Press Conference News & Notes
Head coach James Franklin met with reporters Tuesday to preview Penn State’s season opener vs. Kent State (Saturday; 3:30 p.m/BTN).
Speaking publicly for the firs time since the athletic department released the depth chart earlier that day, here are some news and notes to come from Franklin out of the press conference
- Beginning with injury news, Franklin announced his opening statement that redshirt freshman tight end Nick Bowers is out for the season. “That’s why you don’t see him on the depth chart,” said Franklin. “That’s probably as specific as I’ll get with that, but I want you guys to be aware of that, that he’ll be gone for the season.
“Obviously we're going to miss him. He's a great teammate. I think he has a very, very bright future here at Penn State. Had a great off-season. So we're going to miss him. But yeah, it's next man up,” said Franklin, offering a glimpse at how the position will handle Bowers’ absence. “We're excited about Tom Pancoast and what he brings to the table and Jonathan Holland's development. We have the ability to go 10-personnel and that can be a part of what we do, a little bit more than 11-personnel, be able to mix that in and have a bigger role for us; that's a way to handle that, as well as giving Pancoast and Holland some opportunities, as well.
“Excited about what Mike is going to be able to do and excited about the tight end's role in our offense, not only this year, but in the future.”
- Franklin opened his press conference by re-confirming the true freshman have been “green-lighted” to play right away and those who are “yellow lights,” and might eventually play.
Green - Blake Gillikin, Connor McGovern, Miles Sanders
Yellow - Cameron Brown, Michal Menet, Will Fries, Shane Simmons
- Brendan Mahon is listed as the starter at left tackle on Penn State’s depth chart after starting previously in his career at guard and RT. As Franklin indicated Tuesday afternoon, a variety of factors went into the decision to give Mahon a shot as the starting left tackle to open the season, with an overall personal evolution encompassing it.
“Brendan has done a nice job. He's really, really been focused, really in all areas of his life, academically, socially, athletically. He's matured so much since the time we have arrived. I'm very, very proud of him and had a great camp,” said Franklin. “He's a guy that has the flexibility to play tackle or guard. Kind of always looked at him that way. He saw all the competition that we were having at the tackle position and felt like he could help them.”
- Similarly, fifth-year senior Evan Schwan emerged as the winner on the depth chart at defensive end opposite Garrett Sickels through the preseason. Having studied the tendencies of now-NFL defensive end Carl Nassib, Franklin said that Schwan’s improvements through the offseason are now coming to fruition out on the practice field.
“We're excited, the fact that we have a senior, which we have a few on our team, is stepping up on the defensive line for us; we're expecting good things out of him,” said Franklin. “I've just been very, very pleased and proud of him with how he's approached everything, his leadership, his understanding of this is kind of his time. He's put in five years waiting for this opportunity and really approached it the right way and run with it.”
- Franklin’s news through the first weekly press conference of the season was not all positive. Outside of the injury news regarding tight end Nick Bowers, Franklin was less forthcoming - but hinted at undisclosed issues - for both defensive tackle Curtis Cothran and offensive lineman Noah Beh.
Regarding Cothran: “Curtis is in the mix. He's still in the mix. He will have an opportunity throughout the season to earn a bigger role.”
Regarding Beh: “Noah has really shown some nice things and made some dramatic improvement from last season, but there are still some areas that he needs to work on. Those areas have been communicated clearly to Noah, and he's a guy that we still feel like has a bright future here at Penn State.
“But there's just some areas that he needs to continue to invest in to help him have the type of role that he wants for us on our offensive line.”
Franklin did not elaborate further in regards to either individual.
- More positive reviews for Kevin Givens, who is slated to start at defensive tackle alongside Parker Cothren as a redshirt freshman.
Describing Givens’ rare ability to be both a weight room warrior as well as make that impact translate to the playing field, Franklin offered his impressions on the spring breakout as he’s continued his performance through preseason camp.
“His work ethic and commitment in the weight room has really translated on the field and his quickness and athleticism at the defensive tackle position has been a problem for guys,” said Franklin. “And typically, you don't have both. Typically you have under-sized guys that have tremendous quickness, but they can get overpowered at times. Kevin is pound-for-pound probably one of the strongest guys on our team, and on top of that, he's got tremendous quickness and athleticism for that position.”
Continuing at defensive tackle, Franklin was also asked about Antoine White and juco transfer Tyrell Chavis. Describing Chavis’ need to acclimate to the training regimen of being an athlete at this level, Franklin indicated that his role will grow as the season progresses - or at least that’s what he’s hoping to see. White, meanwhile, has undergone a complete body transformation, dropping weight in the spring through diet and exercise and now building back up the pounds by putting on muscle mass and good weight.
“There's an excitement about Antoine,” said Franklin. “He's back to playing the way we think he's capable of playing, and now he just needs the experience and the reps to build on that.”
- Finally, Franklin was asked about managing expectations for his new and much-discussed offense helmed by offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead. Wondering if fans will be disappointed by anything less than a 50-point outing in the first game of the season, the reporter questioned whether or not Franklin felt the need to temper expectations.
Noting that Moorhead has done a good job throughout his brief tenure, Franklin said he hopes fans form opinions based on what they see on the field.
Said Franklin, “But yeah, I think whenever you have a running back like Saquon Barkley and whenever you kind of have the pieces of the puzzle starting to come together like we do, I do think there's excitement, and I want people to be excited but I want them to be excited based on what they see in the stadium on Saturday.