Penn State head coach James Franklin discusses quarterback room, roster adjustments and more
Penn State’s new special teams coordinator may have never coached on the East Coast, but he does have connections to the program. Stacy Collins, who the program hired shortly after the position came open, is close with who he’s replacing — former special teams coordinator Joe Lorig.
Collins and Lorig played together in college and coached together at multiple stops and the latter gave the former all the information he needed heading into his new job.
“Me and Joe played together at Western Oregon,” Collins said at his introductory press conference Wednesday afternoon. “We (were graduate assistants) together at Western Oregon. We worked together at Idaho State and Central Washington. There’s a lot of overlap, we’re friends. ... Certainly did talk to Joe. Nothing but unbelievable things to say about Penn State, Coach Franklin, this staff and this area.”
The new coach won’t have much in the way of returning starters with his unit after losing Jordan Stout — the team’s punter, kickoff specialist and kicker — along with Jahan Dotson — the team’s punt returner.
He’s had a chance to watch the group he’ll be working with, which includes two former high-level recruits in Sander Sahaydak at kicker and Alex Bacchetta at punter. More importantly in Collins’ eyes, he’s gotten to know them as people.
“Right away when I got hired we jumped on FaceTime, got a chance to spend some time with them talking, got a chance to spend some time with their parents right away,” Collins said. “I get that opportunity to (evaluate them) in the spring and get to see them in a more true setting. And I mean that, not just how they kick, punt or snap, but what their makeup is, what makes them tick, how they can learn.”
The new special teams coordinator emphasized that part of coaching heavily in his introductory press conference. Collins has a master’s degree in education and said that’s what his background is in.
The importance of teaching his players was a major part of his off-field approach, while his on-field approach will spotlight the need to find advantages on the margins by staying ahead of the game and staying aggressive when it comes to special teams.
“My background is in education,” Collins said. “To me, coaching is all about teaching. We’re gonna hang our hat on being great teachers. ... We’ve been aggressive in a lot of areas, trying to stay cutting edge in what we’re doing”
QB Competition
Penn State added two quarterbacks to its roster in early January and one of them is one of the most well-regarded in the country. The addition of five-star Drew Allar and four-star Beau Pribula brings the total number of scholarship quarterbacks to four, with those two joining redshirt senior starting quarterback Sean Clifford, who has led the offense for three seasons, and redshirt freshman quarterback Christian Veilleux.
Clifford starting gives him the edge, but Penn State head coach James Franklin said, much like every position, there will be a competition to determine the starter.
“Sean’s our returning starter, there’s no doubt about that, but yeah there’s competition at every position,” Franklin said. “...You rebuild your team every single year. And there will be competition at every single position, including the quarterback.”
The redshirt senior incumbent had his fair share of struggles, but has also found success in his three years at the helm. The Nittany Lions won the Cotton Bowl in 2019 with him leading the offense, and he showed signs of being that quarterback again in 2021 before an injury derailed his season.
The up and down nature of his game has caused some inconsistencies on offense for the program, but Franklin added that there will be difficulty in unseating him.
“Obviously, it’s more challenging at any position to unseat a returning starter who’s been doing it for a couple of years, but there’s competition across the board,” Franklin said. “Across the board at every single position.”
New roster additions
Franklin and his staff have made multiple additions to the 2022 roster since the early signing period in the middle of December, with one coming from high school, one from junior college and one from the transfer portal. The Lions first added wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley in December after he chose the program over Tennessee.
The new receiver came from Western Kentucky, and Franklin spoke to one of his former coaches at a coaching convention who couldn’t stop praising his former player.
“He could not have gone and on and on about more positive things about that young man,” Franklin said. “As you know, when guys transfer that’s not always the case. This guy could not have been more positive. ... I think we’ve done a really good job of these guys in the transfer portal, not just checking out their film, but doing extensive background checks. We’re calling around, all the way back to high school coaches, college coaches, to make sure we understand what we’re getting.”
Tyrece Mills is the junior college player joining the team after signing on National Signing Day Wednesday morning. Mills comes from Lackawanna College, much like the team’s starting safety duo from last season — Ji’Ayir Brown and Jaquan Brisker — and plays the same position.
Along with the background and positional similarities, Franklin said Mills has similar traits to the aforementioned duo.
“We’ve had a lot of success, obviously, with that position specifically when it comes to Lackawanna,” Frnaklin said. “... With Tyrece, we saw some similar traits. You’re talking about a guy from the region, he’s from Philadelphia, Northeast High School, that has been able to go to Lackawanna and continue on that path of great safeties that have decided to come to Penn State.”
The Penn State head coach was able to announce the final addition to the team during his press conference, when offensive lineman Vega Ioane announced his commitment to the program and signed. Ioane was a late target for the staff after decommitting from Washington after its head coach was fired in December.
Franklin said the process came together quickly for Ioane and the staff’s west coast connections — where wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield is from and Collins has coached most of his career — helped seal the deal.
“We were able to reach out and connect and there was interest,” Franklin said. “I think early on it may have just been a trip, but there was some interest. (He) came out on the trip, really liked our guys. ... I just think he felt a fit.”
Quick Hitters
- Franklin said DE Bryce Mostella is not currently enrolled at Penn State. Mostella posted a Twitter thread that recounted his issues with physical and mental health issues at Penn State, which he said were ignored by Franklin and defensive line coach John Scott Jr. “Our focus is on all of our student athletes, in the entire athletic department and specifically football, is to make sure that our guys are healthy and safe. But that’s really what I can say at this time,” Franklin said.
- While Penn State has made a few additions, the Penn State head coach said it’s difficult to ever say the roster is solidified. He added that the Nittany Lions should have wiggle room and that he expects there to be movement across college football in the lead up to the season.
- Franklin said he doesn’t believe the university is “there yet” when it comes to competing with the other top teams in the country in Name, Image and Likeness. He said the upside is there for it to get to a good place given the school’s alumni network.
