Football VIDEO: James Franklin talks Blue-White postgame

[GregInPitt]

Franklin wouldn't budge from his stance on having 2 WR's ready to play and that those competing for the 3rd WR spot are "the rest of them"..... Pretty hilarious really. Evans, McClain, and Meiga aren't ahead of Tyler Johnson? right..... Sounds like he just isn't satisfied with the performance of those that should have separated themselves for the 3rd and 4th spots which would seem to be Evans and McClain, subject to Cephus showing up and getting into the fray which Franklin also mentioned indirectly. Just using this public comment to motivate those competing for the #3 spot this last week of Spring practice and thru the summer workouts....

 

[lazydave841]

I think he's trying to leave it open. Nearly 5 months until we have to put 3 WRs on the field. Keep the #s well stocked until you have to get to 85.

 

[tboyer]

What do you want him to say? A lot of players in the mix at that position. Just two with experience and a lot without, plus transfers and freshmen and walk-ons. It's a casting call. Whether someone is #2 or #3 or #4 may not matter much. If they end up with 5 or 6 who can play that would be great, 5 or 6 play.

Sometimes you can make up somewhat for a lack of top-end talent with numbers. This is prob. the weakest position on the team, but sometimes you bring in a lot of new players and a weakness becomes a strength -- best example I can think of is 1995. The player who changed the whole PSU offense was a 5-8 walk-on who nobody had even heard of 6 months before.

And again, a QB with a great arm can sometimes make an OK wideout group into a very good wideout group. These guys won't have to get 3 yards separation but they will have to catch bullets.

 

[PSU Soupy]

The interesting thing is that James said in a piece a couple of weeks ago that WR was a position that could make the biggest impact on a football field and his justification for the comment, was because there is so much space for a great WR to make plays......... Interesting comment especially considering we have not brought in elite WRs in the last couple of classes, and now we have a new WR Coach.

 

[GregInPitt]

What do you want him to say? A lot of players in the mix at that position. Just two with experience and a lot without, plus transfers and freshmen and walk-ons. It's a casting call. Whether someone is #2 or #3 or #4 may not matter much. If they end up with 5 or 6 who can play that would be great, 5 or 6 play.

Sometimes you can make up somewhat for a lack of top-end talent with numbers. This is prob. the weakest position on the team, but sometimes you bring in a lot of new players and a weakness becomes a strength -- best example I can think of is 1995. The player who changed the whole PSU offense was a 5-8 walk-on who nobody had even heard of 6 months before.

And again, a QB with a great arm can sometimes make an OK wideout group into a very good wideout group. These guys won't have to get 3 yards separation but they will have to catch bullets.

Can't say I wanted him to say anything one way of the other.

But when he was asked about WR's beyond KLS and Harrison I kind of expected him to make some comments about some of the other competitors for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th WR depth spots.

He could have said McClain, Evans, Clifford and/or Saunders are making some progress but have a ways to go to be depended upon to be a reliable 3rd starting WR. He could have said that Ivey is making progress coming off his redshirt and is looking like he fits in and could be a contributor on the field next Fall. Lots of thing he could have said that actually would have been reasonable answers to the question asked.

But when asked about who is competing for the 3rd spot, saying "the rest of them" didn't seem to offer much positivity to the competition. But yep it was a message to "the rest of them" that they sure are not where he wants them to be yet.....

 

[lazydave841]

The likely 3rd WR hasn't arrived yet and he could be anything from the 1-3 guy. Will be interesting to see who steps up Saturday. BW game isn't an end all be all, but somebody should stand out.

 

[GregInPitt]

The likely 3rd WR hasn't arrived yet and he could be anything from the 1-3 guy. Will be interesting to see who steps up Saturday. BW game isn't an end all be all, but somebody should stand out.

Yep Cephus is likely a top 3, maybe the 3/4 along with McClain. I was pretty impressed with McClain's limited highlights. Big, strong handed WR with very good speed and very good YAC talent. And Franklin at the start of Spring practice said he tested very well. So I'm still looking for McClain to be in the top 4 and if any of the other top 4 (KLS, Harrison, and Cephus) falter or have "drops" I look or McClain to take their spot.

I understand Franklin sending the WR group a message, but I'm still pretty hopeful that the 2023 WR group will outperform the groups of the past few years.

