Following a Tuesday practice, Penn State head football coach James Franklin met with the media to discuss the Nittany Lions heading into Saturday and some of the latest news surrounding the program. Here are a few major takeaways from his time with the media.
Creating an environment where there's "No reason for any player to opt-out"
With the news that star defensive back Kalen King has made the trip to Atlanta and appears very likely to play in the Peach Bowl, here's what Franklin said bout King's decision.
"I think you guys have heard me talk about this in the past. These are different times in college football, and we've worked really hard to create a relationship with our players that there can be open and honest dialogue and discussions," Franklin said.
"We've tried to create an environment where really there's no reason for any player top opt-out. What I mean by that is all the way back to Saquan Barkley, who was being projected a top 15 pick, there's a way to do this where, the player, the family, the agents, whoever, everybody's comfortable with the plan."
"To be able to finish the season with your teammates, think is important, but I also understand the challenge of it," he added.
"So just try to have great conversations and discussions. Kalen was great. Kalen's parents were great. I had really good discussions and came up with a plan that everybody was comfortable with. So great to have him here and be part of the program for one more game.
On Tyler Warren's return to Penn State for 2024
"Obviously we're supportive and excited about that," Franklin said about the junior tight end's decision. "Now we have a responsibility for all these guys, just like we did with Olu, to make sure we did everything in our power that it was the right decision. Again healthy discussions with both Tyler, Tyler's mom and dad, Coach Howle, myself, and Chuck Losey of what that would look like."
Franklin also noted that with a rather young tight end room entering next season, having a player like Warren in the room will be beneficial for the Nittany Lions.
On Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart
"Obviously you look at his numbers, he put up really good numbers in the passing game in terms of yards per attempt, in terms of completion percentage, touchdown to interception ratio," Franklin said. "He's also a guy that can beat you with his mind and decision-making, with his arm and accuracy, and then also with his feet."
"They're a challenging offense. You take his athleticism. You take their tempo. They're one of the better offense that we've seen this year," he added about the Rebels offense. "It's going to be a challenge. Lane's always done a really good job, specifically on that side of the ball, so it will be a challenge."
On the value of playing in the south
Franklin began by noting that I believes it was good opportunities and experience for his team to be able to visit the Martin Luther King Museum and practice at Mercedes Benz Stadium, The Nittany Lions will have a few more opportunities this week for those sort of experiences.
"Penn State being one of the most storied programs in college football, but being able to come down into SEC country and allow maybe some people to see us that normally wouldn't see us specifically live rather than on TV. No different than us going to Auburn two years ago and playing well," he said about the opportunities of heading south to play the bowl game.
"I think maybe a portion of the country got a chance to see us live that normally doesn't see us live and say, hey, Big Ten plays good football and Penn State plays really good football, and we got the chance to see that firsthand. I think there's value in that as well. Even some of the media, you got some of the local media that maybe hasn't had a chance to see us up close and in person, there's some value in that as well. So there's a ton of reasons for our players to get out in a different part of the country, for our staff, to play an SEC opponent that we've got a ton of respect for, and to play in this type of venue, there's a lot of reasons why this makes sense and why I think the bowl experience is still valuable for college football and for our players.
On Andy Kotelnicki and Tom Allen's roles so far within the program
Franklin first wanted to thank his current staff for everything they've done over the last few weeks including keeping together the Nittany Lions signing class.
"But having both Tom and Andy here, obviously you'd prefer not to have to have changes be made, but if they are made, I think there's a ton of value in doing what we're doing. Tom's ability to be around the staff. Andy's ability to be around the staff. Staff meetings, game planning, watching film, watching the players, how we do things," he said. "So Tom's not out there at practice, Andy's not out there at practice during spring ball still trying to get a feel for how we practice and how we go about our business."
"So I think there's a ton of value. I think I said it in the past. Joe Moorhead did it this way. Manny Diaz did it this way. I think there's a lot of value in doing it this way, and I think for more times than not, it has allowed us to springboard the day after the season ends and really hit the ground running."
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