James Franklin talks Sean Clifford durability, Northwestern, more: Notebook

Penn State head coach James Franklin met with the media following practice Wednesday evening. Rain pushed the Nittany Lions inside Holuba Hall midway through practice, and, consequently, Franklin’s regular midweek Q&A was too.

Tackling topics ranging from Coziah Izzard’s availability (after missing the first four games) and Hunter Nourzad’s recovery from injury, to the running back rotation, and more, Franklin provided updates as the Nittany Lions get set to face Northwestern on Saturday afternoon.

Here’s a look at some of the news, notes, and observations to come from Franklin’s press conference:

Complete James Franklin post-practice Q&A

James Franklin midweek notebook

Sean Clifford’s durability

Coming out of a first four games that have included several memorable hits on Sean Clifford, beginning at Purdue, continuing through Auburn with Owen Pappoe’s big shot, and into this past weekend against Central Michigan, Franklin was asked about the sixth-year senior’s durability. 

Having sustained injuries previously during his Penn State playing career, Clifford has been “good,” according to Franklin.

“Yeah, I think he’s been good. To your point, the way we’ve been able to get him out of almost every game, and that’s valuable. It’s valuable,” Franklin said. “So far, so good. He’s in a really good position. Probably as good as he’s been at this point in the season. Knock on wood.”

Wednesday night, Clifford remained first in getting snaps. He was followed by Drew Allar, Christian Veilleux and Beau Pribula.

Getting chippy with Peter Skoronski

Franklin spent time on Northwestern’s frequency chipping defenders, be it defensive ends, linebackers, or others during his Tuesday press conference. That was about the Wildcats’ offensive coordinator, Mike Bajakian. 

Wednesday, asked about talented tackle Peter Skoronski, considered among the top prospects in the next NFL Draft class, Franklin circled back to make the same point. Calling Skoronski big and smart, Franklin said it’s difficult to get a completely accurate picture based on Northwestern’s scheme.

“It’s funny because in some ways you don’t get to completely evaluate him because they chip a lot. They’ll use the tight ends and running backs to chip,” Franklin said. “A lot of people do that when they feel like it’s a matchup problem. But they do it all the time. 

“And even with him and I don’t know if he necessarily needs it all the time. But it’s just part of who they are and what they do. So sometimes it makes it difficult to evaluate him, but we know how talented he is, got a ton of respect for him, and we know it’d be a challenge on Saturday.”

Speaking of challenges

Franklin made clear his frustration over the kicking game Saturday following Penn State’s win over the Chippewas. He did it again Tuesday. Wednesday, he offered the most detail yet as to specifically what he’s looking for with kickoff placement and coverage.

“For the most part, we’d like for that ball to be at least a 4.0 [second] hang time. We’d like for the ball to be what we call the divide or wider. Between the hash and the numbers that divide between those two points to the sidelines, so we don’t have to defend the entire field,” Franklin said. “And you’d like it to be a yard or two deep. So, if they decide to bring it out, then we should have a chance to pin them deep or they keep it in and there’s no threat of a big return, and the ball’s at the 25-yard line. 

“You’d like that to be as consistent as possible. I think you guys got a pretty good idea last year, obviously with Stout. All of these guys have the ability to do it and they’ve done it in practice. But we got to be more consistent and for whatever reason, last game, it was all over the map.”