Penn State head coach James Franklin met with reporters Tuesday afternoon in the Beaver Stadium media room to discuss his Nittany Lions’ 27-14 win against Buffalo last weekend as well as this Saturday night’s tilt against Rutgers.
Let’s take a quick blow-by-blow look at the most important news and notes to come out of the press conference:
1) While Penn State’s official depth chart release Monday evening projected Andrew Nelson starting at left tackle, Grant Haley at cornerback and Brandon Bell at linebacker, Franklin was asked anyway about the status of all three following their absences for most or all of Saturday’s game against Buffalo.
Getting right to it, Franklin left some wiggle room for interpretation.
“I’m hopeful that we have a possibility of all three,” he said. “I think Grant and Brandon, we feel pretty good about that we'll have those guys and those guys will be significant additions for us.”
Certainly, Franklin and the Penn State staff should be hopeful to have each of the three aforementioned starters returning to action against Rutgers. Nelson’s potential absence might be the most troubling, as he filled in at left tackle in the first half of the Lions’ win against the Bulls, only to leave the field in agony right before the two teams hit the halftime locker rooms with what appeared to be a significant left knee injury. “Obviously as we all know with our depth and our confidence continuing to grow on the offensive line, being able to have Nellie available would be great for us as well,” said Franklin.
Haley, meanwhile, was identified by Franklin specifically for what he brings in stabilizing a punt cover team that has had to deal with inconsistencies out of the kicking specialist, Daniel Pasquariello. “Grant would be really important for us. He was fantastic last year as a gunner on punt team,” said Franklin. “That would be huge for us this week having him available in that role.”
Noting the importance of having Bell back among a unit of linebackers that is especially thin and young with the absence of Nyeem Wartman-White for the season, Franklin concluded by again saying that nothing is solidified for any of the three. Said Franklin, “I can't give you specific dates, I don't get into those things anyway and that's really up to our training staff and our doctors to make those decisions anyway.”
2) Punting was a big, big topic of conversation on Tuesday afternoon for Franklin.
Specifically, how the Nittany Lions plan to stop Rutgers’ wideout and return man specialist Janarion Grant, who is among the country’s leaders at the position. Noting that they’re balancing emphasizing proper technique in covering Grant following his three return touchdowns already this season - one in the first game and two last week at both punt and kickoff return - Franklin said that they want to be careful to not make it such a big deal that it creates an opposite effect.
“So I think the biggest thing is we look at it as a tremendous challenge,” he said. “It's exciting when a great player comes in and you have an opportunity to maybe do some things to make sure he doesn't have a big impact in the game.”
Part of that process, of course, involves some improved performance out of Pasquariello.
Though the Australian native punter has averaged 38.8 yards per punt through the first two games this season, good for 66th in the country, Franklin noted that the specifics of what they’re looking for in the punt game have left much to be desired.
“We want 40 yards, we want 4.0 hang time, and we want the location that we're looking for. We're not getting that right now,” he said. “To me, you can probably live with two out of the three. You'd like all three. You'd like the distance, you'd like the hang time and you'd like the location. Right now, we're not getting the hang time or the location, which is really stressing our coverage units.”
3) Special teams won’t be Penn State’s only concern against the Scarlet Knights on Saturday night, of course.
Coming off a game a year ago in which Rutgers thoroughly exploited Penn State’s weaknesses along the offensive line, compiling five sacks in what ultimately wound up a 13-10 Penn State win, Franklin is expecting a familiar defensive showing this time around.
“I think we're going to see a similar game plan we saw last year. I think we're going to see a similar game plan that we saw against Temple,” he said. “I think you're going to see Cover Two to help with the corners, the young corners that they're playing. And then I think you're going to see them load the box, blitz, try to cause confusion with our offensive line. I think it's going to be those two things.”
No doubt, the Rutgers game a year ago was the basis and blueprint of much of what opponents would do against the Nittany Lions through the duration of the 2014 season with much success.
4) A big part of whether or not that can be alleviated or even resolved on Saturday will rely upon the performance of the offensive line and, maybe more important, the ability of the Nittany Lions to effectively run the ball.
While Paris Palmer’s improved performance from week one to week two was both a product of a downgrade from Temple’s highly effective defense to Buffalo’s, Franklin noted that the running game is very different from what it had been a year ago in Piscataway.
“The thing that's a little bit different right now is compared to game one and compared to our game against them last year is our threat to run the ball more effectively,” he said. “Those blitzes are disruptive, but being able to run the ball and crease them, you have an opportunity for big plays as well. That's also where our willingness to run the ball more I think helped us last week, not just on normal downs but in the red zone and third down as well.”
Penn State was able to pick up three of its six third-down conversion attempts on the ground last week against the Bulls, and had 134 of its 200 rushing yards in the second half alone - aided largely by Saquon Barkley’s 115 yard, one touchdown outburst on 12 carries.
5) Last but not least, one of the small gripes about the officiating last weekend from many Penn State fans regarded the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty assessed against DaeSean Hamilton for his touchdown celebration.
Asked about how he handles situations like that himself, Franklin said that he chooses to do so privately, but also set the record straight.
“Our penalty during the game was justified. I couldn't tell during the game, but after watching it on video, it was definitely justified,” he said. “That's not who we are. We preach all the time about, you score a touchdown, you flip the ball to the official and you pay respect to the guys that helped you get into the end zone. Then you come to the sideline, you celebrate with your teammates and you go on to the next play.
“So yeah, it's been addressed, it's been talked about and I think more times than not, our guys conduct themselves in a really positive light and we want to continue to do that. We don't want to do anything that we view as being selfish, that brings attention to you or also that puts our special teams or our defense at risk with field position.”
