James Franklin provides some, not all, positional clarity at weekly presser

Penn State head coach James Franklin returned to Beaver Stadium Tuesday afternoon for his weekly press conference with two things at hand.

The first, the Nittany Lions went to No. 12 Wisconsin and knocked off the Badgers, 16-10, with a gritty, “willed to a win" performance.

The second, having achieved that immediate goal to open the 2021 season, is a clean mindset ahead of hosting Ball State this Saturday at home.

Steadfast in the approach that has delivered his program success through his coaching career, Franklin detailed the many ways that the Cardinals, an opponent in which Penn State is currently a 22.5 point favorite to beat, have taken the mantle as the most important opponent remaining on the Nittany Lions’ schedule.

To earn a win, Franklin and the Penn State football program have a litany of determining factors likely to impact those chances at success, which he addressed in his press conference.

Taking a look at the biggest news, notes, and takeaways from Franklin’s weekly press conference:

Asked directly about the availability of expected key contributors safety Keaton Ellis, defensive tackle Hakeem Beamon, and running back John Lovett, each of whom did not travel to face Wisconsin, Franklin offered few details.

“They were not available last week,” he said, “and that will be to be determined this week.”

Having battled Ji’Ayir Brown for the starting free safety spot opposite Jaquan Brisker during the preseason, Ellis was replaced in effect by Jonathan Sutherland in Penn State’s win at Wisconsin, who shared time with Brown at free safety.

Beamon, meanwhile, had been a steady presence at the top of Penn State’s depth chart at defensive tackle opposite P.J. Mustipher through the course of the preseason, only to miss the trip to Madison entirely, as was also the case for transfer Lovett.

Seen on the field in pregame warmups at Camp Randall nailing 45-yard field goal attempts, veteran placekicker Jake Pinegar did not appear at all in the Nittany Lions’ win against the Badgers.

Franklin offered the explanation why on Tuesday.

Having competed with Jordan Stout for the role, one that he’s held at Penn State as the starting option for all but long-range field goals and PATs in each of the past three seasons, Pinegar was beaten out this preseason.

“I think that's more than a fair question. It really came down to camp,” Franklin said. “Based on all the numbers of training camp, (Stout) won the job.”

Acknowledging that Stout handling all three responsibilities takes a significant toll, Franklin said that the program has modified its approach to best suit the new reality of the situation. He also suggested that Stout’s performance Saturday, one that included a missed PAT and 23-yard field goal attempt, wouldn’t undo his ownership of the job this week.

“We won't make that determination off of one game,” Franklin said. “We got to get those things cleaned up, there's no doubt about it.

“But that's how we got here. I think Jake Pinegar still has a tremendous future. We're going to need him at some point this year as well, and I know he's approaching it that way.”

While Franklin offered a resolution to the placekicking responsibilities for at least the immediate future, he held back on doing the same for the left guard position.

Starting Anthony Whigan in the role, the Nittany Lions played the junior college transfer for 13 game reps in the first half before rotating in Harvard transfer Eric Wilson, which had been expected. Wilson, however, ended up making the biggest impact in the role for the game, finishing with 41 snaps through its conclusion.

“We thought Eric played well,” Franklin said. “We thought Whigan did some good things too, but we'll decide that this week, based on last week's game… and then what we do this week as well. It'll be a combination of those two things to determine who will start or who will play more on Saturday.”

Wilson graded out with a PFF mark of 68.4 in his pass blocking, 62.8 in his run blocking, and a 64.2 overall grade against the Badgers. Whigan’s numbers were that of a 41.4 in pass blocking, 53.9 in run blocking, and 52.8 for the game.

Franklin took the occasion Tuesday to discuss at length the targeting penalty that forced the ejection of senior inside linebacker Ellis Brooks and its impact on today’s landscape of college football.

He also, however, noted what might have gotten lost in the conversation: With his 11 tackles, including a sack, Brooks’ performance against the Badgers was significant on the whole.

“I thought he played his best game, or at least half, that he's had at Penn State,” Franklin said.

Expanding on the value of Brooks’ experience and the leadership it has enabled him to provide to the defense this season, Franklin did explain his view on the penalty that will force Brooks to miss the first half of this week’s game against the Cardinals. And, he added, it will spark a further shift in what Penn State emphasizes in its approach to tackling throughout the program.

“The thing that we're going to do a better job of is making sure that our guys are wrapping up, and looking to tackle in,” Franklin said, “because you can have contact with the face mask and maybe just the front of your helmet. But whenever you turn your head down, and when you throw a shoulder, which is what he was doing there in my opinion, it's just natural for the head to turn. But if you use proper tackling fundamentals, that should take care of that.”

Disagreeing with the interpretation of the rule as it pertains to hitting a ball carrier, Franklin continued in his assessment of the penalty being charged to Brooks.

“I think it's one of those calls that could go either way. If they didn't call it, I think people would understand that,” he said. “I think if you do call it, you're essentially making some changes in the way the rule had been officiated in the past when it came to a ball carrier. It's one of those calls, I get it. If I was wearing the official’s hat, and not being biased as the Penn State head football coach, I probably would not have called it. But I get it.”

Another interpretation Franklin also disagreed with but ultimately will take forward as a lesson in the program’s approach to punt coverage, was the two-time assessment of kick catch interference penalties on Florida State transfer A.J. Lytton in Saturday’s game.

First assessed a kick catch interference penalty for his tackle on Dean Engram in the first quarter, the bang-bang play and penalty led to a 15-yard swing in field position from the Badger 32- to the 47-yard line.

“We're not upset with AJ because the way we teach it is once the hands go up, we want him to shoot,” Franklin said. “The way it was officiated on Saturday, we've made some adjustments to how we're coaching it, but AJ did it exactly the way we coach it to be done.”

Not long after, Lytton was again charged with the same kick catch interference penalty, but an illegal block in the back against the Badgers alleviated Lytton’s responsibility and proved in favor of Penn State.

“The second one, he was clearly blocked in the back into the returner, so that's why that flag was picked up.”

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