Penn State head coach James Franklin discusses the team’s physicality, the DT rotation and more
In a matter of a week, Penn State football went from being upset by one of the worst teams in the Big Ten in Illinois to going toe to toe with one of the best teams in the country and the best in the conference in the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday on the back of a few adjustments.
Just after Saturday’s 33-24 loss to the Buckeyes, Penn State head coach James Franklin cited redshirt senior quarterback Sean Clifford’s health as a big difference between the two games, but said he would need to watch the film to know what else had changed for his team.
Franklin said Tuesday — after having time to watch the film and contemplate how his team differed — that the quarterback play stood out but there was more to it than just that.
“I thought we were much more physical up front,” Franklin said. “Really on both sides of the ball, o-line, d-line and tight ends.”
The team’s physicality was apparent to the coach on both sides of the ball, but Franklin also took note of how it helped the Nittany Lions in the running game.
The team’s running game still struggled to gain traction, with the running backs carrying the ball 21 times for only 42 yards, but Franklin wants to build off that performance.
“I thought we played more physical this week,” Franklin said. “I thought we were able to run the ball, mix it in there. We want to build on that.”
The team’s demeanor when facing the then-No. 5 team in the country was also much different than when it took on Illinois in the week prior.
Franklin said that change played a role in his team’s ability to compete with the Buckeyes Saturday night in Columbus.
“I think the biggest thing is we battled,” Franklin said. “We were more physical up front on both sides of the ball. ... I thought our guys handled adversity and rose to the occasion against a really good and talented opponent. ... We just kind of kept battling. I asked the coaches to call the game in an aggressive manner. I wanted the players to play in an aggressive manner and for the most part we did that.”
Plan at defensive tackle
Franklin and the Nittany Lions have spent the past two games trying to replace senior defensive tackle PJ Mustipher, who is out for the season with an injury. Senior Derrick Tangelo has been tabbed to fill the void left by Mustipher for the most part, but that has created another opening in his own spot.
That means several younger — and less experienced — defensive tackles have been forced to learn on the job as they fill Tangelo’s previous role.
That includes redshirt sophomore Dvon Ellies and redshirt freshman Coziah Izzard, who both got plenty of reps against the Buckeyes.
“I think the combination of Tangelo, as well as Izzard and Dvon Ellies, those guys have stepped up,” Franklin said. “They probably weren’t ready to do it right away in the second half (of the season), and probably weren’t ready to do it right away in the next game but they’re getting better.”
One of the issues that can arise when a new player takes over is the number of snaps they’re on the field, not just how well they do when they’re out there.
The snap adjustment for those three players has been just that — an adjustment — but the three players have fought through the increased playing time.
“Tangelo was already playing at a pretty high level, but obviously his rep count has increased dramatically from what we were doing before,” Franklin said. “I thought Tangelo really did a much better job withe increased reps that he was playing and still played at a high level. And then obviously the reps that Izzard and Dvon Ellis, the number of reps have gone up dramatically. I thought they battled. I really thought they battled and did some nice things.”
While the three defensive tackles have generally taken to their bigger roles, Franklin is still hopeful the team will have more players enter the fray at those two spots.
He said the general desire is to have at least five guys who can play at every position and that — in the past — his teams have had their most success when that’s how many players have been capable of taking over for a play or two.
“We’re gonna need probably two more guys,” Franklin said. “We typically like to have five d-tackles rotating the entire year. ... But that’s when we’ve been at our best, when we’ve had a rotation of five guys.”
Quick Hitters
- Franklin said freshman Christian Veilleux was the team’s backup quarterback Saturday against Ohio State. Redshirt sophomore Ta’Quan Roberson practiced during the week but was limited and that led to the decision, which will also be reevaluated this week.
- Penn State received a waiver from the Big Ten to practice Tuesday — which teams must give off for Election Day — after the team decided it was best to practice because most players have voted via absentee ballot or would have time to in the morning.
- The Nittany Lions’ schedule was altered by a delayed return from Columbus. The team didn’t get back to the Lasch Building until 6:30 Sunday morning. That pushed everything back Sunday morning and the team practiced later in the day, but did not hold its normal Sunday scrimmage with the non-travel roster and players who didn’t get many reps in the game.
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 3:06 PM.
