Everything Penn State coach James Franklin said after the Lions' seventh spring practice

Penn State coach James Franklin held his third news conference of the spring following the team’s seventh day of drills on Tuesday night. The Nittany Lions are now just a few Saturdays away from the Blue-White game. It, of course, is the team’s practice finale until August. The 12th-year leader of the Lions did not start his chat with reporters by discussing any of that. Instead, he gave a shout-out to the men’s hockey team, which is off to the Frozen Four. It plays Boston for a spot in the finals on Thursday night (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

“I want to give Coach [Guy] Gadowsky some love,” Franklin said. “Awesome to see not just what our men’s hockey team did but also our whole athletic department. I was able to go to Allentown and be a part of [the NCAA men’s hockey regional semifinal there] which, which was great.

“So it’s been a kind of a special year, from that standpoint, two big events within the state I was able to get to [the other being the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia]. So it’s pretty cool to be able to support those programs.”

You can read everything else Franklin said and watch a video of the full interview below.

On quarterback Drew Allar’s spring development

“He’s been good, kind of like I mentioned,” Franklin said. “He’s progressed every single year. We need him to continue to take another step this year in every area, just like he already has. Pretty much answered this question in detail, but he just need to take the next step in, really, every area, which is what he’s done every year since he’s been on campus. So I fully expect him to do that again.”

On the backup quarterback battle

“Jaxon has done a heck of a job,” Franklin said. “We didn’t really know, coming off the injury, where he would be. But both of them are doing really well. And that’s not coach speak. They’re both doing very, very well. So I think this is going to be a competition that’s going to go on for a while. I thought Jaxon would come off the injury a little rusty. He has not been. Both of them are playing really well. So we got to continue to build on it.”

How have Penn State running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton improved this offseason?

“So [Kaytron Allen] has really improved,” Franklin said. “As you guys know, he’s never had an off-season since he’s been here. He looks faster. He looks more explosive. I think Stan [Drayton] has done a phenomenal job. You guys have had a chance to be close up and personal with Stan and his drills. I think Stan’s drills have been really intentional, and those guys, I think, are really doing well right now. So for him, I think that explosiveness and that speed that he’s playing with right now is going to be big. It’s going to be big for him.

“With Nick, it’s a lot of the open field running, a little bit more creativity in his game. He’s been a guy that obviously extremely strong, extremely explosive, extremely fast. But we want to work on those open field runs so he can get more 80-yard, 90-yard runs, which we think he is capable of getting.

“So a lot of that stuff, open field running, cutting back, hurtling, setting, setting runs up, setting defenders up, really, both of those guys just working really hard at trying to be more explosive in the running game and then also continue to expand their role in the passing game.”

How is Penn State running backs coach Stan Drayton fitting in during his first spring?

“He’s just a veteran running backs coach,” Franklin said. “I think his head coaching experience has been very helpful for him. Before he transitioned to being the head coach at Temple, he was considered the best running back coach in college football, and has got a resume that backs that up. Especially when you talk about guys that he’s coached at Villanova, at Ohio State, at Texas. It’s an impressive list of NFL players and Hall of Fame players. He played the position. So just a lot of experience there.

“He’s done a really nice job and has done a good job connecting with a room, and that was going to be a challenge. Obviously, that they had had the same running backs coach their entire career. So those changes are hard, but they seem to be embracing it, and so does Stan.

“I think Stan’s having fun, as you guys have heard me talk about, sometimes as head coachisng stuff, there’s some wonderful aspects to it, but there’s also the challenge that it takes you away from the thing you fell in love with in the beginning, which is coaching the guys and having your own position. So I think he’s enjoying that as well.”

How is the team’s defensive install going with Jim Knowles?

“So I think you kind of have [the Penn State] expectations of how it’s going to go based on our last defensive coordinators that we’ve had, and how their installs have gone in terms of tweaking what we do defensively,” Franklin said. “And then you also have Jim’s time at Duke, his time at Oklahoma State, his time at Ohio State, and how he’s refined his process of being able to put it in. And then also spending enough time with our defensive staff saying, ‘what doesn’t need to change?’

“So I’ve been very pleased. The practices have been very competitive. We’re in year two on offense and, what, three months on defense, and it’s been really competitive out here. So I think that’s that’s a real positive for us to lay a really good foundation that we’ll be able to do some stuff over the summer, and then training camp, and then obviously get into the season, and we’re going to have to be ready to roll for week one. So I’m pleased with where we’re at. And talking to Jim and the defensive staff, Coach Poindexter, I think everybody feels the same way.”

On the progress being made by Lions linebacker Ta’Mere Robinson

“As you guys know, Ta’Mere was a big get for us,” Franklin said. “I’ve always felt like he’s had a very, very bright future. He’s had some injuries that have been setbacks for him, so getting him back healthy and confident playing fast, he’s really flashing right now. Obviously, with [Tony] Rojas being out, that’s more reps than he’s able to get. So sometimes those injuries with experienced players, sometimes they’re a blessing in disguise, because it creates opportunities for guys like Ta’Mere to get a ton of reps. He’s been good. He’s been really good.

“And I just think, as much as anything, it’s his confidence in being able to just go out there and play and not be thinking about the injuries that he’s had in the past. So playing very well right now, but we’re going to need to continue that all summer and then into the season next year. But right now, he’s trending in a direction that we had hoped when we recruited him.”

How is second-year Penn State linebacker Anthony Speca doing in his first spring?

“Just a very smart player, a very headsy player, got really good instincts, plays clean and you know, he’s got some athleticism to back it up as well,” Franklin said. “So to your point, is still his first spring, so still a lot that he’s learning, but I know Coach [Dan] Connor has been very, very pleased with him. This spring will be really important, but I think what I’m excited to do is watch him in fall camp, once he’s really into the system and has had all summer to kind of refine it and gain confidence and take his game to a whole ‘nother level.”

Final word

Franklin, on how the Penn State defensive tackles are looking:

“Xavier Gilliam has been a guy that, as you guys saw in the winter workouts, really flashed,” Franklin said. “He’s doing it here is, well. The [Owen] Wafle kid has done some really nice things. Randy Adirika has been a pleasant surprise for a kid who’s still supposed to be in high school. You know, really a bunch of those guys. We’re young, really, after Zane [Durant], and then when we get Alonzo [Ford] back, that will help us with two older guys, and then we got a bunch of young guys. Liam [Andrews] is starting to work back in right now. He’s a big body guy. There’s a ton of guys. [De’Andre] Cook. There’s a ton of guys that are going to be battling. It’ll be very, very competitive.

“In my mind right now, I think everybody knows Zane Durant, everybody knows Alonzo from last year. And then I think Gilliam, those three guys, and then there’s going to be a battle for four and five, between five or six players. So it’ll, it’ll be very, very competitive.”