There is only so much to be learned from doing practice drills over and over again.
Sometimes you just have to go out and hit somebody.
So as Penn State takes part in the first scrimmage of the season on Saturday it will be one of only a few chances for James Franklin and his staff to really get a measure of where the team is before a trip to face Temple in early September. After just over a week of running, working, hitting and watching film, it’s time to take that and put it on the field.
It won’t be the first time the pads have been on this year, but it will be the first time the ball moves down the field and plays start to really mean something. If you’re a player who has had a good summer, now is the time to show it. Now is the time to make a move up, or down, the depth chart.
“We’ve had elements of scrimmage in every practice, so we did a goal line scrimmage [Tuesday], [Wednesday] we did a third down scrimmage, but that’s a 10-minute period,” Franklin said Wednesday. “Saturday, we’ll do a situational scrimmage where we’ll move the ball.”
The situational scrimmage will be something of a final exam for a team that has been working on situation football since the spring. Replaying scenarios where the Nittany Lions failed to move the ball last season in order to become more familiar with what getting it right feels like. Success breads more success, and that starts with the little things. Don’t remember the loss to Maryland, remember getting the first down in practice and not having to punt, milking down the clock.
In a larger context, Saturday’s scrimmage is meaningful moment. While the Nittany Lions have scrimmaged all through the sanction era, Penn State has largely avoided unnecessary contact in practice. Hitting was limited as well tackling. Getting mental reps and staying healthy was more important than taking your own teammate to the ground.
But as Penn State’s depth improves and the talent pool grows, the program can get back to its old ways. Hitting in practice is much more common, tackles are a little less friendly. Penn State still can’t afford to pick up too many injuries, but these is less need to tread so lightly.
“We didn’t do any live stuff, so the first time we did live was in a game,” Franklin said of special teams practice last year. “Now, we’re able to have more depth, so we’re able to do some of those things, evaluate who we think can make plays in the return game, and that’s an area we’re excited about.”
Like many of the small changes at Penn State it may seem insignificant. But together, the addition of hitting in practice, position battles and the continuity with the coaching staff makes for a big improvement over the environment Penn State was forced to deal with the past several years.
