Penn State plan for cornerback Kalen King has the Nittany Lion at the Peach Bowl
Atlanta — Penn State cornerback Kalen King is here with his Nittany Lions teammates ahead of their top-15 matchup with Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl. The projected first-round 2024 NFL Draft pick has yet to join some of his peers in declaring for the pros while saying whether or not he will suit up in the Dec. 30 matchup that starts at Noon ET on ESPN. But, practices are ongoing at Mercedez-Benz Stadium. King is in town. All signs point to him playing some on Saturday. That was not expressly stated four days before kickoff. But, he figures to be available to some degree in the program’s first-ever meeting with the Rebels.
“To be able to finish this season with your teammates, I think, is important,” Franklin said during a Tuesday news conference. “But I also understand the challenge of it. So, just try to have great conversations and discussions.
“Kalen was great. Kalen’s parents were great, had really good discussions, and came up with a plan that everybody was comfortable with. So great to have him here and be a part of the program for one more game.”
The expectation — before Franklin’s ‘one more game’ comment — was for King to eventually announce his intentions to leave for the NFL at the conclusion of the 2023 season. He and some other Lions, like offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, tight end Theo Johnson, linebacker Curtis Jacobs, and cornerback Daequan Hardy, among potentially others, all figure to be on a snap count of some sort, with some likely being more limited than others, in the Peach Bowl. What that will look like exactly this coming Saturday, however, remains to be seen.
Penn State, Ole Miss, have one true opt-out each
Both programs have oozed excitement for this game ever since the pairing was announced earlier this month. So, it should come as no surprise that Penn State and the Rebels will have mostly everyone available, even if to varying degrees. Ole Miss will be down just star defensive end Cedric Johnson
“Cedric Johnson decided not to play in the bowl game,” Kiffin said Tuesday. “So we wish him the best of luck. We’ll miss him. He was a really important part of this team.
“But everybody’s got to make their own decisions nowadays, and kids think about things differently. So it is what it is. But everybody else is here.”
Penn State, on the other hand, will also be without a top pass rusher in star Chop Robinson. He, like King and Fashanu, is a potential first-round draft pick next spring.
Franklin talked about the idea of opt-outs in general early in his Tuesday news conference. It was his first here in Atlanta.
“These are different times in college football,” he said. “And we’ve worked really hard to create a relationship with our players that there can be open and honest dialogue and discussions. We’ve tried to create an environment where, really, there’s no reason for any player to opt-out.
“And what I mean by that is, all the way back to Saquon Barkley, who was being projected as a top 15 pick, there’s a way to do this where the player, the family, the agents, whoever, everybody’s comfortable with the plan. And, to be able to finish this season with your teammates, I think is important. But I also understand the challenge of it.”
