Befitting his Penn State Football CEO status, James Franklin is at his best when he plans and benchmarks and collaborates and reviews best practices before making a big decision. But, as the 2023 season has progressed, the 10th-year head coach has had to make a lot of adjustments on the fly — especially lately.
That trend will continue in the coming days and weeks…and will likely ramp up to warp speed.
After firing third-year offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich last Sunday, Franklin named assistants Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle as co-coordinators heading into Saturday’s game against Rutgers. What a tough first game day on the job:
Just three plays into Penn State’s first possession of the third quarter vs. the Scarlet Knights, sophomore quarterback Drew Allar exited with an apparent upper right body injury. Penn State led by a thread, 10-6 — fortunate that Rutgers twice advanced to the PSU 7-yard line in the first half, yet came away with just two field goals.
Franklin & Co. had to insert backup QB Beau Pribula and thus decided to abandon Penn State’s passing attack. Pribula ran for 39 yards on his first carry after Allar’s departure. Overall, Penn State’s offense ran 20 plays after Allar left the game — and threw the ball on just one of them. Pribula led the team in rushing, with 8 carries for 71 yards.
The Nittany Lions escaped with a 27-6 victory in their home season finale, but it is just five days until their next game — Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Detroit’s Ford Field vs. Michigan State, in a nationally-televised game on NBC.
Franklin’s plate couldn’t be fuller, with a whole host of questions to be answered and new problems to be solved. And I’m not just talking about his usual Thanksgiving week back-and-forth queries of “pumpkin piece vs. sweet potato pie” and “turkey vs. ham” with the local beat reporters, either.
Franklin has an injured (to some degree) starting quarterback, interim offensive coordinators, a coaching search, a short week punctuated by a night road game on national TV, followed by the portal opening up and then there’s Manny Diaz…and well, you get the idea. No doubt James does, too.
Here is what Franklin the chief executive officer is looking at in the days and weeks ahead:
1. What is Allar’s status? From Franklin on Saturday, albeit right after the game: “As you guys know — I guess you have to ask; at least that’s what you guys tell me — I’m not going to get into medical stuff. First of all that wouldn’t be appropriate for Drew. That wouldn’t be appropriate for his family. But…but, I don’t see this being significant. But we will see. We will see. It’s very hard for me to answer that question even if I wanted to.”
2. Will Allar, can Allar start vs. Michigan State? Penn State’s cadre of coaches and staffers already has a much better idea than it did when Franklin made the above statement. Allar likely had a MRI and/or X-ray done, and the athletic trainers and coaches certainly know exactly more of what they — and Allar — are dealing with.
2a. Franklin meets with the local media at noon on Monday in Beaver Stadium and again briefly early Tuesday evening (the usual post-practice mini-scrum with CJF is being moved up a day to allow for Penn State’s Thanksgiving Day chartered flight to Detroit). Franklin will be asked those questions, but it is very (very) doubtful he will not provide any substantive or telling replies. Neither would I.
3. So, again — Will Allar start? It’s potentially a big risk given Allar’s multi-million dollar future with NIL and the NFL. The reward? Maybe a win over Michigan State, though that would likely happen anyway with Pribula at the helm.
4. It is a short week, with everything magnified. How will Penn State handle the short week logistics? The team meets Sundays, then the players are officially off on Monday, per NCAA regulations requiring an off-day, even in season. But, Penn State does not have classes this week, which means more players will take it on themselves to watch film and get together on Monday. And with no classes, they can do the same on Tuesday and Wednesday, and also spend more time in the training room to get themselves ready for Friday’s game. (Counts triple for Allar.)
4a. Penn State flies to road contests the day before the game, typically in the early afternoon. Look for that to happen this week as well, meaning a Thursday flight. Because of the late kick-off on Friday, the team will likely have a big Thanksgiving Day dinner after they arrive and get settled in Detroit. Then, they have most of the day on Friday for a few meetings and to lounge around, many of them with family.
4b. The trip is a bonus for Penn State starters and twins CB Kalen and LB Kobe King, and S Jaylen Reed — all of whom are from Detroit. When they were young kids playing midget football, the King Bros. had a game at Ford Field, though only Kobe played. What Kalen told me about that, in an interview over the summer, I laughed and didn’t believe him. His reply: “My last time at Ford Field, I was not good enough to play. I didn’t even play. It was my last year of playing little league football before I went to high school and I didn’t touch the field. They thought other people on that team were better than me…”
5. How will first-team reps at quarterback be decided this week? Just guessing, but most go to Pribula. Allar will need to rest his shoulder/arm, even if he is slated to start, and Pribula can use all the work with the starters he can get.
