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James Franklin on Penn State's NIL efforts: "You can't pick and choose what you're going to compete in"

Headshot 5x7 reduced qualityby:Thomas Frank Carr•04/11/23•

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James Franklin Penn State Football On3
Penn State head coach James Franklin took a strong stance about the public NIL and facilities debate going on around Penn State. He doesn't think it's possible to maintain the program's reputation as a nationally competitive team and not compete in those spaces. (Photo: Thomas Frank Carr/BWI)

Penn State head coach Jame Franklin spoke with the media on Tuesday evening at the conclusions of the team’s final open practice of the season before the annual Blue-White game on Saturday. He addressed several topics, including lengthy answers about facilities upgrades and name, image, and likeness. Check out the video for his complete answers on those topics.

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The biggest battles are still unresolved

The Penn State quarterback competition aside, Franklin addressed most of the questions for the spring during his press conference. While he feels better about the specialists after four weeks, there are still unresolved issues at two key positions.

“I think there’s still some question marks in terms of depth at D-tackle. We gotta get that resolved there. And then I still think there’s still a question mark at wideout. Who’s going to be the third wideout? That’s still a pretty open competition, with a number of guys competing for the job. And then some, some talent still coming in,” Franklin said.

Offensive line depth and cross-training have also been topics this spring, with some numbers issues at the center for Penn State. Franklin spoke about the value of cross-training players now to find out what they can do.

“I think it’s good. I think it has been valuable this spring for multiple reasons to see who are the guys that we think can do it and take on that extra responsibility. But there’s also value in who are the guys that can’t do it, that need to focus on one position, whether it’s outside or inside or whether it’s right or left. I think there’s a ton of value really in both ends of the spectrum on that.”

Where have Penn State’s young stars gotten better?

Of course, fans will want to see the budding stars from the 2023 season on Saturday, so Nick Singleton and Abdul Carter came up Tuesday evening. So where have they progressed this year?

“You guys know as well as I do, those guys had huge years. So what you’re trying to do is do everything you possibly can so that they can take a step from year one. And you’d love it to be as pronounced as maybe a guy that redshirted or a guy that played in a complementary role, backup role, only got a few reps a game. I think everybody would be excited.

And I think they can. They’ve approached things the right way,” Franklin said.

Penn State opens the gates of Beaver Stadium on Saturday for a 2 pm kickoff.

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