Penn State Football: James Franklin UMass Week Press Conference Recap

Jan 11, 2014; State College, PA, USA; James Franklin is announced as the Penn State Nittany Lions new head coach during a press conference at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren- USA TODAY Sports

Penn State head coach James Franklin was again in his usual spot on Tuesday in the Beaver Stadium media room for his weekly press conference. Franklin hit on numerous topics, including answering questions about the team’s dramatic comeback victory at Rutgers and this weeks opponent form the Mid American Conference, the UMass Minutemen.

More from Penn State Football

One week removed from the news that the NCAA declared the Nittany Lions eligible to participate in the postseason, Franklin could focus on more on the field topics as opposed to those off of it.

Franklin began the day by discussing what he saw after watching the film of the game against Rutgers. He was very happy with how his players really came together as a team.

"“Overall, I say it was a great team victory, and by that I mean that’s the offense, that’s the defense, that’s special teams, that’s the coaches, that’s the trainers, doctors, that’s the administration; that’s everybody that has a part, academic support, great team victory, really proud of the guys for that. Really pleased with how they persevered in a really difficult, hostile environment.”"

Below are some more highlights from the question-answer portion of Franklin’s talk with the media. A full transcript of the press conference can be found here.

Why do you think the offense has had success late in the fourth quarter?

JF: I don’t know I can’t really describe that. I think, number one, I think we’ve been able to kind of wear some people down.

I think our guys have done a great job of having a sense of urgency when we’ve needed it most. I think our defense has really given our offense some momentum and some juice, the way they have been able to hang in there and keep us in games.

So, I think there’s a lot of things that factor into it, but it’s not like we are just waiting until the fourth quarter to call those plays. I think there’s a lot of factors that go into it.

You mentioned a little bit earlier that the team needs to improve communication and coordination. How much of that comes from guys getting more experience playing together and how much of that can be affected by the staff during the week and in practice?

JF: I think it’s all of the above. I think, as fans and as coaches and as players, we’d all like it to happen faster. But those things take time, and I did see improvement. You’re watching the tape and I did see improvement this past week. We’ve still got a ways to go. But they are doing a good job of that. A lot of times when I talk about communication, that deals with really being confident and brave to make a call. Because what happens is, if you’re the tight end and tackle working together or the center and guard working together, or the back side guard and tackle working together, usually the first person to make a call, then it affects everybody else’s call from that point on and who they are working to and things like that.

A lot of times when you have a young, inexperienced line, they don’t want to make the call, because if someone makes the call and it’s the wrong call, then there’s someone to blame. And I don’t want them to approach it that way. I want them to make a decision. They think it’s the right decision for the team and move on; if we make a mistake, we learn from it.

No different than the head coach calling a quick kick that probably wasn’t a right decision. You learn from it, you man up to it, you own it, and move forward and you learn from the situation. I want our guys to take the same approach. And I think they understand that.

So, it’s going to take some time. We’ve got to do it in practice over and over and over and over again. They have got to trust one another and they have got to be willing to communicate and work together, and make sure that that information gets communicated from the front side tight end all the way to the back side tight end or tackle, depending on the formation.

I wanted to ask you about your tight ends. What do you think about the group so far, their production? Happy or not, beyond Jesse James, the guys behind him?

JF: I think it’s still evolving and I think we’ve made improvements from last year. Everybody gets so caught up in catches and yards, but that really hasn’t been our focus. Our focus with them since the day we arrived on campus was their impact in the running game and that area still needs to improve.

I think the offensive line hears a lot about what they need to do, and I think the tight ends are a big part of that, as well. I think we have to make sure the tight ends and the O line are working together and finishing well and finishing blocks. That’s the area we have to improve. I think when that happens, you’ll see bigger plays happen in the passing game because off play action and things like that. That’s what happened with Jesse a few weeks ago.

They are doing some nice things in the passing game but we never questioned that. It’s the running game. So that’s all those guys that are a part of that: The O line, the coaches, the players, the tight ends, that’s everybody working together to get our O line where it needs to be.

The thing is, sometimes it’s because of lack of size. We have the size and the strength at that position to be dominant in the rubbing game, and that’s the next step we need to take.

You talk about developing offensive linemen, developing young players. Can I assume that when all you guys came in, the staff, you’ve got a long term type of plan for this program?

JF: Yes, sir.

Christian was sacked five times the other night, took some other hits when he released the ball. What are your thoughts about his durability, and how much concern do you have at all the shots he’s taken in the first three games?

JF: We have to do a better job of limiting how many times he’s getting hit. There’s no doubt about that. I think, again, being able to get the running game more involved will help with that.

But that’s why he’s worked so hard in the off season, and he’s been great. He really has been great, making plays with his feet, moving the pocket, things like that, extending plays. But there’s no doubt about it. We’ve kind of talked about it at nauseum. We have talked about it enough. We’ve got to get the running game going and we’ve got to protect the quarterback. We take great pride in those things.

Home/Penn State Football