Penn State press conference reaction: Why did James Franklin bring up Johnny Dixon?
Penn State Nittany Lions football head coach James Franklin spoke with the media on Tuesday to begin the second half of the 2023 season. We’re recapping his conversation with the media. Among today’s topics included Franklin singling out another football player that he said needs to get more attention, cornerback Johnny Dixon. Why has Franklin started doing this? Senior editor Nate Bauer discusses some of the subtext around players and how that has potentially changed how Franklin conducts his press conferences.
Check out the full video here, or on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Channel.
Franklin singling out Penn State players
While Franklin isn’t afraid to talk about individual Penn State players, it was rare for him to bring up players unless asked about them. Now, he’s done it several times this year during his opening statements of a weekly Tuesday press conference.
“I did want to give one of our guys some love because I don’t think he’s getting enough attention for how well he is playing. It really started in training camp and has continued, and that’s Johnny Dixon. I think Johnny is playing really good football. I think we have two corners– we have more than that but two corners in Johnny and Kalen that are tough guys and that are physical at that position, which is less common now than it used to be.
They do a really good job in a lot of different ways, not just defending the pass. Johnny is a great blitzer, then also supporting the run, so I wanted to give him some love because it’s deserved,” Franklin said.
Bauer gives his thoughts about what could be driving this change from Franklin. Check out the video for his thoughts.
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Team health and offensive identity
Next, we discuss the team’s health coming out of the bye week. The team has been observably healthy, minus wide receiver and left guard. So, how do you balance losing two players at guard and one of two consistent wide receivers but having a healthy team? We discuss the delicate balance Penn State has, especially on offense.
Next, we dive into Penn State’s quest for balance this year. Franklin once again detailed what he thinks balance on offense means.
“I mean, as you guys know, we want to have the ability to run or pass. In any game and in any given situation, that’s kind of how we view balance. We want to continue to build on that.”
But how many teams can do that? We discuss how close Penn State could be to achieving that ability to adapt to their environment each week and how hard it is to achieve.
