Keeping with our offseason tradition of lining up one-on-one interviews with the most prominent people in the Penn State football ecosystem, we featured them in their entirety this past week.
To give you guys a snippet of what was said, I'm putting the full excerpt from my "top four" feature on July 4 with the hopes you'll consider trying us out for $1 for our premium coverage. With preseason camp now quickly coming, you can take advantage of our first two weeks of camp insight if you take advantage today.
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Complete interview links:
James Franklin
Andy Kotelnicki
Tom Allen
Pat Kraft
Drew Allar
Top four interview comments
“When you talk about 17 games, and wear and tear when other conferences may not have that – when I say other conferences, I probably specifically mean the SEC – that has to be factored in. No different than the Big Ten wanting us to play some of these other games, like SEC opponents,” said Franklin. “Why should we do that when we play nine conference games and they play eight conference games? And they have no travel and we have a ton of travel? Why would we do that? Why does that make sense? If we all want to play SEC opponents and they want to play Big Ten opponents, fine. They should go to nine games or we should go to eight games.”
“The biggest difference I’ve seen is Fleming, Liam, and Trey,” he said. “The leadership in that room has drastically increased and it’s been cool to see that progress.”
Ohio State transfer Julian Fleming, and fourth-year receivers Liam Clifford and Trey Wallace have been leaders. They’ve become so thanks to a void created by the transfer of KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the spring. While Allar said nothing of his former teammate, when asked about the group’s progress and his confidence in them this summer, the implication demanded the connection of two adjacent dots.
“They’re 10 times ahead, even from where we were in spring. And I think it’s really been the three leaders in that room; Trey, Liam and Fleming,” said Allar. “I think they’ve really taken it upon themselves to change that culture.
“I think it’s really just like healthy respect in that room. They’re all looking out for each other. They’re all really driving each other to be great. And I think honestly, that really starts from Coach Hagans allowing them to be themselves. I think that room is at a different level right now.”
“This is my opinion right now, and I think I’ve said this publicly, but I’ve also said to the receivers, I said that I think they’ve unfairly become the brunt of the reason there was limited success, if you want to call that. Or that there was a ceiling,” Kotelnicki said. “I think those guys are gonna really overachieve next year in everyone’s eyes. I feel confident saying that. So that’s my evaluation of them, especially after being with them through spring.”
“I wanted to be at a place where we had an opportunity to win a national championship,” Allen said. “The three (job criteria) were an administration that was aligned to be successful. Number two, a place that loved football, from top to bottom. And number three opportunity to win a national championship. Those are the three things.”
To give you guys a snippet of what was said, I'm putting the full excerpt from my "top four" feature on July 4 with the hopes you'll consider trying us out for $1 for our premium coverage. With preseason camp now quickly coming, you can take advantage of our first two weeks of camp insight if you take advantage today.
Sign up here!
Complete interview links:
James Franklin
Andy Kotelnicki
Tom Allen
Pat Kraft
Drew Allar
Top four interview comments
4. James Franklin calls out the SEC
Evaluating the changing landscape of college football, and particularly Penn State’s place in the Big Ten and its new challenges therein, Franklin delivered some of the most pointed comments of his tenure regarding the inequities of the SEC. And, to a certain extent, he also leveled criticism of the Big Ten’s strategies when stacked up to its national conference competition.“When you talk about 17 games, and wear and tear when other conferences may not have that – when I say other conferences, I probably specifically mean the SEC – that has to be factored in. No different than the Big Ten wanting us to play some of these other games, like SEC opponents,” said Franklin. “Why should we do that when we play nine conference games and they play eight conference games? And they have no travel and we have a ton of travel? Why would we do that? Why does that make sense? If we all want to play SEC opponents and they want to play Big Ten opponents, fine. They should go to nine games or we should go to eight games.”
3. Drew Allar airs it out
Occasionally, the most illuminating comments demand a minimal amount of interpretation. In Allar’s case, when surveying the development of leadership within the team this offseason, his gaze toward the Nittany Lions’ receivers provided clarification.“The biggest difference I’ve seen is Fleming, Liam, and Trey,” he said. “The leadership in that room has drastically increased and it’s been cool to see that progress.”
Ohio State transfer Julian Fleming, and fourth-year receivers Liam Clifford and Trey Wallace have been leaders. They’ve become so thanks to a void created by the transfer of KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the spring. While Allar said nothing of his former teammate, when asked about the group’s progress and his confidence in them this summer, the implication demanded the connection of two adjacent dots.
“They’re 10 times ahead, even from where we were in spring. And I think it’s really been the three leaders in that room; Trey, Liam and Fleming,” said Allar. “I think they’ve really taken it upon themselves to change that culture.
“I think it’s really just like healthy respect in that room. They’re all looking out for each other. They’re all really driving each other to be great. And I think honestly, that really starts from Coach Hagans allowing them to be themselves. I think that room is at a different level right now.”
2. Andy Kotelnicki stands up for his players
No interview this summer matched the defiance and confidence of Penn State’s new offensive coordinator. Putting pressure on himself to help unlock the heights of the Nittany Lions’ potential, Kotelnicki also took particular pains to demonstrate his confidence in the program’s most beleaguered position group.“This is my opinion right now, and I think I’ve said this publicly, but I’ve also said to the receivers, I said that I think they’ve unfairly become the brunt of the reason there was limited success, if you want to call that. Or that there was a ceiling,” Kotelnicki said. “I think those guys are gonna really overachieve next year in everyone’s eyes. I feel confident saying that. So that’s my evaluation of them, especially after being with them through spring.”
1. Tom Allen sees national championship potential at Penn State
In a wide-ranging conversation touching everything from NIL to his decision to immediately move into a new challenge following his firing at Indiana, the Nittany Lions’ new defensive coordinator identified his picky approach to the subject. Understanding the reality of NIL and the transfer portal on the game, and the role of leadership within each university and athletic department to set the conditions for success, Allen saw something different at Penn State.“I wanted to be at a place where we had an opportunity to win a national championship,” Allen said. “The three (job criteria) were an administration that was aligned to be successful. Number two, a place that loved football, from top to bottom. And number three opportunity to win a national championship. Those are the three things.”
