James Franklin updates Penn State’s QB situation and why the offense lacks explosion
Penn State’s season is suddenly more under the microscope after Saturday’s 41-17 blowout loss to Michigan on the road. The team is still 5-1 and still, theoretically, has all of its goals possible. Yet outside pressure has increased, creating more of an impetus for head coach James Franklin to batten down the hatches within the Lasch Football Building.
“What I’m trying to do is everything I possibly can to control the Lasch Building and the messages and the vibe that’s in that building so that the Lasch practice fields are the way they need to be,” he said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. “And then Beaver Stadium is the way it needs to be, so then we got a chance for 110,000 or 107,000 fans or whatever it is fans coming out of that stadium Saturday night at sometime around 11:50, 12:00 happy.”
Some of the noise is people on social media calling for a drastic change — a shift from redshirt senior starting quarterback Sean Clifford to true freshman and former five-star recruit Drew Allar.
While Clifford’s status is not guaranteed for Saturday’s White Out matchup with the Minnesota Golden Gophers because of an injury he suffered against Michigan, Franklin made it apparent that he is still the player the program trusts most to be the starting signal caller.
“Sean has earned the right to be on the field,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that Drew hasn’t done some good things. Would we would love to get him an opportunity and continue to grow and develop him for his future? No doubt about it.”
Things can change, of course, but it seems Franklin and the Nittany Lions are committed to Clifford at quarterback. For the head coach, the decision is about operating week to week and doing what he has to in order to ensure his team is best positioned every Saturday when it takes the field.
“I think there are tons of examples, not only at Penn State, but across the country where you do everything you possibly can to win the next week,” he said. “I think some of those approaches aren’t necessarily about winning this week. In my opinion.”
Lack of offensive explosion
The main reason that noise exists is because of the offense’s overall struggles under Clifford and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich this season and last. The unit ranks No. 43 in ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s SP+, a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency that is intended to be predictive and forward-facing.
The team’s struggles run deep, but the lack of explosion in the passing game has been one of the more apparent issues.
“We really haven’t been explosive in the passing game this year like we had last year and previous years, but I think when we have been at our best we have been able to run and pass the ball in play-action pass and spread the ball around,” Franklin said. “That’s I think when we’re going to be at our best. Obviously when we can sprinkle in some explosive passes like we did on Saturday, those things would be helpful, no doubt about it.”
There’s plenty of blame to go around for that issue. Yurcich hasn’t called as many deep shots as you’d expect, with an increased emphasis on balance offensively when it comes to running and passing, and Clifford hasn’t connected with his wide receivers enough when those chances arrive.
Franklin said both of those issues are at fault in this situation.
“We got to hit more of the ones we call,” he said. “We could call a few more, but the challenge is, right, if you take a shot on first down and hit it, then that’s a great call. If I don’t, now you’re on second and long and increasing the chances of being on third and long. So that’s always the fine balance between those things. Then the other thing is you don’t want to always be taking shots on second and one when everybody in the stadium knows that’s a shot down. So it’s that fine line between those two things. You’re always most effective when you’re being explosive and creating most of your first downs on first and second down before you even get to third down.”
Getting back on track
Much has been made about the three-game stretch Penn State is in the midst of, and for good reason. It’s a season-defining stretch that will directly impact how this team — and program — is viewed nationally. And it couldn’t have started worse.
Saturday’s loss has put an immense amount of pressure on Franklin and the Nittany Lions to get right and the head coach said there was an uncharacteristic fault they had against the Wolverines.
“I think there was times we lost our poise and composure,” he said. “I think or kids have a ton of investment and our staff has a ton of investment, and we did not play or handle that as well as we should have obviously.”
The team has turned the page already and will try to rebound quickly, with Franklin saying he thought his team played hard in the loss despite the outcome.
Now it’s a matter of ensuring they can get back on the track it wants to be on.
“Tremendous challenge,” Franklin said. “Looking forward to getting out there in Beaver Stadium and finding a way to be 1-0 this week and being able to come to this press conference next week and have some good stuff to talk about.”
Quick Hitters
- Starting offensive guard Landon Tengwall missed the Michigan game after suffering an injury during warmups. Franklin said he’s not out for the season and the team is hopeful about his status.
- Penn State’s defensive tackles lack of size was a talking point for Franklin after the game and he doubled down on it Tuesday, saying he believed size is a weapon in the trenches.
