Penn State football head coach James Franklin discusses Senior Day, explosive plays and more
Saturday afternoon will mark the last time some Penn State football players will take the field in Beaver Stadium. Usually, Senior Day is an opportunity for fans and players to celebrate the careers of those who are playing in their final home game, but Saturday — and the next few Senior Days — will be quite different.
Thanks to a ruling by the NCAA that did not count the 2020 season as a year of eligibility, Penn State has plenty of players who qualify to return for an extra season even though they’re seniors.
That has made things complicated in determining who will actually be playing their final game at home.
“Everything has kinda changed with the COVID deal,” Franklin said. “It’s made everything different. We had a number of guys that took part in the senior ceremony last year and still decided to come back. ... It’s very different. I wish I could have a better answer. ... But it’s hard to say right now (who will walk), just based on everybody in the program having another year.”
Just last season, seniors Jaquan Brisker and Tariq Castro-Fields walked on Senior Day, but both returned for the extra year and will presumably walk again on Saturday.
That could be the case again, although Franklin expects some players who are able to walk to not do so and come back next season, while others may not have made the choice yet.
“I think our staff, as well as the players, understand some guys may not walk with the intention of coming back,” Franklin said. “Some guys may walk and still haven’t made that decision yet, until we sit down after the season and decide.”
Offensive explosiveness
Penn State’s offense has relied heavily on senior wide receiver Jahan Dotson to create explosive plays this season, and Franklin said as much following Saturday’s game. However, he walked back part of that statement on Tuesday.
“Now having time to think about that and watch the film,” Franklin said, “Parker Washington has had a number of explosive plays. I think right now we just don’t have the explosive plays in the running game. I think that’s our challenge and our issue. I think we’ve been running the ball a little bit better in the last couple weeks. But there’s been some opportunities for some big plays that we’ve made in the past that we need to make moving forward.”
That explosiveness has been a crucial part of Penn State’s offense this year and it was not on display Saturday against Michigan. The unit was unable to create big opportunities to score and it led to only scoring 17 points, three of which came after the defense forced a fumble deep in the Wolverines’ territory.
Franklin said in an ideal world, the offense would even things out and give the defense some leeway to make an occasional mistake, like it did when Michigan tight end Erick All scored the game-winning touchdown Saturday.
“I think our defense is playing extremely well and has all season,” Franklin said. “...We’ve shown flashes of it on offense and have moved the ball against some of the better defenses in college football statistically in our conference. There’s no doubt about it, the defense is doing everything they possibly can to put our team in the best position to be successful and our offense is doing everything they can to put our team in a position to be successful and the same thing on special teams.”
Quick Hitters
- Franklin expressed how proud he was of redshirt senior starting quarterback Sean Clifford for how he has played, especially following an injury against Iowa in early October. He cited the many big hits the quarterback took in Saturday’s loss to Michigan as a point of emphasis.
- The Nittany Lions would like to involve more offensive linemen moving forward, including true freshman Landon Tengwall, who was a high four-star recruit in the 2021 recruiting class.
- Franklin was asked if he feels he’s been distracted by the outside noise surrounding other jobs, and said he’s been consistent in his mentality over his eight years as Penn State’s head coach.
This story was originally published November 16, 2021 at 4:17 PM.
