James Franklin not shying away from media accolades during preseason
James Franklin did not shy away from preseason media accolades in the spring after a great ending to the 2022 campaign.
Penn State ended with a Rose Bowl victory over Utah, signaling to some that the Nittany Lions could gear up for a Big Ten and College Football Playoff run this fall. Franklin didn’t buy into any preseason hype.
Just as coaches do, he kept it in the present and only focused on one thing at a time.
“That’s what everybody does in the offseason,” Franklin said. “You know, again, we finished the season well, we got a ton of talented players coming back. We still have some question marks. But that’s what the offseason is about those types of conversations. I get it. We’re just trying to get better today. I thought we had a good practice today. We got to be ready to play well against West Virginia and see where it takes us.”
After back-to-back seasons where Penn State did not quite meet expectations, Franklin and company won 11 games for the first time since 2019. At that time, Penn State had three 11-win seasons in four years, including a Big Ten title.
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James Franklin talks spring practice amid preseason hype
Franklin shifted focus from the preseason accolades and expectations to what spring practice brought. Like coaches love, Franklin embraced competition.
“Yeah, we’ve gotten a ton of reps which has been good,” Franklin said. “I would have liked to get into the stadium a little bit more, but the weather hasn’t necessarily cooperated with that. But we’ve gotten a ton of really good reps, really competitive. So our defense is playing really well. I thought our offense played well today. Probably the best practice we’ve had in the spring but it’s been competitive all summer long.
“We have depth at the specialist positions, which I know you guys don’t necessarily love talking about but the reality is that’s a big question mark on the season with a new punter, kicker and snapper. And that competition has been good as well. So, you know, we’ve made some good progress. As you guys know, we got a number of guys that are out this spring, so it’d be great to get them back, as well as the guys that still haven’t arrived yet. We’re gonna need all those guys.”