Penn State coach James Franklin addresses transfers of Caziah Holmes, Ken Talley
Penn State coach James Franklin met reporters on Wednesday for the first time since two players entered the NCAA transfer portal earlier this week.
As expected, the ninth-year leader of the Nittany Lions did not go into great detail about the decisions made by running back Caziah Holmes and defensive end Ken Talley to look for a new college football home in the middle of preseason camp.
Franklin talks about Holmes leaving first
Franklin was first asked to address Holmes’ choice. He came to Penn State in 2020 and played in all nine games that year. However, he took a surprise redshirt last season. And, it was difficult to see how he would earn reps in a backfield that currently features starter Keyvone Lee, reserve Devyn Ford, and buzzworthy freshmen Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who are both expected to play in year one.
“I think with the [current] college football [world], you have to somewhat expect it,” Franklin said. “I don’t necessarily see it having a huge impact on where we’re trending. And, that’s probably why it happened.
“I don’t think it’s too far out of what we expected and how things played out. Obviously, whether it’s him or other guys, we obviously want nothing but the best for them and their futures. It’s a very different college football that we all grew up with, but it’s part of the process.”
In other words, Holmes surely realized how the depth chart was shaking out and perhaps figured a fresh start was best.
Addressing Ken Talley moving on from Penn State
Holmes’ decision to move on was not a great surprise. Maybe the timing was. But, the choice wasn’t.
Ken Talley’s, on the other hand, was a different story.
The former On3 Consensus four-star edge in the Class of 2022 was at Penn State for the start of preseason practice back on Aug. 1. But, he didn’t enroll early and was the last member of the signing class to arrive. He’s also the first player from it to move on. However, those hoping to hear specifics from the Lions head coach about why that is the case didn’t get their wish on Wednesday night.
“I don’t think it’d be appropriate for me to talk about any of these guys in the specifics on why they’re leaving,” Franklin said.
“That’s their personal business. We want them to be able to leave and go on and be successful. It didn’t work out for a variety of reasons.”
Talley sent a message of thanks to Penn State after revealing his decision to leave earlier this week. He wrote on Twitter:
“First off I want to say thank you to Coach Franklin and the whole Penn State staff for giving me the opportunity to be a Nittany Lion I loved every second of it especially the love of the fans with that being said I am now in the Transfer Portal #respectmydecision“
Penn State opens the 2022 season at Purdue on Sept. 1.
Blue-White Illustrated’s Nate Bauer and Thomas Frank Carr contributed to this report.
