Penn State Football: James Franklin Talks Spring Practice

James Franklin met with members of the media Monday to discuss the start of spring practice for the 2017 season.

Penn State head coach James Franklin opened his spring press conference Monday by praising the team’s strength and condition team, led by Dwight Galt. ” I’ve been with him for a long time, and our development of our guys is as good as any place I’ve ever been,” Franklin said.

The current crop of Nittany Lions have put up some impressive numbers during the offseason. The team has continued to work hard and has become both stronger and faster.

Franklin also talked about his team’s morning workouts throughout the offseason and how they are helping to build leadership.

Highlights of Franklin’s opening statement included the announcement of position changes and players that have left the program. Johnathan Thomas, who started as a running back and changed to linebacker, is going back to running back. Wide receiver Josh McPhearson will be listed as a running back this year, and former safety Jarvis Miller will be a linebacker.

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Noah Beh, Antoine White, and Brendan Brosnan are no longer with the program.

Since Franklin arrived in Happy Valley, he’s always stressed attendance at the annual Blue-White game. Although just a scrimmage, Franklin believes that fans attending it is important.

"“It’s an opportunity to get together with your buddies. I look at it like a homecoming during the spring. It’s an opportunity for everybody to come back together, eat a hot dog, eat a hamburger, have a beverage; obviously Gatorade or Aquafina, with your friends and family and enjoy yourself on a great day. And then go into that stadium and I think it makes a statement nationally that football is important at Penn State.”“It also shows our players that we’re all in this thing together. Them practicing and working hard and sacrificing and sweating on the field, and the fans coming out and supporting us and sacrificing their time, I think it makes a statement. It makes a statement to our recruits, it makes a statement to our team, and it makes a statement to the country that football is a very important part of Penn State.”"

A full transcript of Franklin’s press conference can be found at www.GoPSUSports.com. Below you’ll find highlights from the question and answer session with the media.

Where do you want Penn State football to go in the next five years and what do you want it to be?

“The players make fun of me sometimes, because when I take the picture, I throw the No. 1 up, and what I’m talking about when I do that, everybody thinks I’m talking about wins and losses, and that’s part of it.”

“We’re talking about building the No. 1 organization in all of college football. And, that’s everything. That’s development of our staff. That is development of our players as people, students, athletes and socially conscious young people.”

There may be a couple of guys you’re look at center this spring. For that position specifically, what do you look for when you’re trying to find a new starter?

That’s kind of been a big discussion. We have changed it probably three or four times as a staff, and basically, what we’ve ended with, is that we want to get as many returning starters on the field as possible on the offensive line.

Last year, you started spring ball thinking they could achieve something big during the season and they ended up winning the Big Ten Championship and going to the Rose Bowl. How has that changed the attitude and enthusiasm this year going into spring, and do you expect to see you guys flying around a little more during this spring ball?

That’s been my message and Coach Pry’s message and Coach Huff’s message and Coach Moorhead’s message. Coach Galt, and then all the position coaches, have the same message, as well: We have to take those experiences that we had last year, the Big Ten championship game, the Ohio State game, the Rose Bowl. We have to take all those experiences and learn from them and grow from them but make sure that we still the same humble, hungry, and hard-working and be a team that focuses on preparation and not lose our identity that made us special: how hard we played every rep.

Next: Penn State Football Early Position Preview 2017: Defensive Line

When you look across college football, you see a lot of teams that are able to have the success one year, but it’s hard to do it again. What is the biggest challenge in doing that back-to-back?

I think it’s a lot of the things that we talked about, is making sure that your coaches and your players and everybody associated with your program doesn’t get caught up in things that don’t matter, and don’t try to put the cart ahead of the horse. Let’s focus on development. Let’s focus on fundamentals and let’s focus on culture and trust. Let’s focus on all those things.

Penn State opens spring practice on Friday. The spring practice season culminates on April 22 with the Blue-White game.

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