A rejuvenated James Franklin has Penn State Football ready for 2021

Penn State Football’s 2020 season can be summarized as a failure, with a 4-5 record to show for. Something that no one saw coming.

Now, Penn State Football dealt with many variables that led to their first losing season since 2004. Many of them were things that James Franklin and his staff couldn’t control, such as a pandemic, injuries and questionable calls from officials.

Despite that, there was some concern that this could be a long-term issue and that the Nittany Lions could be facing multiple losing seasons going forward.

Franklin seems to want none of that talk.

The head coach, who will be in his eighth year at Penn State in 2021, has done a complete 180 on some of his philosophies, and Penn State will be better because of it.

The first real change that Franklin has made is his approach to the transfer portal. Over his tenure in Happy Valley, Franklin has only brought in two scholarship transfers. He’s already brought in five this offseason.

Penn State had some holes on the roster heading into the offseason, especially on the defensive line. Franklin sealed those holes by bringing in defensive end Arnold Ebiketie and tackle Derrick Tangelo. Both are expected to start for the Nittany Lions in 2021.

Franklin and the staff also helped sure up their offensive line by adding Harvard grad Eric Wilson to the unit.  Two wise depth moves were also made by bringing in running back John Lovett and corner back Johnny Dixon. Both should see time, especially after how injuries greatly hurt both those groups in 2020.

Franklin is probably not done when it comes to the portal. They still could use some help at safety, linebacker and maybe a quarterback if it’s the right fit.

The transfer portal isn’t the only aspect of his coaching style that Franklin changed.

Franklin decided to move on from offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca after one season. Ciarrocca did struggle at times in 2020, but most of it wasn’t his fault because the pandemic limited his time with the offense and he dealt with numerous injuries to star players. No one would have mad much of a gripe if he returned in 2021.

With all that said, Franklin decided to make what he considers an upgrade and replace Ciarrocca with former Texas offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. A move we haven’t seen Franklin make before. It was an aggressive one, one that would be seen as confusing by some, considering Ciarrocca did nothing wrong, but one that could help Penn State take the next step.

Yurcich is considered an elite coordinator who has coached quarterbacks such as Mason Rudolph, Justin Fields and Sam Ehlinger. The hope is that he can help quarterback Sean Clifford, and the entire offense, take the next step.

Not only did Franklin go out and make additions, he was also able to keep some important players in the fold.

Four starters for the Nittany Lions, who were draft eligible, decided to stay at Penn State for 2021. Penn State had not had great success with getting draft eligible players to return to the team under Franklin in the past.

The most notable of the group being the team’s leading receiver in 2020, Jahan Dotson. Rejoining him in 2021 will be safety Jaquan Brisker, corner back Tariq Castro-Fields and offensive tackle Rasheed Walker.

Brisker is another crucial returnee, due to Penn State having depth and experience issues at the safety position. Castro-Fields helps make the corners one of the best units on the team, while Walker has been protecting Clifford’s blind side for the past two seasons.

The return of these four, along with the five incoming transfers, who all started at their last school, helps give Penn State one of the deeper and more experienced teams in the Big Ten.

Add in the addition of an elite offensive coordinator, and it’s a safe say that Franklin and his team will probably not repeat with another losing season.

Considering Penn State’s grueling 2021 schedule, which includes road games at Wisconsin, Iowa and Ohio State, and home games against Michigan and Auburn, James Franklin picked a good time to change his ways.