Penn State coach James Franklin talks Tyseer Denmark's outlook, Zion Tracy's improvement, more: Everything he said

Penn State inching closer to its annual White Out game. The Nittany Lions now sit just days away from a Big Ten meeting with Washington. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on Peacock. Before that, Lions coach James Franklin held his final news conference of the week on Wednesday night. The first question he fielded focused on injured linebacker Keon Wylie. He is back on the practice field this week.

“Timeline, really just whenever he feels like he’s ready to go and the trainers and doctors think he’s ready to go,” Franklin said. “But he is getting closer. Guy that we were really excited about coming into the season before the injury, so having him back would be helpful on defense and on special teams.”

The next question focused on defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton. He played just five snaps last week after suffering an injury two weeks ago.

“Yeah, he just felt a lot better this Sunday than he did the previous Sunday,” Franklin said. “So he was able to play a little bit last week. So having him back would be big.”

Next up was a question about Penn State players playing through bumps and bruises at this point of the season.

“I think it’s really important,” Franklin said when asked about players battling through bump and bruises. That’s, I think, part of just kind of growth as an individual football player. Not a whole lot that we can do about it as coaches. It’s something they just got to figure out with the trainers and doctors. 

“Everybody’s temperament about it is different. But yeah, I think that’s just part of growth and maturity as a football player, and knowing the difference and trusting the opinion of the doctors and the trainers of what’s something you can’t go on and what’s something you can. Obviously, there are a ton of examples of that in the NFL and college, but for some guys, it’s their first time having an injury, and they have to figure that out as well. They got to figure out what it’s like to kind of work through that process.”

Read everything else Franklin said and watch video of his Wednesday news conference below.

On how the players are handling the Ohio State loss

“I think the most important thing for us is, how do we practice on Tuesday, and how do we practice on Wednesday? And I thought those practices were good,” Franklin said. “Think the coaches have been good. Most importantly, we got to get better so we can find a way to beat Washington. We do those things over the next couple of weeks, then all the things that we want to do are still in front of us.”

Is it easier or harder to prepare for a team with numerous coaches with NFL backgrounds as Washington has?

“I think it really depends, right? Everybody’s got NFL influence,” Franklin said. “Everybody does studies, everybody talks to people, everybody does off-season trips, or brings people in and does studies. So there’s always that influence. But yeah, I think when you got guys that have spent their careers in the NFL, I think there’s some challenges that come with that, with facing those types of guys, but I also think there’s some challenges for them, because you see a lot of different things in the college game that you don’t see in the NFL.

“Probably the worlds are probably closer than they’ve been historically, probably over the last five, six years. But I also think they have challenges coming back to college and the rule changes and some of the differences, some of the play styles. You know, there can be challenges in both directions.”

How close is Penn State freshman receiver Tyseer Denmark to contributing?

“As you guys know, there was a lot of excitement about him early in camp, and I think there still is,” Franklin said. “I think we’ve got to a point during the season that we want to make sure, unless there’s health reasons, that at this point, this season, that we’re being strategic about redshirts and those types of things, so that we don’t burn a year this late. So we just got to be strategic and smart about it. But he’s a guy that I do think you’ll see this year.”

On the backup safety situation and if Tyrece Mills is now playing more than Dejuan Lane

“I don’t really see it the way you see it,” Franklin said. “What you’re talking about, I think, is with Tyrece in a goal-line package, which is a very specific responsibility that we’re asking him to do. But, yeah, I think again, part of it is, like we talked about, it’s based on competition. And there’s some games where you feel like you can get a younger and less experienced player in there, and there’s some games where you don’t feel like it’s the right thing to do. You’re going to go with your starters, your experienced guys, as long as you can.”

On unlocking Omari Evans and the wide receivers

“I think, there’s times where we call shots to him down the field, and it’s covered,” Franklin said. “There’s times where we call shots to him down the field and we get pressure. You know, there’s things like that that are going to show up. And then there’s been some other opportunities as well, that we got to get him involved in other ways.

“But getting our wide receivers more touches and more opportunities is important. But, we also have to create more separation, make more contested catches, all those things. It’s a combination of all of it. But yeah, we need them involved, and we want them involved, and hopefully Saturday will be the weekend.

“I was hoping this past Saturday, that it’d be one of those games where they kind of all came together. We’ve had a game where Liam [Clifford] was good. We’ve had a game where Julian [Fleming] made big plays. Games where Omari stepped up, and Trey [Wallace]; would like to get to the point where all of those guys are factoring in on a weekly basis.”

On Penn State second-year defender and punt returner Zion Tracy

“I think the biggest thing over the last couple weeks is confidence,” Franklin said. “You’ve seen it on defense. I think it’s also translated to him as a punt returner. I saw him more confident on Saturday. Practicing really well right now. Always been a super athletic guy, a guy that we considered when we recruited him playing wideout. So, he’s got those types of ball skills. But I think you’ll continue to see him trending in the right direction, just practicing and playing at a really high level right now with a ton of confidence.”

On Penn State receiver/punt returner Kaden Saunders returning to practice

“Just an experienced guy as a receiver and as a punt returner,” Franklin said. “Has done some pretty good things. Would give us another guy to kind of rotate in and consider. His injuries kind of dragged on for a while. [His timeline to return] will be really up to him and the trainers and doctors.”