Penn State football: What will the Lions do this week while waiting for a bowl destination?
Penn State football has no opponent to game plan for this week and no reason to rush to get back on the practice field. For the first time since August, there is no game on the calendar for a few weeks. That means the players and staff will all get some well deserved down time. But, it won’t be all rest and relaxation for head coach James Franklin and his players and coaches.
“It’s been a minute since I have had a Sunday off after the game,” Lions center Juice Scruggs said. “Just going to enjoy it, rest up and get ready for whatever bowl game we get.”
So, what’s on the checklist this week? We have a rundown below.
A quick dead period
The NCAA instituted a four-day dead period that runs Monday through Thursday. It will allow the staff to meet with every player on the roster to see who might be considering entering the transfer portal when the opportunity for undergraduates to do starts on Dec. 5. Usually, coaches would leave immediately to recruit. But, this built-in delay to those travels is good for everyone.
“There’s a new kind of transport portal period where things shut down where we normally would go right on the road recruiting and we’ll be in the office for three or four days meeting with all the players and making sure we’re all on the same page,” Franklin said.
Then, it’s time for Penn State to hit the road
Starting Friday, Franklin and his 10 on-field assistants can hit the road recruiting during an evaluation period that runs from Dec. 2 through Dec. 17. The staff will fan out nationwide to check in with current commits before the early signing day. That is set for Dec. 21 this year. They’ll also be looking for late 2023 risers, checking in on possible flip candidates, and learning more about 2024 and 2025 recruits. This is an important window as it sets the foundation for the next cycle while also helping to conclude the current one.
Waiting on a bowl destination
Penn State will find out Sunday where it is going to play in the postseason. A New Year’s Six bowl contest is likely but not guaranteed. Franklin said he’ll let athletic director Pat Kraft pound the table for his team to end up in the best game possible.
“I’m going to focus on meeting with our players getting this film graded and recruiting,” Franklin said. “Pat will handle all these strings. He’s got tremendous experience doing it. The Big Ten will do everything they possibly can to help all the teams within the conference, getting the best situations we possibly can.
“There were some interesting games last week, some interesting games this week that impact us, put us in a more favorable position, but we’ll see how it plays out.”
Penn State must spend some time preparing for the portal, too
We did touch on this earlier but wanted to wrap up this piece by highlighting this again. Once the portal opens on Dec. 5, there will be outgoing players at Penn State and schools across the country. The Lions must be quick to evaluate the latter group and assess who is worth pushing hard for and who isn’t. The school’s various collectives will have to be organized and ready to help from a name, image, and likeness perspective as well. News is going to happen fast, and unexpected players will likely leave the Lions but also come to them. Get ready for a crazy few weeks.
