For James Franklin, calls for Drew Allar grow: Radio Recap

Penn State head coach James Franklin made no bones about the challenge at hand. Joining host Steve Jones for his weekly radio show on Thursday night, the Nittany Lions’ trip to Michigan this weekend will live up to the billing.

“We’ve had some physical games. So the time off was good,” Franklin said of the team’s 12 days since its last game. “And then to get a head start on Michigan, this is a really good football team we’re playing. So the head start was good.

“I think we’re in a good place. We gotta go play. It’s gonna be challenging. They’re a really good football team on offense, defense, and special teams. You’re talking about a top-five football team, and the environment. It’s gonna be a Maize Out. It’ll be 110,000. We went to Purdue, it was a Blackout. We went to Auburn, it was an Orange Out. And now we got a Maize Out. So we’re the -Out team, I guess. But it’ll be a great environment. We’re looking forward to it.”

During a 20-minute appearance in which head starts were something of a theme, Franklin tackled a variety of other topics worth noting.

Here is a look at some of the notable elements to emerge from James Franklin’s weekly radio show:

James Franklin radio recap

1) “Play him more!”

The first point to make has to be the break from the norm that took place midway through the show.

Talking about building quality depth throughout the season, and its value on the program, Franklin eventually turned to some of the areas in which it has made the most impact this season. Specifically, those were the questions on the field going into the season that are now much more secure heading into the thick of the Big Ten schedule. 

Among them, Franklin rattled off Chop Robinson’s contributions at defensive end, the combination of Tyler Elsdon and Kobe King playing well at middle linebacker, and, ultimately, what’s taken place at quarterback. Noting the “quarterback situation” facing the team coming into the season after Sean Clifford’s injury derailed the 2021 campaign, Franklin stressed the value of true freshman Drew Allar being able to play in nearly every game this season.

A fan in the audience appeared to have perked up at the answer, though.

Interjecting mid-sentence, the fan shouted at Franklin to “PLAY HIM MORE!” speaking of Allar, of course. Turning to add Christian Veilleux’s prior Big Ten experience and year in the program, Franklin was interrupted again to “PLAY HIM MORE!” 

Franklin, offering his thanks for the thoughts, sparred back with the fan. He did so by asking the man what he does for a living. Without an audible response, Jones and Franklin joked about wanting to go to the man’s workplace to criticize him.

2) James Franklin’s personnel notes

There were multiple asides from Franklin Thursday night worth noting. Some pertained to the immediacy of this weekend. Others were regarding future plans.

On the front end, Franklin said that Keyvone Lee is “back, full go” coming into this one after being held out from the Central Michigan game. Franklin also said that Hunter Nourzad, having missed the game against the Chippewas and the Northwestern game, was back, available, and has been “playing well.”

For the future, Franklin answered a question about Olu Fashanu’s place as a projected first-round NFL Draft selection. Franklin pointed out that it’s his responsibility to help players get a great education, play big-time college football, and provide the foundation to chase NFL dreams. And, that he wants to do that for all of his players. However, he noted that the program will “see how that plays out” with Fashanu and his family following the season. 

“With Olu and his family, education is really important to them,” Franklin said. “We’ll sit down at some point and have a discussion on all these things and make sure they can make an educated decision. That’s my job is to help them throughout the process. And at the end of the day, put them in a position so they can make an educated decision that’s in Olu’s best interest long term.”

Also on the offensive line, Franklin talked about the value Bryce Effner has brought to the unit this season. Bringing up a subject Effner has largely avoided, Franklin acknowledged the offseason injury challenges Effner had to overcome to get back this year, with the hopes that the fifth-year senior will consider coming back for a sixth season next year.

“I think he’s got a bright future. I’m hoping he comes back next year because I think he can take the next step,” Franklin said. “What a lot of people don’t understand is in the offseason, he had some significant injuries that he had to work through. It’s one thing if you have an injury as a freshman or a sophomore. But when you’re later in your career and those things happen, and maybe you’re not a returning starter, that’s a tough decision you got to make and he battled through it. 

“Right now, we just are so pleased with where he’s at. And I think he’s got a bright future. I think he’s got the ability to really play well for us and continue to play after Penn State.”

3) In the trenches

In a game expected to be dictated by what happens in the trenches, Franklin was asked how he perceives the quality of the offensive line to this point in the season. 

Keeping with his theme of avoiding making any big pronouncements, Franklin summed up the position group and, maybe more importantly, how the infusion of talent at running back has upended the dynamic of the offense.

“I am pleased with the progress we’re making. I think it’s a combination of the development of the offensive line,” Franklin said. “But I think it’s also schematically how we’re calling the games, the fact that we’re more balanced. Having running backs that can change the game and go 80 yards, I think also helps our offensive line. 

“We’re calling the game in a way that puts them in a much more favorable position. So it’s all those things. We’re protecting better. We’re able to run the ball and control the line of scrimmage. All those things I think have been really important.”