Penn State football: Takeaways from James Franklin's Wednesday presser

Penn State Nittany Lions football coach James Franklin met the media Wednesday night, and there was plenty to discuss.

With questions swirling about his future, Franklin proclaimed after practice that he was "fiercely loyal" to Penn State.

He also discussed Penn State's quarterback situation, and offered some thoughts on the Ohio State running game that the Nittany Lions will have to deal with on Saturday.

With speculation connecting Franklin to the available head coaching jobs at LSU and USC surfacing just about every day, Franklin was once again given the opportunity to address his future at Penn State when he was asked about the impact of the speculation on his relationships.

"I think I have shown my loyalty to this team, to this program, to this community," he said. "I think I've been pretty consistent with that. There's times that you're put in challenging situations, and I just always want to be able to — when I say something, it's done, and it's in stone, and when you're talking about the future, that can be challenging at times. So, I am fiercely loyal to Penn State. I am fiercely loyal, most importantly, to these players and the staff."

Franklin said that, when appropriate, he would love to sit down with the reporters covering Penn State and "talk through all of this in detail, kind of how it goes, the challenging situations that coaches are put in some times, especially if you're trying to be honest and upfront with everybody, and that's something that's very, very important to me."

Franklin was asked why Sean Clifford still got the start in Saturday's loss to Illinois when he was still clearly limited by an injury suffered against Iowa.

Franklin said that Clifford, despite his limitations, still gave Penn State the best chance to win.

Backup Ta'Quan Roberson was not running through quarterback drills during a 15-minute period the media was permitted to watch, but Franklin said he did practice on Wednesday.

As for this week, the Nittany Lions are more optimistic they'll get a healthier Clifford.

"I think you always have to have the Plan B prepared, but last Sunday, we knew it was kind of day to day," Franklin said. "This Sunday, in my conversations, I think he's got a real good chance to be as close to 100 percent as we've seen in a couple weeks."

He wasn't the clear starter for the Buckeyes heading into game one this season, but it didn't take long for TeVeyon Henderson to separate himself from the pack.

The true freshman has become one of the most dominant forces in college football, averaging 8.8 yard per carry on his way to 693 rushing yards, 168 receiving yards and 14 total touchdowns.

"He's changed them," Franklin said. "They've always obviously been talented at the running back position, but he's made them just so much more explosive. Obviously, was a highly regarded guy out of high school and he's showing that he's been able to do it. I think the biggest thing where he's different is the speed. He's extremely explosive, obviously behind one of the bigger offensive lines in the country, and then obviously the threats that they have on the perimeter as well, it's a challenging combination of athletes to stop."

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