 

[royboy]

Yeah, it's not like the years of scholarship restrictions, where we simply didn't have enough players available at one position group, that being the O-line group at the time.

Between the returnees and the transfer additions, there are plenty of scholarship players at WR. Competition should provide a quality rotation -- no Marvin Harrison, Jr. to be sure, but a number of guys who can catch, run, and block.

 

[ryoder1]

McClain and Cephus could be our top 2 WRs when all is said and done.

 

[GregInPitt]

McClain and Cephus could be our top 2 WRs when all is said and done.

I agree. KLS had 2 great games to end the season but was MIA in a good many other games.

Cephus is still an unknown to me even though he was very productive in the MAC.

McClain in his limited highlights showed plays that I haven't seen KLS or Harrison make.

If PSU has 4 mid to high B10 level WR's in 2023 and Allar shows out the offense could be very special. We know PSU has 2 NFL RB's and at least a few NFL caliber Olinemen.

And then any production from the rest of the WR's (Evans, Clifford, Saunders, Meiga, Ivey and Johnson) is gravy. Some seem to have high hopes for Evans, but other than the long catch in garbage time when he was uncovered and Allar lofted a blooper to him for a TD I can't remember a real highlight. One of the others could just as easily be the 5th WR as I see it.

 

[ryoder1]

I agree. KLS had 2 great games to end the season but was MIA in a good many other games.

Cephus is still an unknown to me even though he was very productive in the MAC.

McClain in his limited highlights showed plays that I haven't seen KLS or Harrison make.

If PSU has 4 mid to high B10 level WR's in 2023 and Allar shows out the offense could be very special. We know PSU has 2 NFL RB's and at least a few NFL caliber Olinemen.

And then any production from the rest of the WR's (Evans, Clifford, Saunders, Meiga, Ivey and Johnson) is gravy. Some seem to have high hopes for Evans, but other than the long catch in garbage time when he was uncovered and Allar lofted a blooper to him for a TD I can't remember a real highlight. One of the others could just as easily be the 5th WR as I see it.

The fact that we were pretty aggressive in going out and getting not one but two transfers tells me the current room was not that special from the coachs' viewpoint. Since then it appears Wallace has earned a starting role and KLS solidified one. I am unclear on whether their performance through winter workouts and Spring ball means they have made significant gains/improvement or is it more a reflection of a very pedestrian WR room and they emerged the best of an average group. It is not saying much about KLS given his inherent advantage of more years in the program.

I am glad Allar is now behind center because I think he will be better than Clifford in terms of delivering completions when the WRs are not able to get much separation. Unfortunately, I think we are going to see a fair amount of lack of separation particularly against the better secondaries. Hopefully Cephus comes on strong once he gets to campus and McClain keeps improving as he learns the system. Excited to see how much improvement Wallace has made. I sound like a broken record but disappointed Saunders has not emerged as a starter.

To your point, we don't need a bunch of Jerry Rices just solid players who can make some plays since we have outstanding talent every where on offense. Also with Theo and Warren as well as hopefully Dinkins they are real threats in the passing game which lightens the load for the WRs.

 

[jferretti]

The interesting thing is that James said in a piece a couple of weeks ago that WR was a position that could make the biggest impact on a football field and his justification for the comment, was because there is so much space for a great WR to make plays......... Interesting comment especially considering we have not brought in elite WRs in the last couple of classes, and now we have a new WR Coach.

Something tOSU figured out years ago. And they have two 5 star WR's coming in next year.

 

[royboy]

I agree. KLS had 2 great games to end the season but was MIA in a good many other games.

Cephus is still an unknown to me even though he was very productive in the MAC.

McClain in his limited highlights showed plays that I haven't seen KLS or Harrison make.

If PSU has 4 mid to high B10 level WR's in 2023 and Allar shows out the offense could be very special. We know PSU has 2 NFL RB's and at least a few NFL caliber Olinemen.

And then any production from the rest of the WR's (Evans, Clifford, Saunders, Meiga, Ivey and Johnson) is gravy. Some seem to have high hopes for Evans, but other than the long catch in garbage time when he was uncovered and Allar lofted a blooper to him for a TD I can't remember a real highlight. One of the others could just as easily be the 5th WR as I see it.

Yeah, Greg and don't forget the Tight Ends, which should be another strong point for this team. And an aggressive defense with star potential.

Bottom line -- don't need star performances at WR for Team success. Though it wouldn't hurt.

