James Franklin analyzes Penn State's receiving corps

Coming off of the Nittany Lions’ first loss of the season, Penn State head coach James Franklin opened up about the state of his team, including the receiving unit, at the midway point of the season.

“Yeah, I mean, obviously, when you’re looking at every single position group, you’re always going to want more production, no matter where you’re at,” Franklin said. “We knew coming into the season that we had some guys that needed to step up offensively for us. There’s still a ton of football left. There’s an opportunity this Saturday.

“You could go through each receiver and tell a different story for each one of them but it’s not just the wideouts. It’s the quarterback, it’s the wideouts, it’s the protection. Overall, I feel pretty good.”

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In the Nittany Lions’ loss on Saturday to Michigan, the receivers totaled 12 catches for 157 yards. Overall, the PSU passing game ranks in the 70s. However, the offense as a whole is balanced with a rushing unit that ranks 45th.

Franklins’ leading receiver this season, Parker Washington, has yet to score a touchdown through six games, although he has 23 catches for 318 yards. Behind him, Mitchell Tinsley has 24 catches for 282 yards and three touchdowns. Only five receivers have more than five catches so far this season.

Franklin on moving past Week 7 loss

In five of the last eight seasons, Penn State has followed its first loss of the year with another. With a matchup ahead versus 4-2 Minnesota, James Franklin is determined to leave the Week 7 loss in the past.

Franklin summed up his approach and how it has changed since he started with the Nittany Lions ahead of the Week 8 battle. 

“I think it has evolved,” Franklin said. “And I think that’s critical for our entire organization, for all the assistants, for myself, for the players. I think it’s really important,” Franklin said. “I think, at the end of the day, whether it’s practice, or whether it’s in our facility, the players are going to feed off of our energy.

“And there’s a fine line between making sure everybody understands that whenever the outcome was not good enough, but also not to the point where it lingers. That is critical. In this conference, and on our side of the conference, there’s no time for lingering feelings or emotions.”