James Franklin discusses ability to create ‘chaos’ with third-down defense

James Franklin craves chaos. Specifically, he desires it from the Penn State defense on third downs.

With a number of players from the 2022 defense — particularly the secondary — off to the NFL, Franklin knows some new faces will be called upon to play in the “prowler” package. One player Franklin hopes to emulate in function and production is departed defensive back Ji’Ayir ‘Tig’ Brown.

“Prowler is really a package, not a specific position,” Franklin said. “It’s our third down kind of ‘chaos’ package in some ways, where we’re able to bring a lot of people from a lot of different angles. Try to put pressure on the quarterback and make it difficult for the offense to determine who’s coming and who’s not. And then to be able to have guys like Tig that have great instincts. I was talking to an NFL GM the other day about him and just, his instincts are through the roof. Which makes him play faster and more productive. And that’s what we need.”

Brown had seven tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, four interceptions and two forced fumbles in 2022. Not all of that production came on third down, of course, but having the sort of player who can constantly be making plays around the ball is what Franklin is after.

And with the makeup of the Penn State roster, some of the chaos that Franklin seeks is likely going to come from some front seven players like rising sophomore defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, rising sophomore linebacker Abdul Carter and redshirt senior defensive end Adisa Isaac

“We need guys on third down, specifically, that have instincts and can kind of see what’s coming and jump routes and play fast and have the ball skills to be able to finish it. We have that. I think the other thing that helps is I think we’re as good as we’ve been at defensive end. We’ve got some guys that can rush the passer. And I actually think we do at D-tackle as well but we still have some question marks at D-tackle,” Franklin said.

Penn State still has to sort out a fair bit on the backend of the defense with Brown and star corner Joey Porter Jr. off to the NFL. Franklin is fairly confident in where the safety group stands during spring practice, though.

“Yeah, I think we’re gonna have at least a two-deep of four guys that are gonna play a ton of football for us on defense and special teams. So, we’ll see how that plays out. I think there could be some other guys that factor in there, but I think there’s four guys that have kind of separated themselves right now. And guys that have made plays for us, so we’re gonna have to find ways to get them on the field, whether that is in our three down package on third down, getting more of those guys on the field. Or whether it’s just rotating in normal situations. But, I think they’ve shown enough flashes that they need to be on the field,” Franklin said.