the most to me is 1,300 yards or whatever that statistic is after contact, is a crazy stat in college football.
Q. In terms of this week, balancing transfers, recruiting, with practice and also the holiday, what exactly does this week look like for you and the team?
We practiced yesterday. Kind of our normal Sunday practice. Then tried to help everybody get out of town. We went early. We went early in the morning so guys could get out of here. Coaches worked a full day. But we tried to get the guys out of here so they could fly, drive, wherever they were going.
Then they'll have off until Christmas Day evening – I want to make sure I term that the right way. We'll have a team meeting and practice that evening. It's a little bit of time off for everybody.
The coaches, we worked early this morning until this afternoon. Everybody is heading out of the office now, get a couple of hours Christmas shopping, and then be able to spend time with their family.
Then after that, after Christmas Day, around 5:00, we're getting in our normal game week. For us, we always take whenever the game is, you count back seven days, and that's our normal game week and we try to stick to that routine as much as we possibly can. It's been good to us, and our players and coaches believe in it.
After that, we're kind of back to things as normal, except obviously, we don't have school and those things.
Q. Earlier this year, you got to go cross country to USC. How do you kind of take that experience as you get ready for Phoenix? What did you learn from that experience that you can apply here?
We spent a lot of time studying different NFL teams, different college teams that had West Coast trips and what they did, how they did it. We felt like we had a good plan going to USC. Feedback after the game from the players and from the staff, we thought we did the right thing.
If you look at win records of teams traveling in the regular season, cross country is not great really either direction, but specifically East Coast teams heading West. This is obviously different because it's not like an in-season game. It's also not like a traditional bowl with the amount of time we're there.
But it’s still enough time that we're able to get adjusted and get some work out there and get acclimated. We feel good about it. We have a sports scientist on staff and really tap into that resource as much as we can as well.
But the combination of being able to go out and play well against USC, learn from that experience, and now travel to the West Coast again for this (Quarterfinal) round of the Playoff, I think there's value in us already doing that one time this year.
Q. After the game, you said "I'm at a point in my career where it's all about the players." I wanted to gauge where do you think you are at in your career, on your career arc, and what makes it all about the players now?
I guess what I meant by that, first of all, it's always been about the players, but I think when you kind of get a little bit more seasoned in this profession, when you are younger, you are focused on all different types of things, right?
When you are a young offensive coordinator, you are worried about points, and you are worried about yards, and you are worried about turnover ratio and explosive plays and all of those things that are still important and they matter. But I think the older you get, you try to keep the main thing the main thing.
And at the end of the day, it boils down to our players having a tremendous experience while they are here at Penn State -- and a part of that, obviously, is winning as many games as possible. And then also developing them as young men and as students. And then also trying to put as many of them in a position to chase their dream in the NFL as well.
For me, the older you get, you kind of get rid of all those other things like stats and yards and stats and points and things like that. And it just really comes down to the players. It comes down to relationships. It comes down to the staff. It comes down to the staff relationships and development.
It's more just about keeping the main thing the main thing. I think you guys know I have always been a relational leader. That's what has always driven me in this profession and it's been my leadership style. But there was still probably some time and energy focused on other things, and now I just try to keep the main thing the main thing, which is my family at home and my family at work.
Q. Congratulations again on the win. Your running backs look like they have almost identical stat lines. Could you tell us about both of them, what makes each of them unique?
Well, first of all, that's intentional. We try to keep those guys fresh and we try to keep those guys healthy, not only for their careers here at Penn State, but afterwards as well.
They're really close friends. They are really good complementary pieces. I know the expression is probably overused, but thunder and lightning, I think, is a good expression or a good description for those guys. Nick [Singleton] has the ability to go the distance with his speed, his explosive ability. Kaytron [Allen], we call him Fat Man -- Kaytron, he is a violent, physical runner.
I think they both have aspects of that as well, but Kaytron is extremely physical. They're both smart, high football IQ guys. I think Nick is trying to get on an edge and beat you with speed. Fat Man will try to run you over more times than not.
They have just been productive. We have been able to rotate both of them. There were some times during the season where both of them were banged up at certain points. But these last couple of weeks, they have been as healthy as they have been all year long, and I think it showed up that way on film, and statistically the last two weeks. Both have been great teammates and great students and are thriving here.
It’s really kind of how we would like to do it. I think there's times where both of them would like to just get a few more touches and be the feature back. But I think they also understand that this is probably in their best interest and our best interest as well, the way we do it.
