Penn State coach James Franklin talks Coziah Izzard's return, Kalen King, more after practice: Everything he said

Penn State coach James Franklin held his second news conference of Iowa week on Wednesday. The leader of the Nittany Lions spoke after another mid-week practice ahead of Saturday’s top-25 tilt at 7:30 p.m. on CBS. Before taking questions, he sent condolences to the Temple and Dartmouth communities. Acting Owls president JoAnne Epps died suddenly on Tuesday. And, longtime Big Green football coach Buddy Teevans died Tuesday from complications related to a March bike crash.

The first question from a reporter to Franklin focused on if he had any takeaways that he shared with this year’s team from the 2021 game with the Hawkeyes. The Lions lost that contest, had their players booed at Kinnick Stadium by fans who believed they were faking injuries, and had to use a backup quarterback in the second half.

“No,” Franklin said. I’m worried about the things that we have to do to have our team prepared. I think we’ve done that. We’ll continue to do that all week long. They give us the best chance to be successful. But, no. No comments or points about that.”

More from James Franklin

The next inquiry focused on the respect other teams have for Penn State cornerback Kalen King, who has rarely been targeted through three games, and what that means for the Lions’ defense.

“Well, it’s interesting,” Franklin said. “Because, he was in a similar situation with Joey [Porter Jr.] to a degree [in 2022]. I think it shows a lot of respect for him. It also shows that we have other playmakers on the field. It’s not like you can go away from him and then have success throwng other places when we were able to get four interceptions and also fumble recovery [against Illinois].

“So, I kind of went into this in detail about my respect and appreciation for the guys that we got in our DB room, as well as the coaches that are coaching them. And that’s really what you want. You really want DBs, and specifically corners out there, that can cause problems and make things difficult for you. And, if you decide to go away from one corner because he’s so well respected nationally, and then you go to the other corners, and those guys intercept [it], I think those guys had two interceptions, then obviously that’s positive.”

More: Penn State practice highlights: Iowa

Franklin was next asked to address whether he’s always had an appreciation for the White Out game and what it means from a recruiting perspective.

“Yeah, not really,” Franklin said. “I think growing up obviously, I had a very good awareness, obviously, growing up just outside of Philadelphia of what Penn State was and what it was all about. But, not to the level that I understand and appreciate it now. I had never been to a game here. I came to a camp here I think when I was in 10th or 11th grade. But, no, I didn’t have an understanding or an appreciation of the White Out.

“But now obviously, not only is it impactful for us, you think about how many of our guys talk about their recruiting process and how the White Out had a big impact on that. You think about when we got here, a lot of the good players that were on the team, talking about that five-overtime win with Michigan, it was a ton of guys on our roster that had experienced that.

More: Nation’s No. 1 ranked prospect set to attend Penn State White Out

“So it’s meaningful. It’s not just meaningful for our football program. This is a huge recruiting weekend for the other 30 sports as well. It’ll be, in some ways, a zoo this weekend. It’ll be an increase of probably 250,000 people in town, 110,000 people in the stadium, another 100,000 whatever tailgating, which is something I still look forward to doing at some point in my life. Tailgating sounds awesome. But then a ton of recruits on official visits, on unofficial visits, and I think this is an opportunity that the other sports use to show the atmosphere and community that we have here. If you come to Penn State and play volleyball, if you come to Penn State and play field hockey, this is the type of support you’re going to get.

“This is the type of community that you’ll be able to experience And then, not only that, all of these nationally televised games, but also obviously specifically the White Out, it’s more than just athletics. It’s an opportunity to showcase the entire university as a whole.”

Everything else Penn State coach James Franklin had to say on Wednesday night

What other topics did the leader of the Lions address? Check out the rest of the Penn State coach’s answers below.

On if he’s found that the emotion of how exciting a team can be is stronger than the paranoia of what could get in its way

“I probably fight what you’re kind of mentioning. I think what happens a lot of times with coaches, the wins can become expected. And,the losses can be really kind of impactful. And you fight that, right? I tell myself, and I tell the coaches and I tell the team, you got to appreciate winning and what winning takes. You look around the country, and there’s examples, and I show the team and show the staff each week, there’s examples of games every week that they weren’t supposed to win or they weren’t supposed to lose, whatever vantage point you’re looking at it from. So you know, I fight that.

