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

Penn State football again welcomed the media to Holuba Hall Wednesday afternoon and evening, the Nittany Lions practicing inside ahead of their Saturday clash with No. 20 Auburn at Beaver Stadium while rainy weather impacted the State College area.

First allowing about 20 minutes to observe the beginning of the practice session, the Nittany Lions then welcomed the media back to the complex for a post-practice Q&A with head coach James Franklin and senior defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher.

Earlier Wednesday, we posted some of the news, notes, and observations to emerge from the practice portion of the availability.

Now, let’s move into some of the notes and takeaways to emerge from Franklin as the Nittany Lions prepare to take on the No. 20-ranked Tigers under the lights and in front of a national audience Saturday night:

In a 12-minute post-practice media session, even one question pertaining to the next can be something of an anomaly during the season for Penn State head coach James Franklin.

So the fact that the Nittany Lions' coach was asked three variations of the Southern Cal job opening subject marked something of a breaking point for Franklin Wednesday, who insisted that he would love nothing more than to focus his time and that of the media on the program's massive Saturday showdown with Auburn.

Since Dave Eckert has that story covered completely, the most intriguing element of Franklin's Wednesday media session no doubt rested in his response to a question asking about the nature of the game's origin.

If Franklin's comments Tuesday during his weekly press conference hadn't crystallized his position on scheduling out-of-conference games, Wednesday night he made it even clearer.

So how did the game come about?

""Our administration wanted to play Auburn."

In a scheduling philosophy that very markedly doesn't mesh perfectly with that of Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour and the other decision-makers within the program, Franklin offered that the good news for the Nittany Lions is that they have framed the clash pitting two Top 25 teams in the third week of the season as an opportunity more than anything else.

"You're constantly getting people that reach out about games. We get probably get emails or contacted probably weekly, and some make sense and some don't," Franklin said. "But this obviously was set a while back and it's interesting because you have all the discussions about strength the schedule, and the Big Ten already plays nine conference games. For a while there, we didn't play any FCS opponents because the model was supposedly strength of schedule to position our teams and our conference best for the Playoffs, and that that was a decision that was made.

"Obviously, it's an exciting game and the fans are excited about it and those types of things. It's a great opportunity for us, we've embraced it, and we've practiced extremely well."

Franklin has never been shy about his affection for Nittany Lion defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher and the example he sets within the program in nearly every phase both on and off the field.

Wednesday night, he put words to it even further at how much of an asset Mustipher has been and how he fits specifically into Penn State's defense this season.

"The players get sick of hearing about it because I use him as an example all the time," Franklin said. "He's 327 pounds. He dominated the conditioning test. Could have probably passed it with the linebackers. I think his wrestling background has been huge for him. His mental and physical toughness is phenomenal. He's got a great motor. He understands leverage.

"I love him. I'm a huge fan of PJ's... he always represents the program so well, makes plays on Saturday, not at the expense of his role. There's some guys sometimes that to make a play, they go outside of the framework of the defense. PJ doesn't do that. He's gonna hold his gap. He's gonna do his responsibility and that's when you have a chance to be pretty good."

Through the Nittany Lions' first two games, Mustipher is sixth on the defense according to PFF's tackling grades with a mark of 79.1, trailing only Jesse Luketa, Curtis Jacobs, Daequan Hardy, Tyler Rudolph, and Johnny Dixon.

We're getting into the weeds here but, Franklin's comments about Adam Taliaferro, who is coming back to Beaver Stadium Saturday night to serve as an honorary captain, offered some subtext worth paying attention to.

"Adam is an awesome guy. Obviously, was a highly recruited kid coming here, was very well thought of while he was here, then the injury happened, this community rallies behind all of our players, and then to see Adam battle through this and then be able to walk back and then going to law school and getting his law degree and being on the board at Penn State, is involved in politics now, he's just an awesome guy," Franklin said. "He's come to talk to our team before. I think he's a great example of perseverance and positive attitude. I'm a big fan of his, so it's great to have him back."

All well and good, but Franklin also offered a few more thoughts about Taliaferro that probably sheds some insight into the dynamics of Penn State and how football is perceived within the university community.

"I'd like to get him back more involved at Penn State," Franklin said. "I think he's a voice that needs to be heard. He''s just been a phenomenal representation of our university for a long time."

In other words, Taliaferro had been a reliable, thoughtful advocate for Penn State football as it related to its position within the university during his board tenure and beyond.

On a board that hasn't always shared the same vision, or been swayed into the same vision, that type of representation would be an invaluable asset for Franklin to have and one in which Taliaferro is likely being nudged subtly to again take on a larger role within the university community.

Asked about some of the younger or inexperienced players who were given an opportunity to play late in the Nittany Lions' win against Ball State on Saturday, Franklin couldn't point to anyone who'd made a major move, as the question suggested.

However, Franklin did comment backup quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson for his 23-yard touchdown pass to tight end Theo Johnson in the fourth quarter.

"I think really valuable, really valuable for us, obviously, the one that you guys always ask about is the quarterback position so getting the quarterback in there and him throwing a touchdown was great," Franklin said. "We planned on getting him in earlier... we would have liked to get him more time, but that's probably the one that jumps out just because of the position and I know you guys have asked me that a ton of times."

Roberson's touchdown was the first completed pass of his Penn State career.

*******

• Talk about this article inside The Lions Den

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue-White Illustrated

• Follow us on Twitter: @BWIonRivals, @NateBauerBWI, @RivalsSnyder, @DavidEckert98, @GregPickel, @ThomasFrankCarr

• Follow us on Instagram

• Like us on Facebook