Picking the biggest question facing James Franklin entering Penn State spring practice
Penn State is almost ready to start spring practice.
The Nittany Lions will hit the field for the first time in 2022 on March 21. They will go through drills that day and 13 more times before closing things out with the annual Blue-White game on April 23. That is set for 2 p.m. inside of Beaver Stadium. Big Ten Network will also televise the action.
As the march toward whistles blowing and pads crashing continues, Blue-White Illustrated will be previewing what lies ahead from all angles. One way we’ll do that is by breaking down the biggest question facing each member of James Franklin’s Penn State coaching staff, starting with the head man himself.
The Franklin file
This will be James Franklin’s eighth set of spring drills in nine seasons at Penn State. They were not held in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, of course.
Franklin, who is now 50-years-old, is 67-34 as the leader of the Nittany Lions. He has guided the program to one conference title, back in 2016, and three New Year’s Six bowl games. However, Penn State is just 11-11 over the last two seasons, which makes 2022 a big bounce-back year. However, much uncertainty exists with the starting 22, which will make this perhaps the most important spring of Franklin’s tenure.
What is the biggest spring question facing Penn State head coach James Franklin?
It’s a two-pronged question: Can James Franklin deal well with major change, and did he pick all the right replacements?
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This has been an offseason unlike any other at Penn State over the last nine years. Longtime friend and coordinator Brent Pry left to become the head coach at Virginia Tech. Another one of Franklin’s right-hand men and key off-field staffer Michael Hazel also went to Blacksburg. Special teams coordinator Joe Lorig left for Oregon. Then, Dwight Galt III retired after multiple seasons of running Penn State’s strength program.
Hazel has not yet been replaced. Penn State picked former Miami coach Manny Diaz to be its third defensive coordinator of the Franklin era. Stacy Collins is now the special teams coordinator. And, longtime strength staffer Chuck Losey was promoted to take Galt III’s role.
Penn State, arguably, needed to have its most productive start to a year since Franklin arrived. There are no days off in the pursuit of greatness, especially if the Lions want 2022 to be the year they close the gap on Ohio State and others.
Recruiting is going well, but only sustained winning ensures that continues.
If Franklin made the right choices, Penn State has a chance to win more than it has over the last two seasons this fall. But, he must both embrace those changes, plus many others going on across the sport, while hoping his decisions were the correct ones for the future of the program.