6. How did Seider and Howle do? Which one called the plays? Franklin said, “I was pleased. I thought both Ja’Juan and Tyler did a nice job all week long. Not only from an organizational standpoint but also from a leadership standpoint. And then obviously from a scheme standpoint, and the whole staff.”
6a. Per their normal routine, Seider was on the sidelines and Howle was in the Beaver Stadium coaches’ booth on Saturday. Franklin was not asked and he did not share who called the plays. I asked a Penn State PR person after the game who called the calls, and they deadpanned: “I did.”
7. What does a Pribula offense look like? On Saturday, after Allar exited, Penn State’s offense ran 20 plays — including 17 consecutive runs. Here’s the breakdown by player:
Pribula run — 39 yards, 1, 0, 0, 11, 15, 1 (TD)
Kaytron Allen run — 6 yards, 2, 4, 21, 3, 3 (TD)
Nick Singleton run — 4 yards, 5, 20, 9, 12
Trey Potts run — 5 yards
Pribula pass — 9 yards to TE Tyler Warren
7a. Franklin, after the game: “When Drew got hurt and Beau came in, it opened up some things in the run game for us. We’ve been able to do different things there. We were planning on playing both of them anyway; we started early. But we’ve had that plan the last couple of weeks. We called it earlier and we planned on playing both of them really kind of throughout that game. So I thought when Beau came in, he did some nice things and I thought Ja’Juan and Ty adjusted well.”
8. Will Penn State’s new OCs let Pribula pass vs. Michigan State, if he starts? Not a lot, I would guess. (I think Michigan’s second-half against Penn State two Saturdays ago, when JJ McCarthy attempted just one pass and the Wolverines won handily, still resonates.) Pribula in 2023:
Pass: 18 passes, 8 completions, 90 yards, 2 TDs, 30 long
Run: 52 carries, 311 yards, 6.0 ave., 5 TD, 39 long
8a. From Heather Dinich of ESPN, who once covered Penn State for the CDT and of whom I a big fan…she has been a very popular guest to my PSU sports class: “State parted ways with offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich after last week’s frustrating loss to Michigan, but the team paid a proper tribute Saturday by throwing for just 88 yards in a 27-6 win over Rutgers. Fun fact: There have been 13 wins by Power 5 teams this season when throwing for 90 yards or less. Seven of them are from Big Ten teams. It’s no wonder the league is getting more than $1 billion a year.”
9. Receptions by Penn State wide receivers over the last two games, against Michigan and Rutgers (7): Dante Cephas (2), Omari Evans (2), KeAndre Lambert-Smith (1), Kaden Saunders (1) and Liam Clifford (1).
10. Do Seider and Howle need two game plans — one for Allar and one for Pribula? Yes. Given his medical status and the apparent location of the injury, a game plan with Allar as QB1 against Michigan State certainly would not include any runs, draws, keepers or tush-pushes…all SOP for Beau.
11. Is Jaxon Smolik ready to be the No. 1 back-up? Uh, no, not overall. He’s played in one college game, against Delaware. But in the small media windows when practice is open Wednesday afternoons this fall, Smolik has looked good — he seems confident, not overwhelmed, meshes well with Allar and Pribula, and throws a very nice ball. I think he is readier than Ta’Quan Roberson was against Iowa when Sean Clifford was hurt in 2021. And, perhaps, Yurcich learned from that as well, and spent part of the off- and regular-season — until he was fired — doing some key things to prep both Pribula and Smolik in the eventuality that Allar would not be able to play.
11a. Smolik, who was an early enrollee as a freshman in January 2023, will have to be on high alert this week, especially in team meetings and perhaps in some extra skull sessions with Danny O’Brien, the Penn State grad assistant who is running the quarterback room day-to-day.
11b. Franklin in August: “Smolik has been kind of the surprise of camp so far, specifically in the quarterback room… He’s got a natural feel for the position on the field. It’s almost like a point guard. You’ve just got the feel for depth and spacing on the field and how to find open receivers. He throws a really nice ball.”
11c. Yurcich in August: Smolik is “spitting the information out and speaking how we speak and be on it and having command in the room and being able to have a better recall and articulate better in meetings.”