Q. Coach, how much do you talk about and try to teach the players about your history in the Fiesta Bowl? I think it was the 1987 game was 1 versus 2 in one of the greatest bowl games in the history of college football. Do you try to teach and learn about that and educate the players about one of the roots of Penn State football in case?
We don't get into a whole lot of the history of these games, because I don't necessarily feel like the time is worth taking it away from preparing the specific opponent that we have this year, which is Boise.
Our guys are very aware of our history here at Penn State, and we spent a lot of time in the off-season talking about those things; or different former players coming back, lettermen, to talk to our guys, or guys on our current staff. We don't spend a whole lot of time talking about those types of things, the history, the tradition or how many times we have played in this game.
Just all our energy and focus is this team, playing this opponent, in this second round of playoffs, the quarterfinals. So that's really our focus.
Q. Andy [Kotelnicki], after the game the other day, talked about the importance of playing to win as opposed to playing not to lose. Can you talk about the importance of that philosophy to you, especially, at this time of year, when it's win or go home?
I think we have talked about that a lot with the players. We talked about that a lot with the staff, in terms of how we call the game, how we prepare for the game. How we game plan. Players being aggressive, playing on their toes, not on their heels. Making aggressive calls. Instead of going for the PBU, go for the interception.
I think some of the calls that we have made going forward on fourth down, we want to be aggressive as we possibly can. That's if we got a play action pass or a shot play or a trick play on offense, we want to use those. Whether it's defensively, you saw us a bunch and cover zero and going after the offense. We want to be very aggressive. We don't want to have any regrets.
Playing to win, I think, is a mentality that everybody has to embrace and be on the same page with, because there's going to be times where the defense will have to have the offense's back after making one of those decisions. There's going to be times where the offense is going to have to have the defense's back after making one of those decisions. And the same thing with special teams. And everybody has got to buy into that philosophy and embrace that philosophy.
So that's kind of where we're at, and I think the biggest thing, to your point, is just no regrets. We don't want to sit in the locker room after the game and have a ‘Would have, should have, could have.’ We want to be aggressive. More times than not this year, those things have helped us. There's been a few times where it hasn't worked out. And there's also been a few times where it hasn't worked out, but the other side of the ball has had the other side of the offense, defense, or special teams' backs, and made the decision right.
Like what happened on Saturday. We go for it on 4th and 1, we fumble the snap, don't get the first down on the quarterback sneak, and then our defense comes in and holds them to no points on our end of the field. It's those types of things and those types of decisions.
Q. I'm sure you have been asked this question a lot, but I will ask it again. Tyler Warren, you used him in a number of different ways. How special does an athlete have to be to be that versatile?
Tyler Warren, obviously he's a unique guy. Everybody talks about obviously his production as a receiver and as a runner, but it's also as a blocker. He had some phenomenal blocks on Saturday. It helps that he's 6'6". He's essentially 260 pounds. He's able to block you like a traditional in-line tight end, or from the hip position.
He's smart enough to line up at the number one receiver, the number two receiver, the number three receiver, in the backfield as a full back or H-back, however you want to describe it. He's able to line up and play the quarterback position, take snaps under center as well from the gun.
He's able to throw the ball. He's a former quarterback. So it's just a lot of different ways that we like to use him, and also which makes him difficult to defend. Because as a defensive coordinator, you don't know where he will line up. If the threat always lines up in the slot or always lines up in a three-by-one to the single side – if you always know where the receiver or the threat lines up, it makes it easier to defend the guy. But when he can line up really anywhere on the field, it makes it very challenging.
And his football IQ, as well as his background in playing multiple sports, high-level baseball, high-level basketball, high -level football player in high school. Then on top of that, the fact that he played quarterback just gives us the flexibility to use him in a ton of different ways.
We've done a lot of these things over his career, but with him being kind of the focal point at our tight end position this year – last year, he shared that role with a tight end (Theo Johnson) who got drafted in the second round by the (New York) Giants. This year, he's doing that as kind of the leader of the tight end room, but also one of the focal points of our offense.
His physical skills, his athletic skills, and his intelligence allows us to use him in a ton of different ways and combine all of those things we have done throughout his career and do it all in one year -- and sometimes all in one game.
