Live updates: Penn State coach James Franklin holds Minnesota week news conference

Penn State head coach James Franklin returns to the Beaver Stadium podium on Tuesday. For the first time this season, it’s coming off a loss.

Dropping to 5-1 on the 2022 campaign with a brutal, 41-17 loss at No. 5 Michigan on Saturday afternoon, Franklin and the Nittany Lions will now return for a short home stand. First hosting Minnesota at Beaver Stadium for a White Out in prime time, Penn State will then take on Ohio State.

On the docket from the get-go, however, is making improvements off what amounted to a rough afternoon at the Big House. Can Penn State do so quickly enough to handle the Gophers this weekend?

Blue-White Illustrated’s Nate Bauer is posting live updates from the news conference inside The Lions Den forum. Click here to access those. Or, watch the press conference live, here.

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Follow our live updates, presented in reverse chronological order, here.

James Franklin press conference updates

Press conference has ended at 12:56 p.m.

In the room questions

On how much he feels internally need to pivot, or not: Was 2-2 in 2016, lost to Michigan in a similar type of game, and things went well. So won’t look too far ahead or behind. There were six unbeaten teams that lost last week. So, where he is concerned about it is, it’s hard to insulate players and staff from it. The way it’s described is accurate. So what they want to do is watch the tape, make the corrections, learn from it, and move forward. Find a way to be 1-0 this week. Winning is hard to do at this level. That’s their focus. The point is a fair one. What he’s trying to do is everything he can to control Lasch and the message and vibe in that building so the practice fields are the way they need to be, so that Beaver Stadium is the way it needs to be so the 110k fans coming out of Beaver Stadium at midnight on Saturday are happy.

On Hunter Nourzad: He’s been good. Having him available and able to play was really important after losing Landon. He went from rotation to starting.

On Landon Tengwall being available: It’s not a season ending injury and won’t address it. Not sure if he’ll be available or not. Hopeful. He got treatment on Monday. Will see where he’s at at the end of the week. Hopefully if he can get some reps this week, he’ll have a chance to go. But doesn’t have a ton of information on Tuesday.

On Minnesota being a night game: Did a survey with the fans and figured out what they felt like was the most important thing to do. Had strong inclinations of what times certain games were going to be at. Talked about it at beginning of the season and that played a factor in decision making.

On defense’s response to what happened Saturday: The meeting was good. Thought it was really good. What has happened at times is, guys’ investment is really high, and guys try to make plays rather than specifically doing their job. When you do that, plays come to you organically. It was a good meeting and went through everything to make sure everyone is on the same page. Need to correct them quickly because this is a Minnesota team that likes to do the same things.

On lack of explosiveness in passing game: Need to hit more of the ones they call. Could call more. But challenge is, if you take a shot on first down and hit it, great call. If you don’t, you’ve increased possibility of facing third and long. And you don’t want to only do it on second-and-short. Most effective when you’re explosive and creating most first downs on first and second down.

On the tunnel thing: Would prefer to talk about these things in the offseason, but the one tunnel is a problem. It’s a problem and has been. Need a conference wide policy. This isn’t the first team to get into a jawing match with Michigan. There really should be a policy that there’s a buffer between first and second team to go in. Something bad is going to happen before there is something put into policy. First team needs to be in before second team gets close. Not first team to have that happen. And won’t be last. There’s an easy solution, but just need to do it.

What prevents things he wants from happening: Has talked about these things in the past. Happy to talk about them in the offseason. But right now, focused on beating Minnesota in the short term. That’s not one of those things that is a short term fix. Happy to get into those things after the season. But has answered these questions in the past. Focused on Minnesota and getting better, being in the best position to be successful. Have a chance to get a win and build off it.

Postgame comments on size: It’s a weapon. There’s just a sweet spot and fine line in terms of size you can put on in good weight, lean muscle mass to be as big and strong as they possibly can be, but not putting on weight just to have weight.

When he studies film and sees 330 pound DT and war daddy in there, and they’re between 250-275 at DE. There are defenses they’ve played and studied that do that. Really likes Penn State DL room, but some guys it would help Penn State and help them if they gained a few pounds. Size is a weapon and would like to be bigger across both fronts.

Zoom questions

Nick Singleton/Kaytron Allen: They’re ahead. They’ve played a ton of football and have learned a ton through adversity. They’ve learned how challenging and physical this side of the conference is. These experiences are valuable for them. Huge believer in value of experience. They’re supportive of each other. Keyvone has been a great mentor. Need to create some big plays and explosives. Need to be more consistent.

On offensive line/Olu being strong: You’d love to be in a position across the board where you have one guy playing at an extremely high level. But has a ton of respect for Bryce Effner and how he’s played. Brings a ton of value at tackle and guard and he’ll continue to play in both of those roles. But protecting the QB, it’s an area overall they’ve been better. Also how they’re calling and managing the game. Olu is playing really well. But there are still guys deserving right to get on the field based on how they’ve played and trained. Want to make sure he’s getting on the field at tackle or guard, and with an extra OL. You look at his rep counts, they’re similar to other guys he’s playing with.

On people calling for change from Sean Clifford to Drew Allar: Doesn’t agree with statement “everybody.” No. 1, that’s the wrong message. That’s the wrong signal. And Sean has earned the right to be on the field. That doesn’t mean Drew hasn’t done good things and they’d love to get opportunity to develop and grow him for the future, no doubt about it.

It’s just interesting. Talking about national dynamics. Got a text from Mike Gesicki on Sunday when breaking down film. Lost at Michigan in ’16, followed winning Minnesota and rest of the season went really well. Tons of examples of doing everything you can to win the next week. Some of the approaches being suggested aren’t about winning the next week, in his opinion.

Defining offensive identity: There are times it’s been obvious. Run and play action pass. Being efficient in passing game. Haven’t been explosive in passing game like previous years. But at best, have run and pass the ball. Play action pass and spreading it around. Sprinkling in explosive pass like on Saturday is helpful too. But, keeping people on toes and unable to predict what they’ll do or how they do it.

Run defense against Michigan/what Minnesota does: There are similarities. This is a copy cat business. So people will watch film and take ideas. Minnesota wants to run the ball and take the life out of the game in time and possession. So have to be ready to defend the run and play action passes that come off it. They have a productive back who does a great job in the system. Need to do a great job making corrections from Sunday and being ready for what Minnesota does.

Tight end productivity: Theo missed a couple of games, so that plays a part in it. But when doing well, tight ends have played a big role. When they’ve struggled, they haven’t. That’s a room they have a lot of confidence in. Need to get them involved and keep them involved in pass and run.

Sean Clifford’s availability: Unless it’s a season-ending injury, typically doesn’t announce that. Also, it’s Tuesday and haven’t practiced yet. So hard to give an answer that helps right now. Nothing has changed with plan or model at this stage.

Opening statement

P.J. Fleck: Has known him and followed his career closely. Kirk Ciarrocca has a ton of history. He’s done a great job and has a great career. Doing a really good job there. Running back, Ibrahim, is a really good player. He’s from Baltimore, in sixth year, and has had as productive career as there is. Massive tight end. QB is a sixth year guy. Him and Kirk work extremely well together. And center is on every award watch list there is. He’s a sixth year as well.

Defensively, guys that jump out are middle linebacker. Free safety 27. Corner No. 5. And DE No. 8. All those guys playing good football right now.

Opening statement: When you look at the game and watch the tape and meet with players, played hard, really did. But didn’t play nearly as clean as needed. Typically, team making least mistakes wins. Uncharacteristically, times where they lost poise and composure. Kids and staff have a ton of investment, and didn’t play or handle that as well as should have.