12. How good is Michigan State? The Spartans are 4-7 in 2023, and are led by interim head coach Harlon Bennett. They are coming off a 24-21 win over Indiana on Saturday. MSU scored with 1:19 remaining, then sustained a 48-yard missed field goal by Indiana that would have sent the game into OT. Against the Hoosiers, MSU QB Katin Houser was 26 of 41 for 251 yards, with three TD passes and two interceptions.
12a. Other MSU results vs. Big Ten opponents Penn State also played in 2023:
• Ohio State 38, Michigan State 3 (loss)
• Michigan 49, Michigan State 0 (loss)
• Iowa 27, Michigan State 24 (loss)
• Maryland 31, Michigan State 9 (loss)
13. What if Pribula starts, does well and Penn State wins? Will there be a quarterback controversy in the run-up to the bowl game? Inside Lasch, with Franklin, O’Brien, his interim co-OCs and the OC when he comes to town? No. No. No. Among the fan base and some of the media? YES.
14. Speaking of Penn State’s search for an OC, how is it going? Franklin said last Monday, one day after Yurcich was fired, that the search for a new OC is on a fast-track. Such hirings typically start occurring after the end of the regular season, which is this coming weekend.
14a. Franklin on Nov. 13: “Sooner rather than later, right? It’s hard. Hiring someone is like a full-time job. Can’t really have two full-time jobs right now. Most important thing is for us to play well this week and finish the season the right way, and then during that process, be working through, narrowing down a list. I already have a list. It’s narrowing it down, running all the numbers, seeing if people are interested, and then trying to find a way to get that turned over as soon as we possibly can through maybe some Zoom calls, in-person interviews.
15. Here’s a timetable chart of Franklin’s offensive coordinator hires, fires and departures at Penn State:
Coordinator Fired/departed New coordinator Hired Days John Donovan fired; Nov. 29, 2015 Joe Moorhead, Fordham HC Dec. 12, 2015 14 Joe Moorhead HC job; Nov. 29, 2017 Ricky Rahne, on staff Dec. 1, 2017 3 Ricky Rahne HC job; Dec. 9, 2019 Kirk Ciarrocca, Minnesota OC Dec. 26, 2019 17 Kirk Ciarrocca fired; Jan. 8, 2021 Mike Yurcich, Texas
HC/staff firedJan. 8, 2021 0 Mike Yurcich fired; Nov. 12, 2023 TBA
15. Where will Manny Diaz coach in 2024? He’s done a terrific job as Penn State’s defensive coordinator and as head coach he was 21-15 at Miami (Fla.) in a very trying situation his final season (2021). Diaz is finishing up his guaranteed contract with Miami, which paid him $4/$4.5 million a year, offset by what he is paid by Penn State.
15a. Penn State’s defense is undeniably one of the tops in the nation heading into the final weekend of the regular season: No. 1 in fumble recoveries (13) and sacks (3.73 spg); No. 3 in rushing defense (79.2 ypg); and No. 4 in scoring defense (12.5 ppg) and tackles for a loss (8.1 tpg).
15b. If Diaz stays at Penn State, the going rate for a top-notch college football DC is $1.9 million, according to USA Today’s recent salary survey. It revealed that DC Glen Schumann of Georgia is No. 1 and makes $1.902 million, and a whole host of others are at $1.9 million, including Jim Knowles of Ohio State, who was a huge hire by Ryan Day. I am guessing that if Diaz wants to stay, Penn State AD Pat Kraft would OK a new contract of upwards to $2.5 million — a bargain for the “head coach of the defense.”
15c. There are current head coaching vacancies at Boise State, Michigan State, Mississippi State, San Diego State, Syracuse and Texas A&M.
15d. “Spartans Illustrated” reported this weekend that at least four candidates have progressed to second round interviews with Michigan State, and that “all four coaches are in their mid-40s and have years of experience running FBS football programs.” Mentioned in the article: Jason Candle (Toledo), Mike Elko (Duke), Jedd Fisch (Arizona) and Jonathan Smith (Oregon State). Diaz is 49, BTW.
15e. Syracuse may provide the easiest path to the College Football Playoff. MSU’s path to the CFP? Fuhgeddaboudit.
