Penn State Football: James Franklin Addresses Media on Upcoming Season

Penn State head coach James Franklin discussed the upcoming season at 2017 Penn State Media Day.

Penn State head coach James Franklin met with the media Saturday to discuss the open of training camp and talk about the upcoming season. The Nittany Lions are coming off a spectacular season in 2016 that saw them go 11-3 and win the Big Ten Conference and make an appearance in the Rose Bowl.

Heading into the new season there are high expectations in Happy Valley, especially with 18 starters returning from last year’s team.

“We still have a lot of work to do, ” Franklin said as part of his opening statement. When asked about the biggest challenge on following up last year’s success Franklin stated, “Not spending time talking about what you just did, the success of last season. We’ve talked about it enough, so that’s behind us.”

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As far as the upcoming season, a lot of things will look the same. With so much experience returning, the depth chart is in good shape. That’s a big change from recent years when the Nittany Lions were strapped by scholarship restrictions. After years of needing to rely on walk-ons and guys who may not have been quite ready for the collegiate level, Penn State now has much-needed depth at nearly every position.

That depth is evident in the secondary. Despite the possibility that starting cornerback John Reid could be gone for the entire season, the Nittany Lions have a lot of experienced guys ready to step in.

Christian Campbell, Amani Oruwariye, and Grant Haley should all contribute in 2017. Two interesting players to watch in 2017 will be true freshmen Tariq Castro-Fields and Lamont Wade.

The one area on defense that has some holes from last year is the defensive line. With both starting defensive ends gone to the NFL, there is an opportunity for someone to step up. Shareef Miller, who had a strong year in 2016, and Torrence Brown are both in line to be big contributors in 2017. True Freshman Yetur Matos and redshirt freshmen Shane Simmons and Shaka Toney were highlighted by Franklin as another guys who could make a big impact this season.

From a physical aspect, Franklin has been impressed with the look of his defensive line. “We look different, physically we look different.”

The depth on the offensive line is perhaps one of the most noticeable changes on the depth chart. Thanks to a mix of veterans and new guys, there is plenty of depth on the offensive line. Seniors Brendan Mahon and Andrew Nelson, who both missed part of last year with injuries, are back and healthy for the 2017 season.

Of course, there couldn’t be a discussion of the upcoming season with mention of Saquon Barkley. The star running back has been a human highlight reel since arriving at Penn State and should continue to do so this year. Despite all of the success and recognition, Franklin said that Barkley does a wonderful job of ignoring the hype.

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With so many expectations, it should be an exciting season in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions kick off the 2017 season on September 2 against Akron.

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