Penn State will face Purdue and cameras from HBO this week, with the cable network continuing filming on Sunday.
That’s right. HBO is back.
An HBO crew of about five TV people was on campus the week of the Pitt game, to do advance scouting, get the lay of the land of Lasch, Penn State’s practice fields and Beaver Stadium, and record some interviews with James Franklin.
The interview with Franklin was part of an HBO promotional trailer that has been running in advance of Penn State’s Wednesday, October 9 appearance on HBO (it premieres at 10 p.m. and will run intermittently after that).
Watch the trailer by clicking here
In the promotional piece, Franklin is recorded reiterating two of his signature sayings: “Are you willing to sacrifice things that the common man won’t sacrifice to be special?” And, “Preparation is a huge deal; Saturday is too late to be nervous.”
The HBO crew has returned in full force, to spend the week with Franklin and his team as part of the HBO mini-series, “HBO Sports 24/7 College Football.”
Florida kicks off the series at 10 p.m. this Wednesday, as HBO chronicles the Gators’ lead-up to their 38-0 victory over Towson State in The Swamp on Saturday. After Penn State, on October 16 HBO will feature Arizona State and its lead-up to Washington State, followed by the final episode on October 23, with colorful coach Mike Leach and his Washington State squad as it prepares to take on Colorado.
It’s a Hard Knocks-type show, but with only a week with the Nitany LIons don’t expect it to the deep dive for which that the iconic sports reality documentary show is known. For that program, the directors shoot over 400 hours of film in a single week, then cull it down to a single hour. The serial nature of the show — typically there are five episodes per season — and a preponderance of cameras, both hidden and visible through camera people, amazing music and access that Franklin won’t likely approve really sets that program apart.
Likely, though, the Penn State show won’t disappoint. Rick Bernstein of HBO, a Mizzou grad who is executive producer of the Penn State 24/7 show, has nine Emmys and a ton of other cable awards to his credit and has been a part of the Hard Knocks franchise. Actor Live Schreiber, the voice of Hard Knicks, will do the voiceover for the Penn State episode as well.
CANDID KJ CAMERA
Most of the Nittany Lion players were not even aware HBO was on the practice field and around Lasch a few weeks ago. And, when told about it the day after the Pitt game by Franklin, they thought the HBO experience over. They’ll learn otherwise Sunday.
As it is, expect Franklin and his staff — the program is championed internally by director of football operations Michael Hazel, who has a strong hand in the program’s wide-ranging branding and messaging strategy, and two masters degrees to boot — to tightly limit access.
“Coach Franklin said we were going to keep it as normal as we can,” captain Cam Brown said, “so the guys shouldn’t even know the cameras are here. We normally have cameras at practice, so we’re used to it.”
Expect Franklin to be mic’ed up throughout the week, with some players and key staffers as well. Come game day, the players cannot wear mics, due to NCAA regulations. In addition to CJF, Penn State assistant coaches who might catch the camera’s eye include Ju’Juan Seider, Sean “Coach Chaos” Spencer and first-year wide receivers coach Gerad Paker. Parker was Purdue’s interim head coach for the final six games of the 2016 season, going 0-6, including a 62-24 hammering by Penn State.
And then there are the Nittany Lions themselves. The ones who love the camera — and vice versa — are pretty evident to you, me , their teammates and quite possibly the HBO cameras.
“KJ (Hamler) has a big personality,” said linebacker Jan Johnson after the Maryland game. “Micah (Parsons) has a large personality. Lamont Wade has a pretty good personality, too.”
Fellow linebacker Jesse Luketa sees it the same way, and made a mini-case for himself as well: “They know KJ has a pretty energetic personality. I feel that they’re going to be able to see that. Me? I’m a pretty calm, simple dude. But I’m not too shabby. I’m an interesting individual.”
The Hamler the cameras find may be a different one than what you expect. Here’s how Hamler described himself to a post-game horde of reporters in an interview on the Maryland Stadium turf after his six-catch, 108-yard, 58-yard scintillating TD performance:
“I really don’t think a lot about myself. I’m a very caring person. A lot of times I put others before myself.”
Luketa thinks a big story line that HBO will pursue is the family atmosphere of the Penn State program: “We emphasize we’re a pretty tight-knit group. We have fun. We do what we love and love what we do.”
Hamler on Friday night said it this way: “Smiling and having fun is the reason we play the game.”
THE BOILERMAKERS
Expect Purdue to be even less of the story than what it would’ve been expected to be at the start the season, having finished 2018 with a 6-7 record, a trip to a bowl game and a second-place finish in the Big Ten West, with a 5-4 record league record. In 2018, the Boilermakers were led by then-freshman wide receiver Rondale Moore, who was first-team All-Big Ten and a first-team All-American as a return specialist.
Now, for Saturday’s game against Penn State — which is Homecoming, with a noon kick in Beaver Stadium — Moore’s status is questionable. In the first quarter of Purdue’s 38-31 loss to Minnesota on Saturday, both Moore (leg) and quarterback Elijah Sindelar (shoulder) were injured on the same play and left the game. Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said Sindelar “doesn’t look good.”
Against Purdue, Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan had a Sean Clifford-vs.-Maryland look-a-like game, completing 21 of 22 passes for 396 yards and four TDs. (Against the Terps, Cliff was 26 of 31 for 398 yards, with three TD passes and a TD run.)
Purdue is 1-3, with losses to Nevada, TCU and Minnesota, and a win over Vanderbilt. In the season opener at Nevada, Purdue lost 34-31 on a walk-off 56-yard field goal by Nevada’s freshman walk-on kicker. Purdue led by 20 points in that game, then lost after it gave 10 points in the final 10 minutes.
TO BE FRANKLIN WTH YOU
When the HBO show about Penn State airs next Wednesday, don’t be surprised if Franklin drives that point home, noting that the 4-0 Nittany Lions need to finish strong.
The way Penn State has piled on the points in 2019, not taking their foot off the gas pedal, Franklin — whose undergrad degree is in psychology, with a masters in educational leadership — just might pull one of his favorite quotes out of his pocket, from Aristotle:
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”