**note to add -- @ryoder1 makes the same point above

 

[Wallace Breen]

The receiver position has been frustrating for years. We have wasted a disproportionate number of scholarships for what we have got of them. Franklin has recruited three good players at the position during his tenure. Dotson, Hamler and Parker. None of whom were legit #1 options. They were #2 options at best. Bringing in two MAC caliber players in two years to start says it all. Stubblefield was made the scape goat but the fact remains individual play improves the second he arrived. There are bigger problems.

 

[royboy]

Dotson was not a #1 option?? A #2 option at best?

Did you watch him play? Did you see where he went in the draft?

Your points are often dismissed because of this type of exaggerated or plain wrong examples you often cite.

 

[jschrantz]

Dotson was not a #1 option?? A #2 option at best?

Did you watch him play? Did you see where he went in the draft?

Your points are often dismissed because of this type of exaggerated or plain wrong examples you often cite.

Exactly, that post is laughable

 

[rll1957]

Franklin wouldn't budge from his stance on having 2 WR's ready to play and that those competing for the 3rd WR spot are "the rest of them"..... Pretty hilarious really. Evans, McClain, and Meiga aren't ahead of Tyler Johnson? right..... Sounds like he just isn't satisfied with the performance of those that should have separated themselves for the 3rd and 4th spots which would seem to be Evans and McClain, subject to Cephus showing up and getting into the fray which Franklin also mentioned indirectly. Just using this public comment to motivate those competing for the #3 spot this last week of Spring practice and thru the summer workouts....

View embedded media

Probably a lot of coach speak I’ve seen a lot of seasons. Joe would often come down hard on his good teams and build up his bad teams. Coaches use media to motivate

 

[voltz99]

The receiver position has been frustrating for years. We have wasted a disproportionate number of scholarships for what we have got of them. Franklin has recruited three good players at the position during his tenure. Dotson, Hamler and Parker. None of whom were legit #1 options. They were #2 options at best. Bringing in two MAC caliber players in two years to start says it all. Stubblefield was made the scape goat but the fact remains individual play improves the second he arrived. There are bigger problems.

Wasted years when Hack could not hit a wide open receiver.

 

[Ian]

Wait a minute, didn’t the marvelous Hagans arrive to fix the issue at WR? I guess he hasn’t this spring.

 

[lazydave841]

Wasted years when Hack could not hit a wide open receiver.

Peggy once wrote that Geno Lewis was the best WR in the program and the best deep threat in college football...yet doesn't mention him amongst the #1s...

 

[lazydave841]

Wait a minute, didn’t the marvelous Hagans arrive to fix the issue at WR? I guess he hasn’t this spring.

I think he was brought in primarily to fix the recruiting of WRs, but it's entirely too early to speak on how he's done with the current group.

 

[PSUWrestlingFanSince2011]

Not what I wanted to hear about the DTs.

 

[PSUWrestlingFanSince2011]

I agree. KLS had 2 great games to end the season but was MIA in a good many other games.

Cephus is still an unknown to me even though he was very productive in the MAC.

McClain in his limited highlights showed plays that I haven't seen KLS or Harrison make.

If PSU has 4 mid to high B10 level WR's in 2023 and Allar shows out the offense could be very special. We know PSU has 2 NFL RB's and at least a few NFL caliber Olinemen.

And then any production from the rest of the WR's (Evans, Clifford, Saunders, Meiga, Ivey and Johnson) is gravy. Some seem to have high hopes for Evans, but other than the long catch in garbage time when he was uncovered and Allar lofted a blooper to him for a TD I can't remember a real highlight. One of the others could just as easily be the 5th WR as I see it.

Yeah I'm not too confident in KLS being our #1.

 

[tboyer]

Can't say I wanted him to say anything one way of the other.

But when he was asked about WR's beyond KLS and Harrison I kind of expected him to make some comments about some of the other competitors for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th WR depth spots.

He could have said McClain, Evans, Clifford and/or Saunders are making some progress but have a ways to go to be depended upon to be a reliable 3rd starting WR. He could have said that Ivey is making progress coming off his redshirt and is looking like he fits in and could be a contributor on the field next Fall. Lots of thing he could have said that actually would have been reasonable answers to the question asked.

But when asked about who is competing for the 3rd spot, saying "the rest of them" didn't seem to offer much positivity to the competition. But yep it was a message to "the rest of them" that they sure are not where he wants them to be yet.....

