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Penn State Head Coach James Franklin Final Press Conference Before Blue-White Game

Headshot 5x7 reduced qualityby:Thomas Frank Carr•04/23/25•

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Penn State Football James Franklin On3
Penn State head coach James Franklin. (Photo: Thomas Frank Carr/BWI)

The Penn State Nittany Lions football team held its final regular open practice Spring camp on Wednesday. Head coach James Franklin spoke with the media for roughly ten minutes afterward to give a final update before the Blue-White Game on Saturday. Hear Franklin’s full comments embedded below or on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Channel.

The team will practice one more time on Friday before competing in front of fans in the Blue-White Game on Saturday.

Penn State practice update

Franklin discussed several topics, including the team’s progress through the final week of practice. One of the biggest developments was the presence of right tackle Nolan Rucci. Franklin said that while he came back this week, he hasn’t been dealing with a major injury.

“He doesn’t really have anything significant. He’s just had something that’s been nagging for a while. Obviously, we would love to have him for spring ball, but that hasn’t happened. It’s gonna be really important, as he has a real strong summer, but he was able to get some individual work today. So you know, you hate to see those guys miss the reps, but it is a blessing in disguise for the other guys that got a ton of reps in practice.”

He also discussed the return of running back Cam Wallace, who suffered a significant injury early in the 2024 season. Wallace also returned this week.

Blue-White Weekend

Kickoff for the spring scrimmage is 2 pm at Beaver Stadium. Catch the Penn State Football Tailgate Show at 1 pm in front of the Bryce Jordan Center. Join the show in person, or catch the hour-long brodcast on the BWI YouTube Channel, or at your tailgate on 99.5 The Bus. The team will play its starters and vets through the first quarter, as Franklin described on his radio show Tuesday night.

“The one difference is the first quarter we’ll probably go what we call thud tempo, where we won’t tackle to the ground and won’t go live so that we can play the majority of our team in that,” said Franklin. “And then transition after that, the second, third, fourth quarter to go live so we can evaluate some of the younger players on the roster and allow them to compete. And some of those guys too, between spring ball and summer camp, are still competing to get onto the 105, too.”

Follow Blue White Illustrated Saturday for in-game updates, analysis and play-by-play of the event.

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