Franklin comments on Lovett's Penn State debut, suspension speculation
Running back John Lovett made his Penn State Nittany Lions football debut on Saturday against Auburn, having sat out for the first two games of the season after transferring into the program from Baylor.
The initial returns were positive. Lovett carried the ball twice for nine yards, and proved to be a dynamic receiving presence out of the backfield, bringing in his only target for an 18-yard gain.
"You're talking about a mature, productive football player," Penn State football head coach James Franklin said Tuesday. "He's an intelligent guy. He's been able to learn the system and the protection and all of those types of things. It's just finding the right time and place to use him, and hopefully that role continues to grow as the season goes on."
When Lovett entered the game for an extended period in the third quarter, ABC's broadcast stated that a "disciplinary suspension" kept Lovett out for Penn State's first two games.
Asked what caused that suspension, Franklin was surprised to learn that statement was made.
"I didn't know there was an announcement on TV like that," Franklin said. "I don't know where they would have gotten that from...We're going to check to see if that was stated, because no one has stated that to me. It's the first time I'm hearing that. I'm not sure how to even address that because I don't know where that's coming from."
Franklin added that Penn State is "glad to have [Lovett] playing," and anticipates that his role will continue to grow as the season wears on.
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Lovett brings by far the most Division I experience out of the members of Penn State's running back room. He played regularly in all four of his seasons at Baylor, accumulating over 1,800 rushing yards and 18 total touchdowns with the Bears.
He was — by far — the back Penn State turned to most often behind Noah Cain against Auburn, after Keyvone Lee fumbled in the second quarter. Lovett played 18 snaps compared to two for Lee. Devyn Ford played just one.
Franklin pointed toward his experience when asked what he had done to earn those reps.
"You gotta remember, he's played a lot of football," Franklin said. "You're talking about a senior who's played a lot of football and we've been excited about him since we got him. We recruited him out of high school, so there was history there as well."
Of the 18 snaps Lovett played, 16 of those came on passing plays for the Nittany Lions.
Asked if that was the role he envisioned for Lovett moving forward, Franklin said he expects him to contribute in both the running and passing game.
"It just depends on the flow of the game and what's working at the time and what we have on our call sheet next to attack the defense," Franklin said. "We want to stay away from players that are, 'This guy's going to run the ball, this guy's going to pass the ball.'
"Sometimes that happens because of where a guy is in his development, you have to do it that way, but you'd prefer not to whenever possible."
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