On Wednesday, Penn State head coach James Franklin met with the media both on the podium for a short 15-minute session as well as a 45-minute breakout session. Here are the major takeaways from Franklin's time with the media on Wednesday.
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INJURIES
Among the many topics discussed by Franklin in his 45-minute breakout session was injuries. The good news is that Penn State is expecting almost every Nittany Lion injured to make a return at some point this fall.
OL Drew Shelton: "Drew is a full go, he got cleared maybe halfway through the summer for everything."
QB Jaxon Smolik: "Smolik is going to be a little bit longer in this process until he's full go. Make it difficult for him during training camp to be competing for a job but he's done a really job mentally."
DE Zuriah Fisher: "We expect to have Zuriah, Jaxon, these guys you asked about back at some point this season."
LB Keon Wylie: "Long term injury but we expect him to be back this season and excited about getting him back."
ABDUL CARTER'S USAGE
We wrote an individual story on this as well but Franklin discussed what Abdul Carter's usage this upcoming season could look like after the highly-touted linebacker made the move to defensive end this spring.
"Abdul, we'll play at both positions," Franklin said during his time at the podium. "He's one of the unique athletes that was playing linebacker at 250 pounds. You never know how that transition is going to go. Playing in space at the linebacker position compared to moving up to the line of scrimmage and having to go against the offensive tackles. He made the transition pretty quickly and at the end of the day, you're talking about one of the more explosive, physical athletes in all of college football. We think he's got a chance to make a significant impact."
JULIAN FLEMING HAS A CHIP ON HIS SHOULDER
One of Penn State's top transfers this offseason was Ohio State wide receiver Julian Fleming. The former Southern Columbia (PA) standout returns to Pennsylvania to finish out his collegiate career and according to Franklin, the former five-star has a chip on his shoulder entering this fall.
"He's thriving," James Franklin said. "He's very comfortable, he's very confident. He really came, got on campus, like most guys should do, kept his mouth shut, worked earned everybody's respect through that first. Now, is really developing into a leader for us. His improvement from the end of spring to now, he's healthy, lean, explosive, and fast right now. Just from the feedback from the players over the summer he's really done a nice job. Looking at all the metrics and the numbers from our strength staff. He's in a really good position, I think he's got a huge chip on his shoulder and excited about the opportunity at Penn State and has really turned into one of the leaders in that wide receiver room."
Later in his breakout session, Franklin expanded on the 'chip' on Fleming's shoulder.
"I think the chip was there right from the beginning right when we started looking into him once he entered the transfer portal. You know, the chip was there. You look at where it's Rucci or himself, guys that were highly, highly recruited young men, that had really high expectations. Whether it's his perception or whether its outside perception. He's got a lot more to give the game and a program. He did a really good job on getting on campus and just getting to work and building that kind of trust and respect from his teammates.
WHAT IT WILL TAKE TO REACH ELITE STATUS
Franklin was asked on Wednesday where he believes the program is currently when looking back at his speech about going from great to elite.
"I think back to comment earlier, you're talking about a program that you can 10 or 11 games and people are not happy or satisfied. That's inside the Lasch Building and that's outside the Lasch Building. We totally get that and embrace that," Franklin said. "I think our players understand that when we recruit them and our staff understands that when we hire them and as the head coach I embrace all those things as well."
"For us, we've got to play our best when our best is needed the most," he would later add in his answer. "In the biggest games at the biggest moments. If you look at us, specifically last year. We did some phenomenal things, that's the step we need to take."
Last season, Penn State, despite a 10-3 record, struggled in its biggest games against Ohio State and Michigan, scoring a combined 27 points in the two losses and totaling less than 250 yards of total offense in both games.
Since upsetting Ohio State in 2016, the Nittany Lions have lost seven straight to the Buckeyes who now hold a 24-14 advantage all-time in the series. The Nittany Lions are 3-5 against Michigan since 2016 and have lost three straight to the Wolverines as well.
This upcoming season, Franklin and the Nittany Lions will not play Michigan but do have a November 2 matchup against Ohio State at Beaver Stadium on the docket with strong potential for that matchup to be one between a pair of top-10 teams.
FRESHMAN WIDE RECEIVERS IMPRESSING EARLY
In his breakout session, Franklin was asked about the Nittany Lions trio of freshman wide receivers and the early buzzing regarding each. The Nittany Lions head coach did preface his answer by saying that it's hard to say exactly when he hasn't been able to spend a ton of time around his players but was able to offer some insight.
"I do know Peter (Gonzalez) came in and tested really well. He's one of our bigger wide receivers. He jumped really well, he ran really well. He's like 205-pounds right now. He's a big physical athlete and then I would say with Tyseer (Denmark), there's just been a real buzz about his demeanor and his approach, how competitive, how confident he is. There's a buzz in the program about him when you talk to guys.
He also offered an update on freshman wide receiver Josiah Brown whose senior season was cut short last fall due to a knee injury.
"He's been physically clear for a while but this is his first major injury, so there's the mental aspect and I know a talking to him in the weight room the other day, for the first time, he said coach 'I'm 100%', I'm like 100%? 'Yeah, 100%'. So that's great going into camp. Real talented guy, you know its a shame that his senior year got cut short. It's exciting having him back and seeing what he'll do and it's great that he feels mentally and physically 100% going into camp, so that's three young guys we're pretty excited about."
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