Franklin says DT Kevin Givens has undergone concussion protocol

Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Kevin Givens took a nasty accidental hit from his own teammate last Saturday, a freak head-on collision with linebacker Manny Bowen.

Givens’ body appeared to go limp, and he lay for several moments on grass at Heinz Field as team doctors, and then head coach James Franklin, rushed to him. The starter did not return to the game.

Franklin said after Wednesday’s practice that Givens had gone through initial concussion testing and has continued through that protocol this week. The NCAA mandates that there be an evaluation process implemented by every institution “by a medical staff member with experience in the evaluation and management of concussion.”

For Penn State, that is head trainer Tim Bream.

“It’s basically, a certain amount of days after the hit, they check each day for symptoms,” said Franklin. “Whether that’s headaches, resting headaches…now that you’ve put him through and you raise the heart rate, does a headache come at that point? There’s also baseline computer tests that they take; how quickly they can respond to answers and things like that.

“There’s a whole protocol that we (the staff) have nothing to do with that the doctors go through.”

Bream meets with the rest of the football staff to provide updates each morning at 7 a.m., said Franklin. Givens’ status before this weekend’s matchup against Temple is still unknown. If he has tested positive for a concussion, he must then be cleared by medical staff to return to the field, in accordance with NCAA regulations.

In the second tier, starting middle linebacker Jason Cabinda was also seen on the sideline last week with his hand in a large cast. Penn State has played athletes in “club” casts before, said Franklin.

“Yeah, again, that’s up to the doctors. Doctors will make that decision,” he said. “Again, there are a lot of specifics and details of what determines whether you can play with a club or not. The type of injury that you have. But that would mean I would have to get into specifics about the injury, which I’m not willing to do.”

Tackling under spotlight

After giving up almost 500 rushing yards in two games (against MAC opponent Kent State, and Pitt), Franklin said the team has revisited tackling fundamentals in practice this week.

But, he added, that requires some compromise.

“It’s funny because it’s always something that, as a head coach, you have to balance,” he said. “Defensive coaches want to tackle live more during camp and offensive coaches don’t, so you have to find that tricky balance of making sure that you’re staying healthy but also getting enough done.”

Franklin said that in his experience, less and less “live” tackling (full pads, full speed) is seen at practices throughout the country in recent years.

“That’s where the players have to be mature enough to embrace the fundamentals that you’re doing in the drills,” he said. “Everybody has a rolling bag now, which has gotten to be really popular; we did a drill with that last week and they just really have to transfer that drill work during the game.

“It’s been emphasized, we’ll continue to emphasize it…We still have a number of young players that need to continue to work on their fundamentals and technique. We’re working hard at that.”

Thompkins takes the lead

With wideout Saeed Blacknall noticeably absent from practice, redshirt sophomore DeAndre Thompkins, who started in his place last Saturday against Pitt and had three catches for 87 yards, was once again taking first-team reps on the outside.

Thompkins is hardly the most-targeted receiver on Penn State’s roster (that’s slot man DaeSean Hamilton). But the former leads the team in yards, with 137 on just four catches.

“I haven’t gotten that many reps in recent games, but I felt good,” he said via conference call on Wednesday morning. “(I) always practice hard, practice like I was going to get 60-plus reps, so it really wasn’t too much of a change, just have to go out and execute.”

His 34-yards-per-catch average was highlighted last weekend with a diving one-handed snag that drew gasps and roars from the crowd.

In the film room on Sunday, however, Thompkins said nobody even batted an eye.

“We all expect to make those plays,” he said.

Penn State kicks off against Temple at noon at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.

This story was originally published September 14, 2016 at 8:34 PM with the headline "Franklin says DT Kevin Givens has undergone concussion protocol."