“But I do think there’s a natural tendency of that, whether it’s the impact of a loss emotionally, or whether it is the paranoia of the possibility of a loss. I don’t want to become that bitter, old, paranoid coach. Which, I called my sister the other day, I don’t know if I told you guys this or not, she goes, ‘hey you look like you’ve lost weight, and I was shocked at how gray your goatee was.’ So, it’s like, there’s positives, but then there’s also some issues there. And, it’s kind of the same way with the game.

“I want to enjoy the wins, I want to enjoy the preparation, [and] I want to enjoy all the things that go into it. I don’t want to take it for granted, [and] I don’t want the stadium and the atmosphere to be taken for granted by me, the players, anybody. Because, it is special. But I fight those negative things that you’re talking about because I don’t want to become that guy, but I can see how it’s possible.”

On cornerbacks coach Terry Smith being able to coach his players hard without crossing a line

“I think there’s a way that you can coach guys,” Franklin said. “First of all, it starts with relationships. These guys knowing that you truly care about them as a player and their careers and their futures, but also that you care about them academically and you care about them personally and their families. And I think once that is established, and known, and that trust is built, then you can coach guys really hard. And, that may be screaming and yelling. That may be demanding, that may be holding guys accountable. But there’s a line that you don’t cross, where some people make the mistake, where it becomes personal. Or, it becomes demeaning. And, I think maybe if you look back in the day, that was somewhat common, to be honest with you. I hate to say that. But, it probably was back in the day.

“And [Terry Smith is] just one of those guys that, I said that specifically about him because he can be really demanding and challenging on his guys. But it’s always in a way that they’re receptive to and not defensive about, if that makes sense? And I think it’s because over time, he’s shown them that he cares and that he’s going to coach them in a way that’s going to be important for their careers, but also in the team’s best interest. That’s one of the things we talk about all the time. We’re not going to ask them to do anything that’s not in their best interest or the team’s best interest.”

How did Penn State defensive tackle Coziah Izzard play in his season debut at Illinois?

“I think he did some good things,” Franklin said. “As you guys know, he’s big, strong, powerful. He’s athletic, he’s quick. Made some mistakes and things that we got to knock the rust off with. But, overall, I thought he played well and he gives us another legitimate defensive tackle inside, which is a position that’s challenging to develop depth at. I think he has a chance to be special. He just needs more reps and more experience, but it was great. It was great having him back.”

On how the Penn State defense tries to make an opposing quarterback hesitate

“I think one of the big things for us in our defense is not necessarily hesitation,” Franklin sad. “But, we want to take the first read of the quarterback away. So that’s obviously route recognition. That is tendencies, when it comes to formations and down and distance. That also is a big reason why we play man coverage, is to be able to try to get the quarterback off of his first read as much as we possibly can, so then he is holding on to the ball which is going to allow us to get pressure on the quarterback, sacks on the quarterback, or pressure enough to cause turnovers like interceptions.

“So, I think that’s a big belief in why we play so much press man. Yeah, is there strengths and weaknesses to anything? If they know you’re in man, are you getting more man-beaters? Yeah, but then you spend all your time on man-beaters, right? So that’s that’s kind of the whole philosophy behind what we do, how we do it, and why we do it.”

On Harrison “Trey” Wallace sitting out the Illinois game

“I don’t think it was that he wasn’t cleared to play,” Franklin said. “He wasn’t cleared in a way that we felt like he was going to be productive. Honestly, Omari [Evans]’ had some bumps and bruises. That’s kind of why he’s been limited. [Wallace] could have played. But, was not practicing and playing the way we think he’s capable of. I think there’s a difference, right?

“There’s a difference between being cleared, and you can go out and do it, but you’re not at your best right now. So, if we have the ability to wait a week, to hopefully get them there, that’s what we’d like to do. And, that’s really kind of what happened last week, to describe it in a little bit more detail.”

On preparing for potentially wet conditions Saturday against Iowa

“We’ve had rain in the forecast earlier this year,” Franklin said. “That’s why, whenever it rains, we take it as an opportunity ,as long as it’s not thunder and lightning, to practice in it. By doing that, I think your guys build confidence. It’s just kind of a part of the game and something we do. We practice in it. The only time we’ll come in is if it’s like a jog-through. I don’t want them just standing out there in the rain. But besides that, we’re outside.”