Penn State head coach James Franklin just wrapped up his weekly radio show appearance here in State College. I took notes in case you weren't listening.
Here are the topics and his paraphrased answers from the show. If you have any questions or anything needs to be elaborated on, please don't hesitate to ask.
Opening comments:
Had a good week. Film was good to watch. Played 16 freshmen in the game. From a historical perspective, probably hasn’t happened much. Polk as a receiver, Barkley at RB, and even some of the redshirts like Thompkins and Scott returning kicks are things to really be excited about. Rushing for 200 yards. Going from QB running for his life and in game two not getting sacked and only getting hit twice. On D, Reeder played very well. And the story of the year is DE Carl Nassib. Really playing at a high level right now. A lot of things to build on.
Did a better job managing game, moving QB, running the ball. Still a lot of areas to clean up. ST has played pretty well first two weeks. Pretty explosive in the return game. But really have to improve punting. Rutgers has really good punt returner.
Freshman participants:
Typically, freshmen need to be physically, mentally and emotionally ready to play and you have a handful ready to do that. John Reid would play as a freshman because he has all three boxes checked. Some others probably don’t.
Rutgers D:
They’re good on D and they’ve been good for a long time, especially the front seven. Tamoko is a guy that only played football his senior year. A track athlete. Has jumped up and blocked kicks and gotten sacks. No doubt, he’ll be an issue. Front seven in general is a problem for people. Going to be a challenge for PSU. Everyone knows what their game plan will be, to overload box and confuse PSU front. They’ll either play cover two to protect young corners, or blitz like crazy so PSU has no time to pass.
Troy Reeder:
Has been really pleased with him. Comes from football family. Dad played in the NFL. A physically mature kid, 240 pounds, really low body fat, one of fastest pro agilities on the team. Moves well. Has been working with a trainer through childhood in Delaware. No junk food in the house growing up. Really, have been excited about him since last year. Great spring, and had some setbacks this summer, but he’s come on so strong. Coming off field with Pry and Wartman after the game, Wartman said he thought Reeder had 15 tackles, and stats surprised with only seven tackles. Nyeem said he stopped counting at 15. Really encouraging.
Von Walker:
Best part of him getting scholarship was him calling his mom. His mom was all over him, he put it on speakerphone, and mom was all over him about not relaxing. Asked them to turn camera off when he called his dad because he knew he’d get emotional. He’s the type of kid you would hire instantly. He’s the type of kids you’d want your daughters to marry. Has earned locker room, coaching staff respect. Has worked himself into legitimate full time player and captain for them. He’s a little bit like Zettel. A freaky athlete. Can punt, throw it. Does a lot of things well. And he’s a legend in his home town.
Ben Kline Good Works Team:
Not only is he up for that award, he’s also a Rhodes Scholar finalist, a heckuva football player. He’s a fifth-year senior who has worked back from injury after injury. Looked like he’d be ready to go this summer, then he had some setbacks. First practice back today. Put him on scout team. Was flying around and had a great attitude today. Made a big deal out of that with the team after practice. Some guys would sulk, but not him. Was coaching young guys. It’s an opportunity for him to get reps and next week start working back into action. Another one that will be extremely successful. Wouldn’t surprise him if Adam Breneman was president someday.
Five home games:
Some real advantages to it. Consistency has real value. The challenge is that this isn’t a major city, so a lot of fans have to travel in from some distance, and getting people to do that five straight weeks would be challenging for other fan bases, but at Penn State this is the deal. Saturday, was really proud of fans. Not the best conditions. And for fans to be out there in pregame and be great for four quarters, they brought energy to team and he’s appreciative of them coming out to support the team.
Stripe-Out game:
So proud of history and traditions, no one loves white out more than Franklin, but who says they can’t add more? Nothing will replace white out, but is excited about stripe out. To sit in that stadium, look around and see blue-white, blue-white, it’ll look good on TV and send message around the country that this fan base can pull together to do special things and show how special this place is.
Night game approach:
Night games, there’s always an advantage because there’s just an electricity around town. Will try to do some things in stadium as well. Local ordinance might not like everything, but it’s going to be great. Having fans tailgate all day with friends and family will be unreal. Something they do all day long makes them crazier. That helps. Then modify schedule a little bit. By the time the game is over, the kids are worn out. Think about requirements academically and athletically, fact they’ll let them sleep in Saturday morning, do breakfast, walk-throughs, meetings, there’s really some value. Can use that extra meeting time for walk-throughs and things like that. Those hours don’t count against 20-hour rule on game day. Will follow exact same schedule, just bump everything back.
Punt/kickoff returns:
Janarion Grant is a little unusual because he can make you miss and run away, but he also will break tackles, which is unusual for punt returners. The other thing most have is that he’s fearless. He catches every ball and gives himself opportunity to make plays.
Wartman-White:
He’s doing a great job. Really proud of how he’s handled it all. Right after it happened, he was so positive. He actually told Franklin he’d come back as a stronger man because of it. With younger players, he watches film with them and spends time with them on his own. Believes he’s really approaching this thing the right way.