It's true, the tone of his remarks indicates they're not thrilled with the development of the group behind KLS and Wallace. Letting the position coach go is another indication. It will take Hagans some time to turn it around. Right now it's an awful lot of scholarships without a lot of excitement about the position -- at least compared with other units on the team.

 

[Online Persona]

Bottom line, I think we are going to have the concern for DT depth and WR play until we see it play out this season.

I did like the rave reviews of the growth of already impressive Zane Durant. That could help a lot if he is ready to be a strong 2 deep contributor or push to start.

WR is just that we do not have that clear #1 but a few candidates to be #2 and a bunch more to be 2 deep players. Someone in these groups has to step up and I don't know that we hear too much about that outside of someone performing well this Saturday and getting anointed the annual spring game hype that doesn't often translate to the actual season.

 

[GregInPitt]

It's true, the tone of his remarks indicates they're not thrilled with the development of the group behind KLS and Wallace. Letting the position coach go is another indication. It will take Hagans some time to turn it around. Right now it's an awful lot of scholarships without a lot of excitement about the position -- at least compared with other units on the team.

At the end of Spring practice when the depth chart is available to the players and after Franklin holds his one on one status meeting with each player, I look for 1 or 2 WR's to hit the portal.

PSU will likely need a couple scholarships to get down to 85, a couple of the current WR's just don't seem to have B10 talent, and the 2023 recruiting activity seems to indicate that the staff (Hagins and Franklin) would love to bring in 4 top WR's in the 2024 class to turn the WR position into a strength in a dramatic way.........

 

[GregInPitt]

Bottom line, I think we are going to have the concern for DT depth and WR play until we see it play out this season.

I did like the rave reviews of the growth of already impressive Zane Durant. That could help a lot if he is ready to be a strong 2 deep contributor or push to start.

WR is just that we do not have that clear #1 but a few candidates to be #2 and a bunch more to be 2 deep players. Someone in these groups has to step up and I don't know that we hear too much about that outside of someone performing well this Saturday and getting anointed the annual spring game hype that doesn't often translate to the actual season.

It seemed strange that during the recent update on the individual DT's that Beamon wasn't mentioned at all (from what I recall). Beamon might be back in the doghouse, but even if he's not the tone of the Durant remarks seemed to indicate that Durant has a great chance to start at 3 tech no matter who he is competing with at the position. The staff apparently struck out on Booker but they also could surprise us with another DT transfer in May.

 

[PSU Soupy]

Generally, the Playoff Teams are all strong at DT, WR, QB, OL and CB...... with athletes filled in around in the other positions - some with great TEs some with great RBs or Safeties.....but if you do not have OTs or CBs or a QB to make a key throw you lose along the way. I would contend that we have been strong at the less emphasized positons of TE, RB and Safety......we have been strong the last 2=3 years at CB but otherwise our weaknesses have been in some of the critical positions listed above.......... I think that PSU is aware...James has talked about size and speed of DTs and getting the extraordinary WR........ those kinds of players are tough to get.

 

[royboy]

Not sure any of us have mentioned Omari Evans as the guy who may emerge at WR? From today's posts

Welcome to Locked on Nittany Lions, your go-to source for all things Penn State Football. In this episode, host Zach Seyko dives into Penn State's last open spring practice to the media with a list of takeaways.

Zach breaks down the intense competition for the third wide receiver spot and why

Omari Evans
is currently in the lead, but there are still other contenders vying for the position. He also shares his thoughts on the quarterback room and why they are emphasizing equal reps for all three passers, as well as the depth at the offensive line and how they are shaping up.

 

[lazydave841]

Not sure any of us have mentioned Omari Evans as the guy who may emerge at WR? From today's posts

He played the most of all the true freshman WRs last year. That bodes well, but isn't an end all be all.

Look back at when JPJ and Ellis arrived. Ellis played as the 4th CB as a true freshman and I don't remember JPJ playing much beyond garbage time 4 games. One year later, JPJ ends up playing more than Ellis by midway point of season before Ellis transitions to S and JPJ blooms into a soon to be 1st rd pick.

 

[Wallace Breen]

Wasted years when Hack could not hit a wide open receiver.

