Penn State head coach James Franklin opens game week against Nevada: Press conference

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin kicked off the first week of the 2025 college football season with his Monday press conference ahead of Nevada. The Lions host the Wolfpack on Saturday at 3:30 for the home opener in the first of a three-game non-conference season to start September. Hear Franklin’s full comments from his roughly 45-minute press conference on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Channel, or embedded here in this article.

Blue White Illustrated will have every Franklin press conference all season long! Join the BWI YouTube Channel right now and enable notifications so you can catch each one moments after its completion.

Franklin addresses backup quarterback competition ahead of first game

Of course, the resolution to the team’s training camp competitions and the team’s preparations for the upcoming year were at the top of mind for fans and media on Monday. Franklin was asked about the backup quarterback competition between Ethan Grunkemeyer and Jaxon Smolik.

“We’re at that point. We were planning on sitting down with those guys today, and we haven’t had that conversation with them yet. But I feel like we’re in that position. I don’t think it’s a clear-cut, wide margin. So, that’ll continue to be a battle all year long,” he said.

“I wouldn’t describe this as something that’s completely decided.”

With the nonconference slate such as it is, there’s a good chance that these battles continue throughout September, heading into Penn State’s first bye week.

Penn State game week content

Today is just the start of the first week of game prep. Penn State hosts an open practice on Wednesday evening, which will be our first look at the program with its official split between the two-deep and the developmental squad for the year. Blue White Illustrated will provide updates on the team’s practice live during the weekly window to give fans a sense of what’s going on and how the team is preparing for the game.

You can also join us for more multimedia content on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays each week with the BWI Live Show. We’ll recap Franklin’s press conference on Tuesday’s 10 a.m. show, discuss the upcoming game on Wednesday, and then give our preview and predictions on Thursday’s edition as we head into the weekend.

Finally, game day arrives! Join the Penn State Football Tailgate Show at 12:30 on Saturday afternoon as we prepare fans for the upcoming game. Follow along on the Blue White Illustrated Message board during the game for live updates and watch-along commentary from the BWI staff. Then, after the game, join us for our written and video postgame content.

Your home for Penn State football all season long is Blue White Illustrated!