Scott/Thompkins return game:
Nick has been great. Two offensive captains, two defensive captains and one special teams, so vote on one special teams captain every week. He’s won it twice in a row. Not only is he returning kicks, he’s covering, and has made three tackles. Really pleased with him. He’s a running back, so has tremendous speed, has changed his body in the weight room. Then DeAndre has really been waiting for his time. Struggled last year when he didn’t play. Didn’t like redshirting. So was really happy to see him get out there and have opportunity to make a play. Expecting his role to grow. Wants to get Polk and DeAndre on field at the same time, could really bring some speed.
International games in the future:
Thought the opening game in Ireland was unique, awesome experience. Way it ended in NYC over Christmas was awesome too. Had more people come up to him and say the whole bowl game experience, at Yankee Stadium, the way it played out, was one of their favorite games they’ve ever had. Playing overseas was great, but where it’s challenging is if it’s the last game of year or have a bye week after it it makes sense, but it’s still just really hard. Baseball going to Cuba is going to be hard with 30 people. They took 300 people. George O’Leary had bye the next week. They were able to get back and have a bye week schedule. PSU flew back right after the game, got back at 3:30 a.m., had to drive to Pittsburgh to get back, practiced on Sunday, gave guys off from football Monday… it’s hard to recover from all that. In theory, from cultural perspective it’s great. But they’re so busy when they’re there that they don’t get a lot of cultural stuff. Bowl games would be wonderful, but doesn’t know if he wants to do it in the regular season.
Linemen wearing knee braces:
It’s fairly standard. OL always wear knee braces every day at practice, same for DL and TE. QB wears knee brace on front left leg if they’re right handed. When you throw and defender can fall on front leg, want to protect that. DL don’t have to wear braces during the game, but wants to protect them so if something silly happens in practice. The DL hate it. They don’t want to wear it. But that uncomfortability in practice is worth it. Mandate it for practice. Mandate it for OL in games.
Coaching influences:
Doesn’t have one mentor. Had a bunch of people he stole things from. What happens is, not only do you steal things you want to use, but you also learn what you’d do differently. Not that it was wrong, but that it didn’t fit his style. Douds, Mike Price, Mike Sherman had big impacts. Kansas State and Bill Snyder. Just tried to steal things from all these different people, but not one specific person. Athletic directors. Learning from Sandy Barbour. Debbie Yow at Maryland. Superintendant Gary Bowman at his high school. Always studied leaders and how they handled things. Asked a lot of questions and annoyed a lot of people along the way.
Here are the topics and his paraphrased answers from the show. If you have any questions or anything needs to be elaborated on, please don't hesitate to ask.
Opening comments:
Had a good week. Film was good to watch. Played 16 freshmen in the game. From a historical perspective, probably hasn’t happened much. Polk as a receiver, Barkley at RB, and even some of the redshirts like Thompkins and Scott returning kicks are things to really be excited about. Rushing for 200 yards. Going from QB running for his life and in game two not getting sacked and only getting hit twice. On D, Reeder played very well. And the story of the year is DE Carl Nassib. Really playing at a high level right now. A lot of things to build on.
Did a better job managing game, moving QB, running the ball. Still a lot of areas to clean up. ST has played pretty well first two weeks. Pretty explosive in the return game. But really have to improve punting. Rutgers has really good punt returner.
Freshman participants:
Typically, freshmen need to be physically, mentally and emotionally ready to play and you have a handful ready to do that. John Reid would play as a freshman because he has all three boxes checked. Some others probably don’t.
Rutgers D:
They’re good on D and they’ve been good for a long time, especially the front seven. Tamoko is a guy that only played football his senior year. A track athlete. Has jumped up and blocked kicks and gotten sacks. No doubt, he’ll be an issue. Front seven in general is a problem for people. Going to be a challenge for PSU. Everyone knows what their game plan will be, to overload box and confuse PSU front. They’ll either play cover two to protect young corners, or blitz like crazy so PSU has no time to pass.
Troy Reeder:
Has been really pleased with him. Comes from football family. Dad played in the NFL. A physically mature kid, 240 pounds, really low body fat, one of fastest pro agilities on the team. Moves well. Has been working with a trainer through childhood in Delaware. No junk food in the house growing up. Really, have been excited about him since last year. Great spring, and had some setbacks this summer, but he’s come on so strong. Coming off field with Pry and Wartman after the game, Wartman said he thought Reeder had 15 tackles, and stats surprised with only seven tackles. Nyeem said he stopped counting at 15. Really encouraging.
Von Walker:
Best part of him getting scholarship was him calling his mom. His mom was all over him, he put it on speakerphone, and mom was all over him about not relaxing. Asked them to turn camera off when he called his dad because he knew he’d get emotional. He’s the type of kid you would hire instantly. He’s the type of kids you’d want your daughters to marry. Has earned locker room, coaching staff respect. Has worked himself into legitimate full time player and captain for them. He’s a little bit like Zettel. A freaky athlete. Can punt, throw it. Does a lot of things well. And he’s a legend in his home town.
