In interview, James Franklin identifies questions to resolve

Penn State’s James Franklin is making the media rounds ahead of the 2023 season. And, in a sit down with ABC27’s Allie Berube, the Nittany Lion head coach offered an updated perspective on where his team stands with the start of preseason practices quickly approaching.

Since the end of Penn State’s spring practices, the major themes have not changed much. But, in a stretch during which the Nittany Lions’ season aspirations have taken shape publicly more than in other years, Franklin acknowledged what he’s expecting to see delivered on both sides of the ball.

And it starts with improvement among multiple key areas on the offensive side of the ball. 

“I think we got a chance to be better on the offensive line,” he said. “I think we got a chance to be better at tight end. (and) I think we’ve got a chance to be better at the running back position from an experience standpoint.”

Penn State offensive questions to answer

The challenges that Penn State will face offensively, however, haven’t deviated from what Franklin has anticipated all along. 

In the aftermath of a six-year career for Sean Clifford, now of the Green Bay Packers making favorable impressions in his first offseason work at the NFL level, the Nittany Lions will aim to match or improve upon play from the quarterback position this fall. Though competition is expected between sophomore Drew Allar and redshirt freshman Beau Pribula through July and August, the program is presumed to turn to Allar. 

In his debut as Clifford’s backup last season, Allar completed 35 of his 60 pass attempts for 344 yards. He also threw four touchdowns while cashing in on another score on the ground. And, though Franklin signaled to ESPN this spring the potential differentiator between Allar and the prior quarterbacks that have held down the position during the first nine seasons of Franklin’s tenure, questions are still to be answered.

“When you’ve had a guy who’s been a multiple-year starter (like Sean Clifford), and now you’re going into a little bit of some unknowns at that position and the impact of that position and whether it’s the NFL or major college football, that’s a question mark for sure,” Franklin said. 

Along with it, the Nittany Lions are also seeking consistency and game-breaking talent from the receiver position. KeAndre Lambert-Smith returns to the group with the most experience and the highest expectations, but as Franklin laid bare throughout the spring, more will be needed for the Nittany Lions to take the next steps as a team.

“The two question marks that we have to get resolved are wide receiver and quarterback,” Franklin said. “I think if we can get those resolved, then I think we have some internal pieces that can allow us to do that, then I think the sky’s the limit.”

James Franklin defensive assessment

On the defensive side of the ball, Franklin believes the unit enters the season from an undeniable position of strength. 

And, they’re doing so having rectified some of the questions that surrounded the group leading into the 2022 season.

“We had a big question mark going into last year at linebacker, we were inexperienced at linebacker. We’re not anymore, with a ton of experience coming back,” Franklin said. “We lost… what I still consider our first-round corner. But we think we got a chance to be as good or better. Obviously, losing Porter and Tiig are two big pieces. But, we like the guys that are going to be competing at those positions this year.”

As a result, Penn State has an opportunity to continue on its upward trajectory defensively. Last year, it was ranked among the nation’s top teams in most major statistical categories.

“Defensively, we lost some good players. But, I think we got a chance to be really good on defense,” Franklin said. “We got a chance defensively to do some really good things.”