Penn State football December schedule: Recruiting, a hire to make, and more
There is no rest even if Penn State coach James Franklin and his staff are weary.
The Nittany Lions closed the regular season with a 30-27 loss at Michigan State last Saturday. That led to the recruiting contact period, and also a bowl game announcement.
Penn State will play Arkansas in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day at Noon. Franklin and his staff also spent time recruiting on Sunday. They saw Ohio products Drew Allar and Kaden Saunders. More stops to see prospects are on the horizon this month, as is bowl travel.
“We had practice early this morning and then got on the road recruiting and trying to kind of balance it all,” Franklin said.
“And then, obviously, gettimg ready for the bowl game and how we’re going to handle that being down some staff members.”
What are the next few weeks like for Penn State?
Lots of food, plenty of travel, and of course bowl prep are on the Penn State coaching staff docket.
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“Like I mentioned, I had practice this morning and then had three home visits this afternoon,” Franklin said. “Which, is three separate dinners and you have to walk in and they say, ‘are you hungry’ and you go, ‘yeah!’ And, you eat whatever’s there and whatever’s on your plate because that how I was raised. We’re very appreciative to break bread with all these people, but it’s not good for the waistline. I’ll tell you that. And then, obviously we had practice this morning. So you’re trying to balance those types of things.
“We have practices that are more suited towards the young players that you’re trying to develop and get reps early on while you’re trying to get some of the older players to be able to rest and recover. We have practices on the weekends when we’re all off the road together getting ready for the bowl. The closer the game gets, further in the recruiting period, allows us to spend more time back in State College and focusing on that. The GAs and analysts are all breaking down the film. They’ve started on that today, based on finding out who our opponent is going to be, and ready for us to start the game planning process. We got Signing Day coming up. It’s a busy, packed, aggressive schedule.”
Penn State has also moved all of its weight lifting equipment into Holuba Hall. That is so the construction that will ultimately expand the Lasch Building can continue.
“There’s a lot of moving parts going on,” Franklin said. “And then, like I mentioned already, trying to hire a defensive coordinator and trying to keep as many of my staff intact as possible because it’s that time of year.”