Let’s take a quick blow-by-blow look at the most important news and notes to come out of the press conference:
1) While Penn State’s official depth chart release Monday evening projected Andrew Nelson starting at left tackle, Grant Haley at cornerback and Brandon Bell at linebacker, Franklin was asked anyway about the status of all three following their absences for most or all of Saturday’s game against Buffalo.
Getting right to it, Franklin left some wiggle room for interpretation.
“I’m hopeful that we have a possibility of all three,” he said. “I think Grant and Brandon, we feel pretty good about that we'll have those guys and those guys will be significant additions for us.”
Certainly, Franklin and the Penn State staff should be hopeful to have each of the three aforementioned starters returning to action against Rutgers. Nelson’s potential absence might be the most troubling, as he filled in at left tackle in the first half of the Lions’ win against the Bulls, only to leave the field in agony right before the two teams hit the halftime locker rooms with what appeared to be a significant left knee injury. “Obviously as we all know with our depth and our confidence continuing to grow on the offensive line, being able to have Nellie available would be great for us as well,” said Franklin.
Haley, meanwhile, was identified by Franklin specifically for what he brings in stabilizing a punt cover team that has had to deal with inconsistencies out of the kicking specialist, Daniel Pasquariello. “Grant would be really important for us. He was fantastic last year as a gunner on punt team,” said Franklin. “That would be huge for us this week having him available in that role.”
Noting the importance of having Bell back among a unit of linebackers that is especially thin and young with the absence of Nyeem Wartman-White for the season, Franklin concluded by again saying that nothing is solidified for any of the three. Said Franklin, “I can't give you specific dates, I don't get into those things anyway and that's really up to our training staff and our doctors to make those decisions anyway.”
2) Punting was a big, big topic of conversation on Tuesday afternoon for Franklin.
Specifically, how the Nittany Lions plan to stop Rutgers’ wideout and return man specialist Janarion Grant, who is among the country’s leaders at the position. Noting that they’re balancing emphasizing proper technique in covering Grant following his three return touchdowns already this season - one in the first game and two last week at both punt and kickoff return - Franklin said that they want to be careful to not make it such a big deal that it creates an opposite effect.
“So I think the biggest thing is we look at it as a tremendous challenge,” he said. “It's exciting when a great player comes in and you have an opportunity to maybe do some things to make sure he doesn't have a big impact in the game.”
Part of that process, of course, involves some improved performance out of Pasquariello.
Though the Australian native punter has averaged 38.8 yards per punt through the first two games this season, good for 66th in the country, Franklin noted that the specifics of what they’re looking for in the punt game have left much to be desired.
“We want 40 yards, we want 4.0 hang time, and we want the location that we're looking for. We're not getting that right now,” he said. “To me, you can probably live with two out of the three. You'd like all three. You'd like the distance, you'd like the hang time and you'd like the location. Right now, we're not getting the hang time or the location, which is really stressing our coverage units.”
3) Special teams won’t be Penn State’s only concern against the Scarlet Knights on Saturday night, of course.
Coming off a game a year ago in which Rutgers thoroughly exploited Penn State’s weaknesses along the offensive line, compiling five sacks in what ultimately wound up a 13-10 Penn State win, Franklin is expecting a familiar defensive showing this time around.
“I think we're going to see a similar game plan we saw last year. I think we're going to see a similar game plan that we saw against Temple,” he said. “I think you're going to see Cover Two to help with the corners, the young corners that they're playing. And then I think you're going to see them load the box, blitz, try to cause confusion with our offensive line. I think it's going to be those two things.”
No doubt, the Rutgers game a year ago was the basis and blueprint of much of what opponents would do against the Nittany Lions through the duration of the 2014 season with much success.
4) A big part of whether or not that can be alleviated or even resolved on Saturday will rely upon the performance of the offensive line and, maybe more important, the ability of the Nittany Lions to effectively run the ball.
While Paris Palmer’s improved performance from week one to week two was both a product of a downgrade from Temple’s highly effective defense to Buffalo’s, Franklin noted that the running game is very different from what it had been a year ago in Piscataway.
“The thing that's a little bit different right now is compared to game one and compared to our game against them last year is our threat to run the ball more effectively,” he said. “Those blitzes are disruptive, but being able to run the ball and crease them, you have an opportunity for big plays as well. That's also where our willingness to run the ball more I think helped us last week, not just on normal downs but in the red zone and third down as well.”
Penn State was able to pick up three of its six third-down conversion attempts on the ground last week against the Bulls, and had 134 of its 200 rushing yards in the second half alone - aided largely by Saquon Barkley’s 115 yard, one touchdown outburst on 12 carries.
5) Last but not least, one of the small gripes about the officiating last weekend from many Penn State fans regarded the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty assessed against DaeSean Hamilton for his touchdown celebration.
Asked about how he handles situations like that himself, Franklin said that he chooses to do so privately, but also set the record straight.
“Our penalty during the game was justified. I couldn't tell during the game, but after watching it on video, it was definitely justified,” he said. “That's not who we are. We preach all the time about, you score a touchdown, you flip the ball to the official and you pay respect to the guys that helped you get into the end zone. Then you come to the sideline, you celebrate with your teammates and you go on to the next play.
“So yeah, it's been addressed, it's been talked about and I think more times than not, our guys conduct themselves in a really positive light and we want to continue to do that. We don't want to do anything that we view as being selfish, that brings attention to you or also that puts our special teams or our defense at risk with field position.”