Ben Kline Good Works Team:
Not only is he up for that award, he’s also a Rhodes Scholar finalist, a heckuva football player. He’s a fifth-year senior who has worked back from injury after injury. Looked like he’d be ready to go this summer, then he had some setbacks. First practice back today. Put him on scout team. Was flying around and had a great attitude today. Made a big deal out of that with the team after practice. Some guys would sulk, but not him. Was coaching young guys. It’s an opportunity for him to get reps and next week start working back into action. Another one that will be extremely successful. Wouldn’t surprise him if Adam Breneman was president someday.
Five home games:
Some real advantages to it. Consistency has real value. The challenge is that this isn’t a major city, so a lot of fans have to travel in from some distance, and getting people to do that five straight weeks would be challenging for other fan bases, but at Penn State this is the deal. Saturday, was really proud of fans. Not the best conditions. And for fans to be out there in pregame and be great for four quarters, they brought energy to team and he’s appreciative of them coming out to support the team.
Stripe-Out game:
So proud of history and traditions, no one loves white out more than Franklin, but who says they can’t add more? Nothing will replace white out, but is excited about stripe out. To sit in that stadium, look around and see blue-white, blue-white, it’ll look good on TV and send message around the country that this fan base can pull together to do special things and show how special this place is.
Night game approach:
Night games, there’s always an advantage because there’s just an electricity around town. Will try to do some things in stadium as well. Local ordinance might not like everything, but it’s going to be great. Having fans tailgate all day with friends and family will be unreal. Something they do all day long makes them crazier. That helps. Then modify schedule a little bit. By the time the game is over, the kids are worn out. Think about requirements academically and athletically, fact they’ll let them sleep in Saturday morning, do breakfast, walk-throughs, meetings, there’s really some value. Can use that extra meeting time for walk-throughs and things like that. Those hours don’t count against 20-hour rule on game day. Will follow exact same schedule, just bump everything back.
Punt/kickoff returns:
Janarion Grant is a little unusual because he can make you miss and run away, but he also will break tackles, which is unusual for punt returners. The other thing most have is that he’s fearless. He catches every ball and gives himself opportunity to make plays.
Wartman-White:
He’s doing a great job. Really proud of how he’s handled it all. Right after it happened, he was so positive. He actually told Franklin he’d come back as a stronger man because of it. With younger players, he watches film with them and spends time with them on his own. Believes he’s really approaching this thing the right way.
Scott/Thompkins return game:
Nick has been great. Two offensive captains, two defensive captains and one special teams, so vote on one special teams captain every week. He’s won it twice in a row. Not only is he returning kicks, he’s covering, and has made three tackles. Really pleased with him. He’s a running back, so has tremendous speed, has changed his body in the weight room. Then DeAndre has really been waiting for his time. Struggled last year when he didn’t play. Didn’t like redshirting. So was really happy to see him get out there and have opportunity to make a play. Expecting his role to grow. Wants to get Polk and DeAndre on field at the same time, could really bring some speed.
International games in the future:
Thought the opening game in Ireland was unique, awesome experience. Way it ended in NYC over Christmas was awesome too. Had more people come up to him and say the whole bowl game experience, at Yankee Stadium, the way it played out, was one of their favorite games they’ve ever had. Playing overseas was great, but where it’s challenging is if it’s the last game of year or have a bye week after it it makes sense, but it’s still just really hard. Baseball going to Cuba is going to be hard with 30 people. They took 300 people. George O’Leary had bye the next week. They were able to get back and have a bye week schedule. PSU flew back right after the game, got back at 3:30 a.m., had to drive to Pittsburgh to get back, practiced on Sunday, gave guys off from football Monday… it’s hard to recover from all that. In theory, from cultural perspective it’s great. But they’re so busy when they’re there that they don’t get a lot of cultural stuff. Bowl games would be wonderful, but doesn’t know if he wants to do it in the regular season.
Linemen wearing knee braces:
It’s fairly standard. OL always wear knee braces every day at practice, same for DL and TE. QB wears knee brace on front left leg if they’re right handed. When you throw and defender can fall on front leg, want to protect that. DL don’t have to wear braces during the game, but wants to protect them so if something silly happens in practice. The DL hate it. They don’t want to wear it. But that uncomfortability in practice is worth it. Mandate it for practice. Mandate it for OL in games.
Coaching influences:
Doesn’t have one mentor. Had a bunch of people he stole things from. What happens is, not only do you steal things you want to use, but you also learn what you’d do differently. Not that it was wrong, but that it didn’t fit his style. Douds, Mike Price, Mike Sherman had big impacts. Kansas State and Bill Snyder. Just tried to steal things from all these different people, but not one specific person. Athletic directors. Learning from Sandy Barbour. Debbie Yow at Maryland. Superintendant Gary Bowman at his high school. Always studied leaders and how they handled things. Asked a lot of questions and annoyed a lot of people along the way.
