Penn State Football: takeaways from James Franklin’s presser at Big Ten media days

James Franklin spoke at Big Ten media days on Wednesday afternoon, and there are a number of takeaways from his brief presser.

James Franklin is high on the receivers

I’ve mentioned numerous times throughout the offseason that I believe that despite the loss of Jahan Dotson, the wide receiver corps has a chance to be even better this year than they were last season; and Coach Franklin seems to agree.

He spoke to the depth that Penn State Football will have at that spot this season and seems to feel very confident that it could take yet another step forward.

With one of the best wide receiver duos in the country in Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley, both of which were named to the preseason watchlist or the Biletnikoff Award, it’s easy to see why he feels that way.

Franklin is also high on his tight end unit

James Franklin said that he would put the Penn State Football tight end unit up against any tight end unit in the country.

The Nittany Lions return all three of their primary tight ends from a year ago, and while the trio of Brenton Strange, Theo Johnson, and Tyler Warren didn’t quite play to their potential in 2021, they each showed some flashes of being game-changing tight ends

If Franklin’s statements are correct, that would be a huge plus for the offense as they try to make significant improvements from a year ago.

Time for the offensive line to prove it

The fans know it, and so does James Franklin.

When going through his roster position by position, Franklin said that he’s not going to stand up there and tell you that this unit has finally improved like he does every year. Instead, he said he’s going to let them prove that on the field.

For a coach who is known for making some bold claims — with his most notable being the infamous “great to elite” speech after the loss to Ohio State in 2018 — it’s nice to see him take more of a “don’t talk about it, be about it” approach.

PJ Mustipher is a go

Franklin answered a question in regard to PJ Mustipher’s status as he returns from an ACL injury, and said that his All-Big Ten defensive tackle is feeling great and passed his conditioning test.

Mustipher will play a crucial role for the defensive front, especially if they hope to improve upon their ability to stop the run; so it’s good to hear that he is good to go.

Dameioun Robinson is ready to make an impact

When asked about the potential impact that the transfer portal addition of “Chop” Robinson will have, Frankin said that he has tested extremely well (which is nothing new for Penn State Football players) and thinks he’ll help improve the team’s pass rush.

The competition at middle linebacker rolls on

The head man of Penn State Football admitted that linebacker is a question mark on defense. He stated that they feel good about their two outside linebackers — Curtis Jacobs at the WILL and presumably Jonathan Sutherland at the SAM — but said that the battle to be the starting middle linebacker will go deep into camp.

That battle is between Tyler Elsdon and Kobe King. Elsdon is the slightly older and more experienced of the two, is that enough to give him the edge, or will King win the job and be in the starting lineup with his brother: Kalen.

James Franklin is unhappy with the Big Ten scheduling

When discussing the season opener at Purdue, James Franklin made a subtle remark that they “have gotten pretty comfortable with opening the Big Ten schedule on the road”.

In this his ninth season in Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions have opened their Big Ten slate on the road all but once. That lone exception was all the way back in 2015 when their first Big Ten matchup of the season was a home game in week three against Rutgers.

This has been a topic that has been discussed before, mostly by the fanbase and the media, but is Franklin’s acknowledgment of it a sign that he too is fed up with it?

Pat Kraft certainly seems to be.

Will this lead to some change? Time will tell.