What we learned from Penn State head coach James Franklin's press conference
Penn State head coach James Franklin opened up spring practice on Tuesday afternoon with his introductory press conference. The Nittany Lions leader, now entering his 11th season, delivered several newsworthy nuggets during his 37 minutes of questions and answers with the media. Senior Editor Bauer sits down to talk about his biggest takeaways from the event. Check out the video here and on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Channel.
Franklin discusses the Penn State offensive line in depth
As always, we start the video discussing Penn State starting quarterback Drew Allar. Franklin made several comments about Allar’s performance last season and his defense of what the first-time starter was able to do.
However, one of the more interesting discussion points came when he focused on the offensive line. He gave several injury updates, including for left tackle Drew Shelton.
“Drew did have surgery at the end of the season. It was one of those surgeries he could get through the season with, and it made the most sense to get it done as soon as the season ended. Right now, we wish we had him, but long term, it will be in his best interest and our best interest as well,” Frankin said.
“Not having Shelton or Sexton are two tackle body types and athletic guys that we probably won’t have for spring ball. We’d like to get those guys back as soon as we can. JB Nelson gives us flexibility at tackle and guard. J’ven Williams was a backup last year. Chimdy Onoh. And then Boyer is going to have the opportunity to come in and compete,” Frankin said about the left side.
Then, he gave an in-depth breakdown of the right tackle position.
[Anthony ] Donkoh was able to play in the bowl game and played better than people anticipated. We think he can play guard and tackle. Bringing Mr. [Nolan] Rucci back home was huge for us. He’s already up to 315 pounds. I don’t think he broke 300 pounds the entire time he was at the previous school. He looks great. There should be good competition there.
Finally, he discussed Penn State freshman Cooper Cousins and the center position.
“Cooper Cousins is another guy that we think can play multiple positions. Cooper will start at center. We got two tackles, just like we have two d-ends that were at the Combine, and we’ll be replacing them. Shelton has played a decent amount. We viewed him as a starter in a three-tackle rotation. So, that’s helpful too.
Abdul Carter to defensive end
Franklin was also forthcoming about the team’s defensive depth chart. He discussed the move of Penn State linebacker Abdul Carter to defensive end and the ripple effect it had on the defense.
“It’s kind of interesting, right? I remember when we recruited Abdul, I thought he was a defensive end. Abdul and Dad were adamant that he’s a linebacker. The reality is we just wanted him in our program.
“This wasn’t really something from us. Abdul wanted to make this move, I think for a number of reasons. We lost some defensive ends that were highly productive. We feel really good about the current room. But being able to inject Abdul into that room is going to be positive for us as well.”
Carter moving to defensive end also opens up the opportunity to change the personality of the defense and play more defensive backs. Franklin discussed which player the team plans to use in that hybrid linebacker role this spring. We discuss what else that tells us about the defensive plan.
