James Franklin touts Penn State culture following win over Auburn

The Penn State Nittany Lions are riding high off a 28-20 win over the Auburn Tigers on Saturday.

After the game, Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford spoke with the media following the big win.

“Every single time we step on the field, I know the defense has our back and we have the defense’s back. And, we all come together for special teams. So it’s a true family here at Penn State and we’re just glad to be 1-0,” Clifford said to ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the contest.

Near the end of the game, Auburn quarterback Bo Nix dared to keep testing Penn State safety JaQuan Brisker, who is one of the top prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft. It didn’t work out well for Nix as Brisker deflected a number of passes late in the game to seal the victory for Penn State.

After the game, Penn State head coach James Franklin was raving about his star safety.

“We’ve been playing championship football all year long because we’re being assignment sound. We’re playing with heart but we also have big players stepping up in special moments. Brisker’s a great example of it,” Franklin told Rowe.

Here is the clip below of Brisker’s game-sealing pass breakup.

Jaquan Brisker’s pass breakup seals Penn State’s 28-20 White Out win over Auburn pic.twitter.com/MvtGmBdztd

— StateCollege.com (@StateCollegecom) September 19, 2021

If he keeps making plays like that, Brisker will only continue to see his 2022 NFL Draft stock rise throughout the 2021 college football season. Brisker trains with future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Donald in the off-season in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

At the end of the 2020 season, Brisker earned first-team All-American honors from Pro Football Focus. He was also named an honorable mention All-American by Phil Steele. The uber-talented safety had six pass breakups in nine games last year for the Nittany Lions, leading the team in that category.

Penn State White-Out

The atmosphere at Happy Valley this evening was absolutely electric. Check out the photo of the packed stadium in the white-out.

Penn State beats Auburn 28-20 to snap its 5-game losing streak to SEC teams.

The Nittany Lions have won 4 of their last 5 full white out games. pic.twitter.com/NF2DmwQn5y

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 19, 2021

You can watch a video for the Penn State entrance to this evening’s game here. It was the first Whiteout since 2019, when Penn State defeated Michigan. Covid-19 protocols last year meant close to no fans in the stands in Happy Valley.

“You can’t watch the Whiteout on TV and say that you’ve seen the Whiteout,” Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford said.“You have to be here to experience it. It’s one of those experiences that is jaw-dropping, inspiring, just a sense of community that you really can’t feel anywhere else.”

On3’s Pete Nakos also contributed to this report.