James Franklin Wednesday press conference
Penn State head coach James Franklin spoke with the media for just over ten minutes on Wednesday evening to discuss his team’s progress this week. The Nittany Lions take on Indiana Saturday at 3:30 with some growing concerns on the offensive side of the ball. Hear Franklin’s full comments below and subscribe to Blue White Illustrated on YouTube so you don’t miss a weekly press conference.
Franklin mum on Penn State offensive line situation
One of the major topics this week was the status of several highly important offensive linemen. Penn State ended the game against Ohio State without either of its starting offensive tackles after Olu Fashanu exited the game in the final drive. They began the day without right tackle Caedan Wallace and left guard Landon Tengwall. That shifts the focus this week to backups Jimmy Christ and Drew Shelton. Shelton, a freshman, drew high praise from Franklin.
“He’s a guy; there’s been talk for a long time about five years of eligibility, and he’s a guy that, if we weren’t trying to save his redshirt, would have played a bunch already this year,” Franklin said Wednesday night. “He’s done a really good job, is super smart, [and] prepares extremely well. He’s gotten bigger and stronger. He’s right around 300 pounds now. So he’s done a nice job. Obviously there’s a lot [related to] how that will factor in with him come Saturday,” Franklin said.
Meanwhile, Tengwall has been absent for several weeks now. Franklin shared little about his status, other than it’s not a season-ending injury for the Penn State left guard.
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“I don’t have anything specifically on Landon yet. To your point, I think you have a pretty good idea of how I handle things. If they’re season ending, I’ll usually express that to you. But I don’t have anything new on that.”
Franklin also discussed starting quarterback Sean Clifford’s play over the last several weeks and if there’s been a change in the offensive mentality.
Press conference rundown
00:00 Press conference intro
00:10 Update on the conversation with Sean Clifford
00:35 Does Landon Tengwall have a season-ending injury?
01:10 Does Olu Fashanu have a season-ending injury?
01:25 Have you decided on who will start at quarterback for Penn State this week?
01:51 Do you feel like you can trust Drew Shelton in Big Ten play at this point?
02:30 Has there been a change in the planning of offensive play-calling?
03:25 Has Sean Clifford begun to trust his receivers to get the ball in contested situations?
04:22 How does the tackle rotation work if Fashanu can’t play?
05:00 What went into the decision to move Daequan Hardy to kick return?
05:35 Have things changed for Parker Washington that he’s more of a focal point?
06:23 How has Jerry Cross come along behind the scenes?
07:12 What is an offense trying to achieve by using tempo other than tiring out a defense?
09:13 How does the process of changing the starting lineup work?
10:10 What can you tell us about Jimmy Christ’s progress behind the scenes?