15f. Franklin has had only three D-coordinators in his 10 seasons at Penn State, all of them quite good, players’ coaches and — important to me — insightful, articulate and friendly with the media: Bob Shoop (2014-15), Brent Pry (2016-21) and Diaz (2023-23). It took Franklin just 12 days to hire Diaz after Pry left for the Virginia Tech head coaching job; to Franklin’s credit, it seemed like Diaz was on PSU’s staff mere minutes after Diaz was fired by Miami. Diaz and Joe Moorhead have been Franklin’s best hires in his decade at Penn State.
16. Here is a short list of potential Penn State-related DC candidates, should Diaz depart:
• Anthony Poindexter, co-DC and safeties coach, in his third season at Penn State. He interviewed for Virginia head coach’s job last offseason.
• D’Anton Lynn, 34, former DB at Penn State (4 picks, 162 tackles), in his first season at UCLA’s DC. Just led them to a 38-20 win over USC. The Bruins’ defense ranks No. 1 in the nation in rushing defense in a passing league, allowing just 64.6 yards per game. He’s coached in the NFL with the Bills, Chargers, Texans (one year with Bill O’Brien) and Ravens.
• Elijah Robinson, former DT and student assistant at Penn State (after an injury cut his career short). He has coached at Temple and Baylor (for former Nittany Lion and Kraft close pal Matt Rhule) and now Texas A&M, where at age 38 he is interim head coach after Jimbo Fisher was fired. Texas A&M ranks No. 1 in the nation in tackles for a loss.
17. The NCAA Transfer Portal for both the FBS and FCS opens Monday, Dec. 4 and closes Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. Look out!
18. These Nittany were recognized as part of Senior Day activities before Saturday’s game: Hakeem Beamon, Dante Cephas, Nick Dawkins, Johnny Dixon, D’von Ellies, Keaton Ellis, Olu Fashanu, Alex Felkins, Daequan Hardy, Adisa Isaac, Golden Israel-Achumba, Curtis Jacobs, Theo Johnson, KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Malick Meiga, Hunter Nourzad, Trey Potts, Tank Smith, Mason Stahl, Riley Thompson, Ibrahim Traore, Caedan Wallace, Tyler Warren, Jake Wilson and Sal Wormley.
Senior starters who are out of eligibility: DT Ellies, S Ellis, PK Felkins, C/G Nourzad.
Senior starters who will very likely go pro: CB Dixon, DE Isaac, LB Jacobs, TE Johnson, OT Wallace. Also going pro: CB Kalen King. Maybe going pro: TE Tyler Warren.
Senior starters who are unclear about their status: WR Cephas, CB Hardy, WR Lambert-Smith, P Thompson, G Wormley.
19. What bowl game will Penn State go to? The CFP pairings and the New Year’s 6 bowl game match-ups will be announced from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3, on ESPN. Right now, Penn State’s likeliest landing spots are the VRBO Fiesta and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowls:
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl – noon, Saturday, Dec. 30
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atalante, GA
Possible foes: Missouri, Ole Miss, Tulane
VRBO Fiesta Bowl – 1 p.m., Monday, Jan. 1
State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
Possible foes: Oregon, Washington
20. National Signing Day for high school seniors is Wednesday, Dec. 20. According to On3’s composite rankings for the Class of 2024, Penn State ranks No. 13, with zero five-stars, 15 four-stars and 10 three-stars verbally committed. Penn State has 25 verbal commits; in the top 20, only Georgia (28) has more. Georgia ranks No. 1 overall; other Big Ten schools in the top 20 are: Ohio State (2), Oregon (6), Michigan (15) and USC (18). Wow, that’s quite a B10 list. Washington is No. 31.
21. The 2024 NFL Draft: Those athletes who have been in college for three seasons are eligible to declare for the NFL Draft on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 — seven days after the national championship game.
22. Michigan won its 1,000th college football game on Saturday — barely, defeating Maryland 31-24 in College Park, Md., where two weeks earlier Penn State shelled the Terps, 51-15. That’s for the time being, since NCAA sanctions are steal on the table. Where does Penn State stand?
1. Michigan — 1,000-353-36 (.733)
2. Ohio State — 963-331-53 (.735)
3. Alabama — 962-336-43 (.733)
4. Notre Dame — 945-338-42 (.729)
Texas — 945-391-335 (.702)
6. Oklahoma — 942-340-53 (.726)
7. Yale — 935-390-55 (.698)
8. PENN STATE — 929-408-42 (.689)
9. Nebraska — 917-422-40 (.680)
10. Harvard — 901-411-50 (.685)
22a. Please note, @audsnyder4 of The Athletic: Penn State is one loss away from 409.
