Penn State coach James Franklin clarifies injury concerns: Notes

Penn State head coach James Franklin met with the media following his team’s Wednesday practice. In his final Q&A with reporters, before his Nittany Lions take on Maryland on Saturday, Franklin addressed a variety of subjects leading into the game.

Not least among them, that included a couple of questions either directly or indirectly related to Penn State’s ongoing injury concerns.

Here’s a look at some of the pertinent news and notes items to emerge from the session:

Linebacker

Franklin was asked directly about Curtis Jacobs and Tyler Elsdon, each of whom left Saturday’s game with apparent injuries. (Jacobs was not seen at practice Monday.) And, subsequently, he was asked about the depth that exists behind the starters at Will and Mike, respectively. 

Franklin flat-out rejected offering any information about his injured linebackers but did say he’s been happy with how the depth at the position has performed.

However, when asked specifically about Keon Wylie, he noted that the true freshman saw action Saturday and could see time again this week while hosting Maryland. (Wylie played two snaps on kick coverage at Indiana, his second appearance of the season.)

“He could. He played this past weekend. So yeah, he’s a guy that can factor in,” Franklin said. “We have a lot of confidence in him. He’s handled the whole process really well. He started to put on some size to get bigger because that was a little bit of an issue when he first showed up. But yeah, he’s a guy that could factor in, for sure.”

Offensive line

Franklin provided no new insight on the injury status of Penn State’s star left tackle, Olu Fashanu, per se. He did, however, clarify one point of the projected first-rounder’s status.

Asked whether or not Fashanu’s absence was purely for injury reasons or if it also included those NFL Draft aspirations and considerations, Franklin pointed to the former. 

“Right now, it’s strictly a medical decision based on where our doctors and trainers feel like he is, where he feels like he is,” Franklin said. 

In Fashanu’s place last weekend, Drew Shelton started and saw a season-high 87 total reps at left tackle. Taking several questions about Shelton’s development and performance this season, Franklin dropped an important insight to wrap up his answer.

“He played really well, for a true freshman. We’ve been excited about him for a while. We think he’s a multiple-position guy. And we think he can play tackle and guard. He’s actually done some center as well,” Franklin said. “He’s a smart guy, he’s a mature guy, he’s picked it up fast. But, he played well. Typically with offensive linemen, if you’re not talking about them, that’s a good thing. We’ve been very impressed with him. 

“We’d still like to redshirt him if we could. I don’t know if that will be feasible.”

Connecting the dots, if it hasn’t already been clear, Franklin’s doubts for Shelton call into question Fashanu’s availability for the coming weeks. 

Tight end

A less-discussed piece of Penn State’s offensive attack that has seen diminishing participation the past four weeks of the season is Tyler Warren. 

After missing the Northwestern game to open October, Warren returned at Michigan to play 24 offensive snaps, then 14 against Minnesota, 9 against Ohio State, and just 5 at Indiana. 

Given Penn State’s big lead late against the Hoosiers, redshirt freshman Khalil Dinkins appeared for 14 offensive snaps and brought in a 17-yard completion. The catch was his second of the season and, according to Franklin, falls in line with the development he’s made this season.

“He’s smart, he’s talented, he’s athletic, he’s getting bigger and stronger. He’s getting more confident with the playbook,” Franklin said. “It was good to see him get in the game and make some plays on Saturday. 

“We’re going to need that to continue to grow with him. Hopefully, we’ll be getting Jerry Cross here back, which is another guy we’re pretty excited about.”

Scouting Taulia Tagovailoa

Maryland’s star quarterback is coming off his worst performance of the season in a 23-10 loss at Wisconsin for the Terrapins last weekend.

He completed just 10-of-23 passes for 77 yards, throwing one interception and one touchdown. Still, Tagovailoa remains a piece Penn State respects coming into this weekend’s matchup.

“He’s always been an athletic guy and a guy that can create and extend plays. He can really make all the throws. His accuracy has gotten better, his touchdown to interception ratio has gotten better,” Franklin said. “I also think, from a system standpoint, they’ve done a really good job of putting him in a position to be successful. And also, recruiting well around him. He’s got a bunch of weapons around him. 

“Like a lot of quarterbacks, he just continues to get better with experience. And, (he gets better) with the talent they surrounded him with.”