3 Penn State thoughts from the coordinator portion of media day: A leader at punt returner and more
STATE COLLEGE — The first half of Penn State football media day is over. Head coach James Franklin kicked things off. Then, his three first-year coordinators, Andy Kotelnicki, Tom Allen, and Justin Lustig, all spoke with reporters inside the Beaver Stadium media room. You can watch Franklin’s full news conference above. Below, you can learn more about what the three new play callers had to say.
Green dot communication is going well
Both Kotelnicki and Allen spoke about the new green dot communication systems that will be in play across college football. It comes from the well-known NFL model that allows coaches to talk to players on the field for a set amount of time before the snap. Kotelnicki will be in quarterback Drew Allar’s ear while Allen will speak with Penn State middle linebacker Kobe King in most instances.
“It’s good to be able to have a direct line of communication to him, and understand that the little minute coaching points that you might make before a play,” Kotelnicki said.
Added Allen:
“A lot of conversations with NFL guys. I know NFL players that I’ve coached in college that were in the NFL and [ask] how to maximize what they want to hear and what they don’t want to hear. How can I really help them the most? And so, it’s been a good learning process for me throughout the spring, over the summer, and now two days into camp, so I think it’s going to be an asset to us, and it’s going to allow us to really be more efficient in what we’re doing.”
A clear leader at punt returner
It’s not often that a coordinator sits at one of these news conferences and declares someone is a leader in the clubhouse at any position two practices into preseason camp. However, that’s exactly what Lustig did when he asked about the situation at punt returner.
“I would say Kaden Saunders right now is a clear leader in the clubhouse,” Lustig said. “We showed the team a stat the other day: There were 199 muffed punts in college football last year. So it starts with catching the football. It starts with having range and not allowing a ball to bounce down the field. And Kaden gives us both of those. And, I don’t mean to discredit his playmaking ability, but he is solid as can be in those first two areas. So he’s the clear leader right now.”
Final word on the Penn State coordinators (for now)
Allen, on the plan for defensive end/linebacker Abdul Carter week-to-week:
That’s a week-to-week decision. His first couple of practices have been focused on defensive end. He knows how to play linebacker at a pretty high level. He’s a difference-maker-type guy. “So you want him to be able to have multiple skill sets and ways he can impact the game at different positions. I feel like that is nothing but an asset to us.”
