Penn State Football: James Franklin and Sam Pittman preview Saturday's Outback Bowl
Penn State head coach James Franklin wrapped up his team’s third practice in Tampa at Noon and immediately headed to the team hotel for the Outback Bowl’s joint press conference.
Alongside Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman, he and Franklin met with the media for about 30 minutes Wednesday to preview Saturday’s game
Penn State finished its season at 7-5, but still managed to make a New Year’s Day bowl. For Arkansas, an 8-4 record is the school’s best since 2011 when the Razorbacks went 11-2, winning the Cotton Bowl.
As one would expect, opt outs were a popular topic among both coaches. Penn State has now seen six players decide now to play in the game. That includes WR Jahan Dotson, LB Ellis Brooks, Saf. Jaquan Brisker, DE Arnold Ebiketie and most recently DT Derrick Tangelo, who announced his decision earlier today.
It should also be noted that Franklin also admitted during today’s press conference that redshirt freshman OL Olu Fashanu is set to start Saturday. He’s expected to replace Rasheed Walker, who hasn’t been spotted with the team this week.
Meanwhile, Arkansas has had just two players opt out of the game: WR Treylon Burks and DE Tre Williams. Similar to Dotson and Ebiketie, both Burks and Williams were incredibly important to Arkansas this season. Burks finished the year with 1,104 yards receiving on 66 receptions, scoring 14 touchdowns.
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