Are you trolling or do you actually believe that? Game film says otherwise. Toss out the plays he can't be expected to make (spread offense staples such as the bubble screen) and his precision is quite good. The problem is the uninformed viewers and Franklin groupies can't identify poor technique from receivers (which he dealt with early and often under Gattis and Donovan), bad routes (another Gattis/Donovan special) and bad play design (Donovan is the worst P5 coordinator in college football history) and blame the guy they hate with a passion for reasons entirely unknown. Go look at film of his 15 picks in 14. 3 were on him. That is it. All this despite throwing the ball 484 times.

 

[PSUWrestlingFanSince2011]

Are you trolling or do you actually believe that? Game film says otherwise. Toss out the plays he can't be expected to make (spread offense staples such as the bubble screen) and his precision is quite good. The problem is the uninformed viewers and Franklin groupies can't identify poor technique from receivers (which he dealt with early and often under Gattis and Donovan), bad routes (another Gattis/Donovan special) and bad play design (Donovan is the worst P5 coordinator in college football history) and blame the guy they hate with a passion for reasons entirely unknown. Go look at film of his 15 picks in 14. 3 were on him. That is it. All this despite throwing the ball 484 times.

He was good his Freshman year, after that... horrid.

 

[Wallace Breen]

He was good his Freshman year, after that... horrid.

There is a reason for that, even though he wasn't exactly horrid in 14 and 15, especially given the circumstanced he had to play with. Actually five reasons. Franklin, Donovan, Hand, Gattis and Rahne.

 

[royboy]

There is a reason for that, even though he wasn't exactly horrid in 14 and 15, especially given the circumstanced he had to play with. Actually five reasons. Franklin, Donovan, Hand, Gattis and Rahne.

So you blame his coaches?

Hackenberg was never a high percentage passer, even in prep school. At Penn State, he completed 56.1% of his passes. We watched him have trouble with short throws on a regular basis.

He got drafted in the 2nd round of the NFL draft. How did he do with pro coaching and some time to develop?

At just twenty-two years old, Christian Hackenberg never played a single down in the National Football League.

In two preseasons with the Jets, Hackenberg converted 59 of 121 passes, incurred a passing accuracy of 48.4 percent, and passed for 531 yards and three touchdowns, and threw four interceptions, per The Ringer.

Of those four interceptions, opponents returned three of them into the end zone.

What Happened To Christian Hackenberg? (Complete Story)

Christian Hackenberg showed some potential during his college days with the Penn State Nittany Lions. This is his story.

www.profootballhistory.com

You can try to change the history, but ultimately Hackenberg was just not very good. Things got better quickly when Trace McSorely took over at Penn State and Hack's pro career was a bust.

 

[CJFisJoePaII]

So you blame his coaches?

Hackenberg was never a high percentage passer, even in prep school. At Penn State, he completed 56.1% of his passes. We watched him have trouble with short throws on a regular basis.

He got drafted in the 2nd round of the NFL draft. How did he do with pro coaching and some time to develop?

At just twenty-two years old, Christian Hackenberg never played a single down in the National Football League.

In two preseasons with the Jets, Hackenberg converted 59 of 121 passes, incurred a passing accuracy of 48.4 percent, and passed for 531 yards and three touchdowns, and threw four interceptions, per The Ringer.

Of those four interceptions, opponents returned three of them into the end zone.

What Happened To Christian Hackenberg? (Complete Story)

Christian Hackenberg showed some potential during his college days with the Penn State Nittany Lions. This is his story.

www.profootballhistory.com

You can try to change the history, but ultimately Hackenberg was just not very good. Things got better quickly when Trace McSorely took over at Penn State and Hack's pro career was a bust.

You're trying to talk about immutable facts with a dipwad troll.

 

[PSUWrestlingFanSince2011]

You're trying to talk about immutable facts with a dipwad troll.

And I got blasted for wanting to give McSorely a chance to see if he could be any better than Hackenberg. Also got blasted for wanting McGloin over Bolden. Got blasted for wanting Allar over Clifford, guess we'll see how he turns out.

 

[voltz99]

He was good his Freshman year, after that... horrid.

No. Hack was not that good. 7 wins. He was ranked near the bottom of the B10. His 3rd down completion % was terrible.

 

[Richie O]

Happy Valley Insider - HV TV: Penn State Football HC James Franklin talks Blue-White postgame

Penn State Football HC James Franklin talks with the media following the annual Blue-White spring game.

pennstate.rivals.com