11/15/2023 football Edit

News / Notes from James Franklin following Wednesday's practice

Zach Seyko & Zane Brancefield

Staff Writer

As the Penn State football program prepares for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, media members were able to witness an open portion of practice late Wednesday afternoon, once again.

Here are some notes and observations from today's practice.

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ZACH'S NOTES FROM PRACTICE.....

-- As expected, assistant coach Danny O’Brien took on a greater responsibility in mentoring the quarterbacks.

-- Tight ends coach Ty Howle saw an expanded role in the passing drills. Howle was the one calling out formations and route combinations to QB’s, TE’s, and wide receivers. Howle and running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider are sharing the play-calling duties as co-offensive coordinators.

-- Speaking of Seider, the Florida native focused his attention only on the running backs during the media’s 15-minute viewing window.

-- As a side note, it makes sense why Howle was calling plays at practice today. Howle needs the work, like any player, in order to get more comfortable with this newfound responsibility. The tight ends, which are still his responsibility, were involved in the passing drills while the running backs were not.

-- The offensive unit broke away from the status quo a bit and ran some different drills to allow more reps for all of the quarterbacks and wide receivers. These drills included simple patterns like slants and quick outs to focus on timing and rhythm.

-- As for player availability, veteran wideout Trey Wallace was not seen at practice. Offensive lineman Caedan Wallace and JB Nelson showed no lingering issues. Tight ends Khalil Dinkins and Andrew Rappleyea were full participants, too.

ZANE'S NOTES FROM PRACTICE.....

-- The defense started again with a drill where they have to catch the football when they are running in a quick direction as it shoots from the machine

-- The defense also continued to work on their tackling. This time using a giant navy blue donut. Manny Diaz would roll it and the players would have to tackle it into foam pad.

-- Linebackers continued to work on their footwork and swim moves to get through blocks and also practiced catching balls after coverage

-- The defensive linemen practiced their movements of getting through blocks and how to fight through contact.

-- Towards the end the offensive linemen went against the defensive linemen and defensive ends.

-- Chop Robinson and Amin Vanover both practiced with no restrictions and matched up well against the offensive line.