Q. You talked about calling the game more aggressively on the defensive side, and you overwhelmed SMU with that. How much of calling the game aggressively contributed to maybe physical advantages that you saw? And how well do you feel you have been able to do that?
I think that was a part of it, I also thought the crowd and the crowd noise played a factor in that as well. Our home field advantage and our crowd was significant in that game, and we don't take that for granted. That was big time for us.
But when you are able to line up and cover zero and bring pressure like that and bring it from different places, the offense has to decide who they want to block. They can't block them all. The quarterback has got to get everybody on the same page, and get rid of the ball.
And then the real challenge is we have the ability to line up like that and drop out and play zone – and now you have a chance to get somebody running free in protection because they have haven't identified it correctly. Now you are playing zone coverage behind it and you are forced to hold on to the ball until someone is open.
So that creates some real challenges and stress on the defense. That's really what we are trying to do on the defensive side of the ball is create mistakes, cause pressure, and really put the quarterback in a challenging position as many times as possible.
Obviously this week is a little bit different challenge. A very different challenge and it's all about stopping their running back, and then all of the plays and schemes that come off of that, that complement the running game and complement the running back.
Q. Just to tie up a couple of loose ends from Saturday. I was wondering how much did the conditions on the field, in terms of wind and cold, affect your offensive game plan? Then also with that 4th and 13 earlier in the game, where you elected to go for it, was that just as a result of the weather conditions, and what [Ryan] Barker had looked like during the warmups in the kicking game?
Yes, I think the conditions affected both teams and both offenses, specifically going in the direction of our tunnel. If you look, I think their guy missed a short field goal as well. When I say short field goal, a field goal that, more times than not, you would have the leg for. But, yeah, going in that direction affected us on offense. That's why we went for it on 4th and 13. We didn't feel comfortable kicking in that direction, based on the weather, specifically the wind.
And I think for both offenses, the cold weather had a little bit of an impact. But more so the combination of the wind with that as well had a factor in the game.
It really impacted how both coaches tried to manage the game. It impacted how both offenses had to manage the game. It also impacted special teams. That's one of the reasons why I was so disappointed. We decided we had a choice, right? To start the second half, do we want to take the ball and the wind? Or did we want the wind in the fourth quarter?
We decided to take the wind in the third quarter, try to put the game away in the third quarter, and then run the ball in the fourth quarter and run the game out was our plan.
That's why I was so disappointed when we kicked off, we kicked a line drive, and they got a really good return. Where our thought was, we were going to be able to kick deep, either kick it out of the end zone, pin them deep, put them in a situation backed up out of their end zone or at least to the 25-yard line, and have to go into the wind. Hopefully get a 3 -and-out or a turnover and get our offense the ball back in really good field position, and then really be able to take over the game in the third quarter.
So that was a little bit disappointing but, yeah, all those things factored into decision making and game management.
Q. I just want to ask about Davon [Banks]. Obviously we talked about him a lot. Just one, what is his impact and especially like as a leader? How important is it to have a guy like Davon down the stretch?
His leadership has been phenomenal. I'm really proud of Davon. His development both on and off the field has been phenomenal. I tell the guys all the time, Davon could teach a master's class on how to get the most out of your college experience, and specifically at Penn State. He's like the mayor of State College. He knows everybody in the community. He knows everybody on campus.
We do a guest coach program, where we have professors and donors come and be a part of our game experience and travel with us. And all of them come back to me afterwards and just talk about Davon and how he's handled himself. Same thing with our athletic director and the administration.
If there's an opportunity for Davon to shake hands and meet people and build relationships, he's gonna do it. He's extremely articulate in speaking to our team. Tremendous messages. He's also very comfortable communicating with me things that I need to hear from a player's perspective as well.
Then he's been a dominant player for us as a defensive tackle inside, able to hold the point. He's very physical. He's got the movement skills, and we like to move our defensive line and get them moving and disruptive against offensive lines -- he does that well. He's playing his best football. He'll have a chance at the next level as well.
I think just like baseball, you try to build your football team where you want to be strong up the middle. And when you are able to have Davon and Zane [Durant] at D tackle; and Kobe [King] at middle linebacker, and then obviously Zakee [Wheatley] and Jaylen Reed at safeties, you feel really good about the middle of your defense and building from there.
