One theme that Penn State fans may have noticed over the program's four first games of the season is that wide receiver and punt returner Kaden Saunders has yet to return a punt this season, opting to either fair catch or let the punt hit the ground, hoping for a good bounce.
During his weekly Monday press conference, Franklin offered an explanation on Kaden Saunders' punt return efforts this season and why the redshirt sophomore has had a quiet start to his season.
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"Kaden suffered an injury during training camp. That's why you guys see he hasn't been playing much wide receiver and we had anticipated him having a pretty big role for us on offense," Franklin said when asked about Saunders and the Nittany Lions punt return game.
"So he had an injury, and early on, we weren't sure if he was going to be able to go, and then he got cleared and it was him getting confidence back to being out there. Really the plan for the first couple games was to just have him catch the ball. We had a ton of confidence that he would catch the ball and predominantly fair catch the ball," he further explained.
"While he was injured, we had a ton of different guys back there to catch the ball, decision making, when to fair catch it, when not to, backed up punt, when you're going to let it go into the end zone, when you're going to catch it, being able to advance it. Some really good athletes, but that is a unique job. That's a unique skill set," Franklin added.
Notably, the Nittany Lions did use walk-on wide receiver Jake Spencer once this season to return a punt. However, on that lone punt return, Spencer would muff the punt, and hasn't seen an opportunity since.
"Obviously put him in on this one and the ball got to the ground. You know, that obviously created some challenges for us," Franklin said about Spencer's opportunity.
"So we've had a bunch of competition for somebody else while Kaden was getting healthy. No one really took the job. So we were still kind of at a point we’re having Kaden for the most part catching fair catch."
That being said, Franklin did give a potential answer to who could help make an impact in the return game for the Nittany Lions.
"Zion Tracy is a guy that we think is close," he said. "As you guys know, he's got a background from high school, not only a returner, but also a wide receiver. And we were hoping that he would be the guy during that time and just hadn't happened during practice. Right now, Zion is doing some really good things on defense and special teams and gaining a ton of confidence. So we'll see how this goes this week."
But until Tracy or someone else potentially emerges as someone who could be trusted to be a return man for the Nittany Lions, Penn State fans should continue to expect to see Saunders and as a result, the Nittany Lions be quiet on punt returns.
"But that's why you're seeing what you're seeing. Kaden had an injury during training camp that limited what he could do as a receiver as well as a return man."
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