Inside the Den: Penn State football Wednesday media notes and takeaways

Penn State emerged from its three-game gauntlet to open the 2021 season unscathed when it pushed past No. 22 Auburn Saturday night at Beaver Stadium in front of the White Out crowd.

Now, the Nittany Lions are turning their attention to FCS opponent Villanova before resuming Big Ten competition with Indiana again at Beaver Stadium on Oct. 2 in another night game.

But before that, let’s move into some of the notes and takeaways to emerge from head coach James Franklin's post-practice press conference Wednesday and the open practice session as the Nittany Lions work toward a Saturday date with Wildcats at Beaver Stadium:

Granted, the question James Franklin was asked was only about Micah Parsons and Odafe “Jayson” Oweh toward the end of his Wednesday post-practice media session.

His answer stopped me, though.

During a season in which Franklin has been more forthcoming, forthright, and frank than maybe at any other time during his Penn State tenure, the opportunity to discuss Parsons’ breakout performance this weekend for the Dallas Cowboys also presented a second byproduct.

“We lost Micah last year because of the way the season was handled by the Big Ten,” Franklin said, “but obviously, you guys know, we all know, what a difference-maker he is.

“I think he was a steal at 12. I think Dallas got a steal at 12.”

For maybe the first time since the All-American linebacker opted out of the 2020 season shortly ahead of the Big Ten’s announcement that it was canceling the fall season, Franklin provided his most blunt assessment yet of where the blame fell in that scenario.

Deflecting responsibility away from Parsons entirely, the offhand comment was another in something of a trend for Franklin this season in providing a window into some of his more blunt assessments that he’d been diplomatic about in the past.

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If you didn’t happen to catch my conversation with T-Frank in the Tuesday BWI Daily about Penn State’s approach to playing its depth so far this season, Franklin addressed it himself Wednesday night.

Asked whether or not an impact had come from the reality that Penn State had faced a Top 15 Wisconsin team on the road to open, a MAC contender back at home, and another Top 20 team in Auburn Saturday night, Franklin acknowledged that the schedule had, thus far, stood as an obstacle to what might otherwise be a normal approach to the nonconference slate.

"I think it normally would, right, because you get to play a lot of those (backup players) typically early on in out-of-conference games, and kind of got to figure out who people are, and then adjust from there,” Franklin said. “But I don't know if on the road at Wisconsin is the place to figure that out. So yeah, I think it's been impacted by our schedule. I think that's a fair thing to say."

Of 252 total defensive snaps this season, the Nittany Lions have 10 performers who have taken at least 150 apiece, topped by senior corner Tariq Castro-Fields (209), linebacker Brandon Smith (201), and corner Joey Porter Jr. (195). Offensively, Juice Scruggs has played every one of Penn State’s 200 snaps, followed closely in percentages by Caedan Wallace (192), Rasheed Walker (192), Mike Miranda (192), Sean Clifford (192), Jahan Dotson (165), and Eric Wilson (159).

Though Franklin had apparently been caught off guard by the revelation in his Tuesday press conference that John Lovett was said to have missed the first two games due to “disciplinary” reasons, Wednesday offered a new opportunity to discuss the running back’s impact.

Immediately following a practice in which Lovett could be seen repping third among the running backs behind Noah Cain and Keyvone Lee, Franklin offered his insight into what differentiates the Baylor transfer in the Nittany Lions’ backfield.

"He's an experienced guy. He's played a lot of football, obviously not here at Penn State, but has played a lot of football,” Franklin said. “I think he has maybe a little bit different style, maybe a little bit more quickness, maybe a little bit more juice.

“He goes in there against Auburn, first playing time, and the moment wasn't too big for him at all. It goes back to, he's played a lot of football in college career so far, so I think you'll continue to see that, as a kickoff return guy, and as a running back… he’ll get more opportunities.”

Lovett finished with two carries for nine yards and one 18-yard reception in 18 total snaps from Saturday's game in his first action of the 2021 season.

With opponents scoring on just 54.5 percent of their trips into the red zone, Penn State’s defense currently sits ninth nationally in the category so far this season.

Asked about the early successes, particularly in contrast to a 2020 effort that saw the Nittany Lions tied for 104th with an opponent scoring rate of 89.3 for the season, Franklin offered yet another crystallized vision of who and what he wants his Penn State defense to be.

“The first thing is, I think we're doing a pretty good job of bend but don't break defense in general, and we seem to be able to make critical plays at critical moments, very similar to what you've seen with Jaquan Brisker. He's made some big plays at critical times,” Franklin said. “I think the other thing is, people's playbooks shrink down there. We're pretty good against the run, especially in obvious running situations, and then I think our guys are doing a really good job of playing the ball in the air, I think we got more guys making plays on the ball in the air right now on the defense side of the ball, and keeping their poise when the ball's in air.”

Reiterating that Penn State’s secondary has the opportunity to be one of, if not the, best in his coaching career this season, the unit is off to a sterling start. Though having allowed 198.7 yards per game through the air so far (56th), the Nittany Lions have generated six takeaways and, most important, have only given up 14.3 points per game (17th).

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