James Franklin touts fab frosh contributions, more: Radio Recap

James Franklin said all the things you’d expect at his weekly radio show Thursday. Coming off a 46-10 win over Ohio on Saturday afternoon, the Penn State head coach could afford to blend confidence with a healthy dose of needed improvements. 

After all, heading into a much-anticipated matchup at SEC stalwart Auburn this weekend, the tests of a season-opening win at Purdue and a home cruise past Ohio were two unique experiences. In the Tigers, as he’d expressed at his press conference Wednesday, his Nittany Lions would learn a great deal more about themselves. 

Still, when assessing the benefits enjoyed from the win over the Bobcats, Franklin turned his attention to an overlooked reality. Bolstering depth now and for the future, Penn State also has a bunch of starters that didn’t have to log many miles on the rep count sheet last weekend.

“It allowed us to keep our first team guys fresh,” Franklin told host Steve Jones. “Their play count went way down, especially compared to Purdue. And that’s, I think, going to help us this week, obviously going on the road and playing in the SEC. I think that’s gonna be really, really important. 

“There are obviously things that we needed to get corrected. I did think we took a step from week one to week two in terms of our execution, but we need to keep building there. But, I’ve been pleased overall on offense, defense, and special teams, playing complementary football, doing the things we got to do to win.”

Tackling a range of topics including the trip to face Auburn, as well as a host of comments about younger contributors, here’s a look at some of the other highlights from Franklin’s weekly radio show on Thursday night.

James Franklin radio show recap

1) Abdul Carter could move. ‘Down the road.’

Credit to the fan in the audience for asking the question of James Franklin. Given his first substantial game action against Ohio, and the buzz surrounding his first months on Penn State’s campus, what would the future hold for Abdul Carter?

Or, more specifically, would Franklin and Penn State’s staff consider “down the road” moving him to Mike linebacker?

While Franklin didn’t put a timeline on the process for Carter, he did set the table for a possible transition during the young linebacker’s career as a Nittany Lion. 

“For right now, as freshmen, you typically like them to stay at one position so they can learn it inside and out and gain confidence,” Franklin said. “But yeah, he would be a guy down the road.”

Explaining that the typical linebacker trajectory is to start true freshmen at Sam, Franklin laid out that the path shifting to Will and Mike demands successive difficulty and mastering. 

“Mike is the most on their plate from a learning perspective and kind of running the defense. I could see Abdul staying where he’s at into the boundary or transitioning into a Mike linebacker because he’s got the ability, the instincts to find the ball,” Franklin said. “He’s got the ability to run sideline to sideline, he is one of the fastest players that we have on our team. He’s 237 pounds. 

“I’ve been really impressed with him. Got a very mature approach as well. And I think you guys are really going to enjoy getting to know him over the next couple of years.

2) Drew Allar’s absorption

Franklin brought up Drew Allar on a couple of occasions Thursday. First mentioning Allar as the beneficiary of two early experiences this season, Franklin said both are useful and crucial to his development.

“Being able to get Drew Allar some work in both games, that’s probably better than I anticipated,” Franklin said. “Not just how he played and how he executed, but the amount of reps in real-life football game situations that he’s been able to get.”

Later discussing Sean Clifford, though, Franklin offered a reminder of what makes the sixth-year quarterback such a valuable piece of the puzzle to Penn State this season. 

“Sean’s superpower, his gift, is his football IQ, especially when we’re talking about in a meeting room. How to watch the tape, how to break down protections and defenses and pressures. He’s really good at that stuff,” Franklin said. “The discussions that he and Mike (Yurcich) have, his ability to meet with the younger players. 

“There’s an aspect where he likes to go through it on his own first. But then being able to include those other guys, whether it’s Christian Veilleux, or Drew Allar, or Beau Pribula, being able to sit in that meeting room, watch the tape, kind of learn from his experiences, great dialogue on the sideline.”

This is where Allar comes in.

According to Franklin, the trickle-down is already showing itself in Allar’s habits and preparation.

“(Clifford has) been fantastic that way and he’s really going to set Penn State up for success in our future in him using his life experiences, his Penn State experiences, and his specific football skills that he’s learned, to help our younger players really advance,” James Franklin said. “And I think you’re seeing that from Drew right now. Drew, the reps that he’s been able to get, he doesn’t look like a true freshman in there.”

3) Safety dance, as seen by James franklin

This isn’t necessarily the first time James Franklin has mentioned him, but it wasn’t an accident for Penn State’s head coach to point to K.J. Winston as a fast-rising freshman when cycling through the vast wealth of resources Penn State is currently enjoying in the secondary.

In a conversation that was geared toward Penn State’s sub packages, specifically how the Nittany Lions have at times this season placed seven defensive backs on the field, Franklin noted how well he felt about the talent in the group. Then he noted that Winston has bounced back from “a little bit of a tweak” that took place in preseason camp and, like corner Cam Miller, is starting to appear on special teams.

With Winston specifically, though, Franklin highlighted the qualities that have allowed him to catch on so quickly. 

“He’s come in and he’s just got a maturity about him. He understands how to practice, and what it takes to win. He’s picked up the scheme very well. And then you look at him and he’s just got the body type with the length and athleticism that you’re looking for,” Franklin said. “He can cover as well as tackle. We actually thought about a little bit with him of starting him like we did with Zakee (Wheatley) at corner and then transition him into safety.

“I do think that that confidence that comes with being on an island as a corner and then transitioning to safety, there’s some value with that. But, we’ve been really pleased with him and I think you’ll see his role continue to grow as the year goes on.”