Everything Penn State coach James Franklin said after spring practice number four

Penn State coach James Franklin met with reporters for the second time this spring on Tuesday. His question and answer session came after his team’s fourth practice, which was held partially inside of Holuba Hall and partially on the practice fields outside of it. After clarifying that he “connected dots that weren’t there” in regards to saying Eagles general manager Howie Roseman spoke to Lions letterman Saquon Barkley directly during the NFL’s legal tampering period, which isn’t allowed since all contact during that time must go through agents, Franklin’s first length answer came in response to a question about first-year offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s work through the first week and a half of spring ball.

“I think the biggest thing that you guys have heard me talk about in the past is being the head coach of the offense, or the head coach of the defense, or special teams, or by position, and I think he’s done a really good job of that and taking a ton of time of explaining the why, which in 2024 I think is really important,” Franklin said. “I think student athletes and young people will do the same things that we did in the 90s, in the 80s. [But], they just wonder why. And I think Andy’s doing a really good job of explaining the why, and teaching football, and really getting everybody pulling the rope in the same direction and excited about what we’re going to be able to accomplish on offense this year.” So it’s it’s been good so far, and I know the staff’s enjoying it as well.”

Here’s everything else the Penn State coach had to say.

Is it more about install or teaching right now?

The teaching is the installation,” Franklin said. “But instead of just installing a play, it’s why are we running this play and how does this play complement these other plays? So the installation goes hand in hand with the install if that makes sense?”

On the importance of getting on the field for that process to work after months of meetings

“I think it’s really important,” Franklin said. “Like I’ve mentioned already you guys before, I think really the time that the coaches spent working through all the details, and what needed to change and what didn’t have to change from the terminology and from a philosophical standpoint, I think that was probably time well spent But then yeah, getting out here, Tom has his way. Andy has his way. And I’m a big believer in just being authentic and true to who you are.

“But I think [in the case of Allen], when you follow Brent Pry, that’s challenging. You got to come in with confidence. You got to be comfortable in your own skin. When you follow Manny Diaz, you got to be confident with that, and you got to be comfortable in your own skin. And I think I think in a very, very short period of time, I think the guys have connected with [Allen]. And right now, we’re flying around and playing with a ton of confidence on defense, which is great to see.”

How is the new in-helmet communication rules impacting Penn State this spring, and is it fully up and running?

“No,” Franklin said. “Because what happened is this rule got changed so late, that the company couldn’t really get it out to all the schools in the country. They can only get out three [in-helmet transponders]. So you got to decide how you’re using those three.

“So we were doing two quarterbacks and one guy on defense. Typically a middle linebacker, one day it’s Kobe [King] and the next day it’s [Tyler] Elsdon. So it’s not ideal. We’re able to get some work at it right now. But it’s not like we can treat it game like where all three of your [middle linebackers] have it, all three of your quarterbacks have, or so on and so forth.

More: What were the top takeaways from Penn State spring practice No. 4?

“I think the other thing that is an interesting thing is, this thing got pushed because of the whole sign stealing. And, for the offenses that are no huddle, it doesn’t change them at all. Because, you still got to get the information to the wide receivers. How do you do that? You signal. So it doesn’t really solve that issue.

“Now, do I think we should have had helmet communication the whole time? Yes. Do I think we should have been able to have tablets? We go to high school games, they got TVs on the sideline, and we can’t have a tablet. So I think they’re good changes. But, I don’t know if they necessarily are solutions to some of the challenges that have been out there that actually got the rule passed.”

On Penn State offensive lineman JB Nelson playing guard and tackle this spring

“He really always has done that for us in practice,” Franklin said. “Ceating that flexibility as much as you possibly can. Obviously, it’s magnified, so you’re seeing more of it with [Penn State left tackle Drew] Shelton out. But yeah, he’s the guy that we think has the ability, the physicality to be a guard, and the athleticism to be a tackle. And he’s done a really nice job for us. So we try to create as much flexibility as we possibly can. But he’s a guy that I think it’s realistic with, that actually could go in and play at a high level at both positions.”

