James Franklin addresses Beaver Stadium's future, Northwestern prep, more: Radio Recap

Penn State head coach James Franklin couldn’t help himself. Joining host Steve Jones for his weekly radio show on Thursday evening, one point overruled all.

Asked about avoiding a letdown, understanding the struggles Northwestern has gone through this season, and with Penn State set to face a difficult October slate of games after a bye week, Franklin delivered a message to fans that he’s stressed at every level of his program for the past nine years.

“Central Michigan game for us, it wasn’t the Super Bowl, but it was damn close. If we lose the Central Michigan game, it’s going to be significant,” Franklin said. “And that’s how you better approach it every single week. If you get too high or too low or you get ahead of yourself, that’s when you become an inconsistent football team and you come out one week looking great and the next week you’re average.”

Determined to avoid that fate this week against the 1-3 Wildcats, with an opportunity to stay unbeaten against a conference opponent at 3:30 on Saturday afternoon, Franklin discussed that and a variety of other topics during his radio show.

Here’s a look at some of the news, notes, and observations to emerge from the show:

James Franklin radio show notes

A crossroads for Penn State 

Asked about the announced $800 million stadium project set for Northwestern following the 2024 season and to be completed before the start of the 2026 season, and whether that might impact this weekend’s matchup, Franklin quickly dismissed the notion. 

But, when asked about Beaver Stadium’s future in the next five years, Franklin was much more willing to engage. Though avoiding specifics, the Nittany Lions head coach reiterated the need to address the pressing needs of the program.

“I think there have been conversations with our athletic director and Pat Kraft and then our president. Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, that there are some things that we’re going to have to do,” Franklin said. “Whether it’s football or the athletic department or dorms or some other areas, is (Penn State has) probably fallen behind in some things, whether it’s maintenance, or just updating things. So there’s some work that needs to be done. 

“There’s gonna be some tough decisions that have to be made down the road. But, we’re getting to a point where we really can’t drag it on anymore. Some decisions are gonna have to be made.”

James Franklin, speaking of Northwestern

Asked about the quality of practices Penn State was able to conduct this week, Franklin made an interesting admission.

Namely, he fibbed to his team going into the Auburn game in Week Three. Saying that he stresses every week that the goal is to be able to sleep well on Friday night with the understanding that so much prep has occurred that nothing more could be done, Franklin acknowledged that hadn’t been the case in the days leading up to the SEC showdown with the Tigers.

“We have not put a complete week (of practice) together yet,” Franklin said. “Auburn week, I didn’t tell the kids this, but I didn’t think we practiced well on Wednesday. Now Friday night, I’m like, ‘We’re gonna sleep like babies because we’re prepared!’ And I felt like we let one go on Wednesday. Then Sunday. I addressed it with them. 

“This past week, I thought we had our best week of practice, but I didn’t think it always translated for four quarters on Saturday. So, the next step in our progression, which is a natural progression that everybody goes through, is now we’ve had a complete week of practice. We have to finish it tomorrow with our Friday, fast Friday practice. And then we got to go out and play well for four quarters. Start fast and finish strong.”

James Franklin’s take on Penn State’s developing front seven

A fan asked Franklin about the progress made by Penn State’s defensive line and linebackers this season. Having noted that both groups were areas of concern heading into the year, the caveat to the question was that they’d all be important leading into the Nittany Lions’ big stretch of games in October.

Earning the questioner some light admonishment, Franklin doubled back to acknowledge that he’s been pleased with what he’s seen out of both groups.

“I think coming into the season that was a question. I think both Elsdon and Kobe King at the Mike linebacker position are gaining confidence and experience each week. So, that’s been good,” Franklin said. “We knew what we had with Curtis (Jacobs) obviously, but DeLuca is been a really good piece of the puzzle as well. Abdul Carter is a name that I think everybody’s pretty excited about at LBU with his future and what he’s been able to do in a short period of time. And then Jon Sutherland as an experienced guy that moved from safety to linebacker. So I think we’re probably in an ideal position where we would hope we would have been at this point of the season.”

On the defensive line, meanwhile, Franklin pointed to the healthy returns of P.J. Mustipher and Adisa Isaac as big boosts to the unit. 

“Two veteran guys that had missed last year from injuries was extremely valuable,” Franklin said. “And then some guys that maybe people weren’t factoring in. A true freshman like Zane Durant. He’s a guy that’s playing a lot of football for us and doing some really good things. So our depth at D tackle is pretty good. And then the defensive end position. Obviously Chop Robinson coming in, is a guy that maybe not everybody was aware of. But, he’s doing some nice things for us, right now. 

“So, we’re getting there. Amin Vanover is a guy that’s been at Penn State for a while. The light is coming on for him. So they are some really good examples, but we got to continue building on it.”