Q. You mentioned your running backs splitting action. I'm curious how much more impressive that makes what Ashton Jeanty is doing, 30-plus carries in seven of the last eight games, and just the workload. In your opening statement, you mentioned the history of Boise State. I'm curious if you could touch on that and the memories of 2007 Fiesta Bowl and your thoughts on their rise as a program -- not even 30 years as an FBS program and they are obviously reaching another step in their program, making the playoff here.
Well, yeah, in terms of (Jeanty), I mean, he's a beast. He's a beast in terms of his production on the field, but then also his durability. From the interviews that I've seen, he's also a guy that kind of understands how to be a pro already at this point, in terms of taking care of his body, rest and recovery and treatment, and doing all the things necessary.
I also think the way he's built and his running style helps with that as well. There are not too many people who are able to get clean shots on him. All of it is super impressive, but I think this stat that I mentioned earlier, the most impressive stat is the yards after contact. He has more yards after contact than most of the elite backs in college football have in general, overall. So that's impressive.
I spent some time in Idaho. I was at Idaho State, spent some time in Boise and other places. Actually played in Boise when I was at the University of Maryland. We played Nevada in the bowl game there, had a great experience there. Love the city, love the university. It's beautiful. I had a great experience.
I think the biggest compliment that I would give Boise is people in the coaching profession, you say to yourself: Why are places good jobs and why are places bad jobs? Why do some places struggle over their time and why do some places always thrive?
And obviously, Coach [Spencer] Danielson has done a phenomenal job. But when you look at Boise's history, there's been a ton of coaches go there and have success. All the way back to when they were in FCS, winning the national championship. There are typically ingredients in universities that have allowed them to be successful -- and it's in the university, it's in the community. It's embedded there.
And that's why you have seen so many people be able to go there and have success. That's why, I think you heard earlier this year, Coach [Nick] Saban talking on GameDay about some other places, and people want to blame the coach. Well, there's been four coaches at this school, or there's been five coaches -- and none of those coaches have been successful.
So maybe it's not just the coach. Maybe there's other things at the school that's not allowing the coach to be successful. Just like at Boise, there's been a recipe for success there. The administration, in my opinion, must get it. The town must get it. The university, all the way from the president of the university to the professors, all the way down to the students – they all get it.
To me, that's why places like Boise, in my opinion, have thrived, and the people that I know have worked there, they enjoy working there. They are treated in a first-class manner. The town loves it, they always get great crowds and great support.
I thought the Blue Turf was something that differentiated them at a time that – let's be honest, it's hard to find ways to differentiate yourself in college football, and that's made them unique and interesting. And what Coach [Chris] Petersen was able to do there, obviously he took the program to a whole other level, and built it in such a way that other people could go in and continue building on what he did.
Where some people – I know Coach Petersen very well. The guy is phenomenal and has got humility. He wanted Boise to continue being successful after he left. Some coaches don't want the schools to be successful. They want to be the reason why.
I have a ton of respect for Boise, the university, the history, the traditions. We're excited to play them. They have played in these games before and played well, like the games you have mentioned against big-time historical opponents. We know we have to be ready for this team, for their athletes, and just the way the university has won at a high level for a long time. I hope this shows you that Boise has our attention and has our respect.
Q. I wanted to ask you, too. Obviously football is what you are here for, but as someone who has been here, 2017 was the last time you played here, what are some other things you are looking forward to at the Fiesta Bowl? Whether it's events or restaurants to hit up in the Phoenix area? What else are you looking forward to here?
Well, as you guys know, it's a phenomenal town. But this is a business trip for us. It's not like we're going to be – as you guys know, this isn't like the normal bowl games anymore. This is the playoffs, and the (quarterfinal) round of playoffs. We're still obviously under the bowl umbrella and very appreciative of the Fiesta Bowl. But this is not like when we would come there and do different activities. We are there to play a game.
It's similar. My first game ever at Penn State was in Dublin, Ireland, against Central Florida, and everyone talked about it being a cultural experience going to Dublin, Ireland. It was for everybody else, but for us it was a business trip and a game.
I know the Fiesta Bowl is going to do some phenomenal things and treat us in a first-class manner, because that's just how they operate and that's what they do. But for us, this is about coming out there and getting our team ready to play a really good Boise team, and represent the Big Ten and represent Penn State University and our alumni and our lettermen and our entire community the right way.
It's not like we'll be out shopping or going to restaurants. We'll enjoy the weather, I will tell you that.
From what I understand, it's about 70 degrees. So we'll appreciate it, we'll appreciate the weather.
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