Following the team’s practice on Tuesday evening, Penn State head coach James Franklin met with the media to provide updates on his program as it enters the first bye week of the year.
Franklin reflected on the coaching staff’s recruiting efforts during the break from action, the impact of the White Out for the Nittany Lions’ brand and the team’s offensive instability through three games.
Here’s what he had to say.
Always be ‘cruiting
Per usual, Franklin used the team’s bye week not as an excuse to take things easy but rather an opportunity to hit the road for some recruiting to work on building Penn State’s future classes and reaffirming existing relationships.
Over the last couple days, videos circulated on social media showing Franklin arriving at Pennsylvania high schools by helicopter, including visits to two of the team’s four class of 2027 commits — five-star running back Kemon Spell and four-star wide receiver Khalil Taylor.
Franklin said he and the staff will be on campus for the team’s practice on Wednesday evening before heading out on the recruiting trail. He and the coaches will be out through Saturday night, before beginning a week of game preparation for No. 6 Oregon.
“Obviously Sunday we’ll be a little bit ahead because we won’t have the last game for us to grade,” Franklin said. “We will still have to grade their film, break their film down, and add that to our cut ups and things like that.”
All eyes on the White Out
Franklin spoke about the significance of the White Out, not just for what it can provide the team through a disruptive home field environment, but for how it attracts attention to the program at a national level and is an effective recruiting tool.
“Yeah, it’s very important. As you go back through our current roster, and you think about all the players that are on our roster now that were coming to these White Out games and having a great experience,” Franklin said. “It’s one of those games that you hear players all over the country talking about wanting to be a part of this type of atmosphere.”
Franklin specifically referenced the viral moment from the 2019 White Out against Michigan, where crowd noise forced the Wolverines to call a timeout before the first play of the game.
He spoke about the overlooked difficulties of hosting an event of that magnitude, referencing the number of visitors who are drawn in for the attraction.
“It’s hard to make sure that everybody gets some love and everybody gets some time on game day,” Franklin said.
Heading into this year’s game, he said they’ve asked for more manpower from within the athletic department to ensure the recruits in attendance enjoy their experience.
Wide receiver work
Franklin said Penn State’s three transfer wide receivers have “done a pretty good job” of building chemistry with quarterback Drew Allar early in the season, and as a unit, they’ve “probably” met his expectations.
However, he referenced inconsistency in the room and said they’ve operated both above and below his expectation threshold at different times throughout the first three games.
“I think each one of them has had a game or games where they’ve shown what they really can do. Our job is to help them continue each week to get better, so that in the games that we got coming up, they can have significant roles for us,” Franklin said.
He said the team will rely on each of them at different moments throughout the year, and that the team will need each of them to step up when their number’s called. He met with the offense after practice to convey that exact message.
“We got to have that mentality that we’re going to make those plays,” Franklin said. “So that’s what this week is about, continue building that confidence and that chemistry.”