What has he seen from the Penn State offense?

“I just see a lot of fight,” Franklin said. “I think our offense is challenging our defense, [and] think they’re really emotionally invested in having fun with it at practice. We’re doing a ton of different things in terms of how it [the offense] presents. The run game is pretty much the same. It hasn’t changed a whole lot. There’s a few wrinkles that I think you guys are aware of already. But besides that, it’s pretty much our run game. But, the way things present, I think, is more challenging for our defense. And again, I just think Andy is taking the time to talk about why we do things, and how we want to practice, and how we want to play games; I just think there’s more total buy-in because of understanding if that makes sense.”

On having former Penn State players at Pro Day and in town

“That was awesome,” Franklin said. “We had a ton of guys in town. We actually still got guys here right now. I think [Derrickl] Tangelo and [Tariq] Castro-Fields are still here. Saquon [Barkley] and [Grant] Haley spoke to the team after practice. It’s just been really good. I think whenever you can have those guys back is great. I think it’s magnified because, as we all know, this isn’t the easiest place to get to. So the fact that guys come here and have a great time and are comfortable and are around our players and are in the weight room, there’s a ton of value.

“I see them sitting in there eating and talking to our guys. So it’s really good. It’s really good. And then Pro Day, we’ve got a bunch of Pro Day guys like Olu [Fashanu] that have decided after Pro Day. They’re going to stay up here until the Draft, which I think that’s great as well. We started the tradition, I don’t know maybe five or six years ago, I take those guys all out for dinner. And that’s been a really cool thing as well to be able to break bread with them kind of in a different setting when they’re no longer playing for me anymore. And that’s that’s been a really cool deal.”

On transfer cornerbacks AJ Harris and Jalen Kimber

“I just think their maturity and their presence,” Franklin said. “Kimber’s played a ton of football. As you guys know, AJ was a very, very highly recruited young man. And both of them have adjusted really well. They both adjusted extremely well. I think they’re enjoying themselves. I’ve had a bunch of meetings with those guys. I think they’re happy and they’re enjoying themselves and playing well. Kimber’s situation in terms of kind of late in his career is different than AJ’s situation. But, I’ve been very, very pleased with our adjustment. And they seem happy, except for today. When last week it was 70 degrees. And, today, the snow came back for one kid from Alabama one kid from Texas.”

On the Lions’ nickel competition

“We got some guys at safety that are competing, we got some guys at cornerback that are competing for the job,” Franklin said. “It’s too early to tell. I mean, we literally have had two padded practices. So, for me to sit here and tell you I know where we’re at, I don’t. I do think the combination of being able to have Jaylen Reed, Zakee Wheatley, and KJ Winston all on the field at the same time is exciting.

“I would say that Zakee right now, he’s playing his best football by far. And it’s not us. It’s just maturity. The light’s gone on for him. And he understands what he has to do on a consistent basis to be the type of player that he wants to be. And it’s pretty cool to see. One of the things that I enjoy the most about doing this now for as long as I’ve been able to do is watching these guys’ journeys and when they start to figure it out, so it’s pretty cool.”

On guard Sal Wormley deciding to return and the importance of it

“With almost all these guys, we had conversations and a pretty good idea what they were going to do,” Franklin said. “Sal was pretty open and transparent with us that he was coming back. And, there wasn’t a whole lot of drama associated with it. He felt like he needed another year to do what he wanted to do and for us to do what we want to do as a team. He’s handling it well right now. Taking on more of a leadership role with the team, which is cool to see. But no, that wasn’t necessarily a surprise.

“Most of the guys were pretty good with us. And, I was asking them and the coaches to make sure they sat down had conversations, them and their parents, to make sure we’re all on the same page. And then the guys that were still trying to decide kind of help advise them.”