James Franklin Wednesday press conference: Ohio State
Penn State head coach James Franklin spoke with the media after Wednesday’s practice to give an update on his team. The Nittany Lions face Ohio State on Saturday at noon in one of the year’s biggest games at Beaver Stadium. Hear his full comments here.
Will Penn State have Chop Robinson?
Franklin begins by giving a status update on defensive end Chop Robinson and his status heading into the game. Penn State’s leading pass rusher didn’t play last week against Minnesota and is a big piece of the plan to stop the Buckeyes.
“Yeah, still early in the week. But he was able to practice today. Obviously, you guys know he’s been an explosive playmaker for us on the defensive side of the ball. Obviously, against this unit, their ability to throw the ball, being able to get pressure on the quarterback can make him uncomfortable in the pocket, would that would be valuable. He’s also been disruptive against the run. So we’re hopeful to have him,” Franklin said.
Next, he discussed the Ohio State offense. Quarterback CJ Stroud and the Ohio State offense are lights-out once they reach the red zone. What makes them so dangerous? And how can Penn State try and stop them?
“They got a good scheme, they got a bunch of weapons. They’ve done a really good job. There’s no doubt about it. But I think, like we’ve talked about in the past, when you talk about red zone offense, when you’re able to run or throw the ball, that’s valuable down there being able to run the ball, people are going to play specific redzone coverages. And the quarterback makes big-time, accurate throws, I mean, he makes some throws on whether they’re fade balls or seam balls or corners or whatever it may be, that it’s a small window that he’s able to throw the ball into not only with arm talent in terms of strength, but also accuracy. So the combination of really good receivers and a nice scheme and quarterback that’s been very accurate in those situations.”
Franklin also addressed the situation with Penn State swing lineman Bryce Effner and why he played multiple positions last weekend against the Gophers. Most of the other topics surrounded the Ohio State offense and the theories on how you slow down or stop a team with as many dangerous weapons as the Buckeyes have.
Press conference rundown
00:00 Press conference start
00:05 Chop Robinson Status
00:42 Why did Bryce Effner play both guard and tackle?
01:45 How do you stop Ohio State once they get into the red zone?
02:44 How do you go about deciding what you’re going to focus on stopping?
03:50 How tough is it to recruit a kid to Penn State, but then he goes to a rival program?
05:20 What’s the challenge when scheming for an offense with so much variety?
07:20 Do you have to do something outside of your character against a better team?
09:10 Do you want to address the 2023 Big Ten Schedule release?
09:40 Are big games a time to break tendencies?
