Everything Penn State coach James Franklin said on Wednesday of UCLA week

Penn State coach James Franklin held his final news conference of UCLA week on Wednesday night. The Lions will fly to Los Angeles on Thursday after practice before taking on the Bruins Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Some of the post-practice conversation focused on that matchup. But, the 10-minute session started with questions about how the Lions would move on after losing star linebacker Tony Rojas to a long-term injury this week.

“Obviously, Dom [DeLuca] will step into [Rojas’] role, and obviously, we’re having discussions about greenlighting possibly both [freshman] [Alex] Tatsch and Cam [Smith],” Franklin said. What’s helpful is, we’ve had these Sunday [scout team] scrimmages, so we’ve had a chance to evaluate those guys each week. Early on, Tatsch was getting a little bit more time with the varsity. We’re giving Cam an opportunity now, as well, bouncing those guys back and forth between the d-squad and varsity.

“They’re going to have an opportunity. This is how it is in college football. One of those guys will hopefully get some work this week, we’ll get a chance to evaluate them during practice, and then hopefully some of those guys will get an opportunity during the game on Saturday.”

Trimmings: How does Penn State deal with the loss of Tony Rojas at linebacker?

You can read everything else Franklin said Wednesday night below.

How have the Lions responded to the loss to Oregon? 

“Yeah, obviously, it’s good to get back out on the grass and get to work and focus on the next opponent,” Franklin said. “And obviously made all the adjustments and corrections from the film on Sunday, but it’s good to get out back on the grass and get our focus on the next opponent after making the corrections and learn from some of the things that we could have done better in the previous game.”

Is now a good time for Penn State to go on the road? 

“It’s a good time to get out of town, for sure,” Franklin said. “These opportunities, you hear from a lot of the former players and NFL players that come back to talk, these are the times you miss, the time in the hotel, the time traveling. Obviously, we’ll fly out of Harrisburg and then fly back into [State College]. So we also have the aspect of getting to Harrisburg. But you know, these are important trips for us.

“We got to handle it well. You look at these West Coast trips or East Coast trips in the conference, some schools have really struggled with that. So, we got to do a good job. And then, just all the uncertainty that comes with this opponent and UCLA with the amount of changes that they’ve had. So it’s going to be an important game for us, an important trip.”

Has Franklin ever dealt with a team having a new offensive coordinator during game week, a week after an interim head coach named a new defensive coordinator, as UCLA has?

“No,” Franklin said. “I mean, maybe first game of the year, type of stuff. But no, not like this in my in my years. Me and Andy were talking about it before practice. I’ve never really seen anything like this.”

On Drew Allar’s comfort on plays where he can keep the ball or hand it off

“I think it’s been good,” Franklin said. “It’s been a big part of what we’ve done. It was a big part of what we did late in the game on Saturday. I think, some quarterbacks, it’s early completions. Some quarterbacks like Trace [McSorley], it was some early runs. I think for Drew, both is important. I think typically, his game comes alive, once he’s been able to get a couple hits with his running game and making plays with his feet. Typically, that’s when he plays his best football. So it’s been good. It’s been an important part of what we’re doing. We’re probably doing more of the power read stuff than we are the zone read stuff to this point. But it’s been good.”

Have the Lions made any changes to their travel plans for the trip out west this year? 

“No, we’re taking a very, very similar model,” Franklin said. “Obviously, a lot of it has to do with what time is the game, all those types of things. And there’s so many similarities with this trip that we’re using a similar model. There’s subtle tweaks that we’ve made, but not a whole lot, because we felt after last year’s trip, we did an after action review, and felt good about how we planned it, and how we executed the plan.”

What’s the Friday schedule for the team, and will Franklin go out to recruit this week?

“Friday will be like a normal Friday for us, except it will all happen in California,” Franklin said. “We’ll practice out there. We’ll have our meetings out there. It’ll basically be almost like a home game, but out there. By getting there a day early, it allows us to do all those things, and our day’s not broken up with travel. We’ll have our fast Friday practice, and then I’ll get out to recruit. But as you can imagine, I can’t mention where I’m going, but I’ll be there all day. I’ll just go to a [high school] game.”

Does Penn State still have six to seven guys that can play on the offensive line? 

“I think it’s the same group of guys,” Franklin said. “Cooper [Cousins] and TJ [Shanahan Jr.], as well. I think it’s the same group of guys. I think, you know, we’d like to create a little bit more flexibility and get that group playing consistently. But no, I think it’s the same group of guys.”

On some outside criticism that suggests Drew Allar isn’t the right fit for the Penn State offense

“Again, I’m not going to get into what’s going on out there in terms of opinions and those types of things,” Franklin said. “I didn’t feel that way last year. Thought we did some really, really good things last year. I think we’ve done some good things this year, just not consistent enough. It’s a pro style offense. What we do in the run game, what we do in the pass game, what we do in protections, what we do in pass concepts, it’s pro style. So I don’t necessarily see it the same way.”

How have the last several days been for Rojas? 

“Obviously, not good,” Franklin said. “Personally, disappointment, and then disappointment with the team, as well. Guys will rally around him and support him like we’ve done in the past. This isn’t the first time we’ve been through something like this. And, he’s not the last player to go through something like this.

“The hardest part is the initial shock of it and the initial news of it. But, the next guy is going to have to step up. And the sooner that Tony can get involved in helping prepare those guys, the better we’ll be and the better he’ll be, because it will keep him busy and engaged, too.”

On Lions cornerback Zion Tracy assessment 

“Obviously, now year two playing the nickel position, last year returning punts for us; I’ve seen him take tremendous strides,” Franklin said. “We’re asking him to do more things, rather than just play man coverage, too. So I think that’s helped his development. He had some bumps and bruises this summer that he missed some time from. But having him back and having him full go, I think, has been really important for our defense and what we want to do moving forward. But I’m pleased with Zion. I’m a Zion fan.”

On the play of King Mack and the competition at safety beside Zakee Wheatley

“Competition is still going, but obviously there’s a gap right now or he wouldn’t have played all 82 reps,” Franklin said. “I think it’s some of the physical consistency in how he practices, the mental consistency in his job responsibility, and he’s really worked at it. Part of it is guys just handling things the right way. I thought King handled it really well when he wasn’t the starter out at camp, and attacked special teams and attack, defense, the right way, and now he’s back in that spot, and we’ve got to make sure that everybody’s doing it.”