James Franklin discusses transfer portal, depth issues and Manny Diaz
Penn State is getting toward the end of spring practices this week with the first scrimmage of the offseason taking place Friday.
But on Wednesday following practice, James Franklin had his weekly media availability to discuss the latest news and progress surrounding the program.
Here is what Franklin touched on…..
TRANSFER PORTAL
There was a lot of NCAA transfer portal talk on Wednesday night with Franklin discussing a number of different developments surrounding the subject.
The ninth-year Nittany Lions head coach said that the team is still active in the portal and is always looking for talent that fits with the mold of the program both on and off the field.
“For us, the process we try to keep it the same,” Franklin said. “We’ve tried to be very strategic and calculated about it. It's amazing to me, there's guys that are taken out of the portal that nobody calls and you have no idea what's happened at the previous school or what the issues may be. So we try to do as much homework as we possibly can.”
“Franklin and the rest of the college sports world has also picked up on the fact that many schools are looking to bring in experienced transfers over young players even at the high school level.”
But for Franklin, he says it is about finding the balance.
“Talking to a lot of coaches, they're not going to take the risk [on younger players],” Franklin said. “They're not gonna take the chance, they're gonna go get immediate impacts which I get. I think you can make both arguments, you really could. I also know that some of the guys that are in the transfer portal are in the transfer portal for a reason.”
DEPTH
Franklin mentioned last week that depth was an issue for Penn State this spring, especially on the offensive line.
He mentioned the issue tonight once again and said that the lack of personnel could even affect the spring game as it has done to other programs across the country.
There's a lot of programs across the country that are really struggling with depth,” Franklin said. “Spring Games across the country have been modified, because they don't have the depth to do a traditional spring game.”
The depth issues don’t stop on offense as the defensive line is not necessarily in need of numbers, but more talent on the front end across the line from Adisa Issac.
While Smith Vilbert has shown flashes, signs point to Penn State being aggressive in the portal for a D-End.
“We're looking into the portal a little bit for that as well,” Franklin said. “Very similar to what we did with [Arnold Ebiketie] and we got to find somebody that can come in and help us with edge pressure and attacking the quarterback.”
MANNY DIAZ
Manny Diaz spoke with the media in person for the first time at Lasch on Wednesday and had plenty to share regarding his new defense.
First, Franklin was sure to praise Diaz on his approach so far but says that this is just a start and he anticipates him gaining much more personal relationships over the next few months.
“I think [his comfort level] is growing,” Franklin said. “I think he's done a really good job in meetings, he's got a presence to him. I like how he views the game of football and how he leads.”
Diaz also spoke on how things have been going so far and said it has certainly been a different experience than being a head coach.
He appreciates the fact that he gets to work closer to the players and even has his own positional room again with him being the linebackers coach as well as the DC.
“Just being a linebacker coach and getting to have a room again and getting to have guys that you get to really pour into every day and teach,” Diaz said. “Ultimately as a coach that's what you are, you're a teacher. So I'm blessed with the guys that I have. I've got great guys in the linebacker room. I'm really fortunate to have the defensive personnel in general, not just their talent and just who they are.”
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