Everything Penn State coach James Franklin said after Thursday’s practice

Penn State coach James Franklin met with reporters for the second time during preseason camp on Thursday night. The 11th-year leader of the Nittany Lions last fielded questions during the team’s media day on Aug. 3. That was the first day the pads went on. Now, the team is a week and change into the practices that will take it to West Virginia on Aug. 31. And Franklin likes what he is seeing so far. It was one of the many topics he touched on inside of Holuba Hall. We’ll cover it all below, starting with his first answer to an inquiry about the team’s three true freshmen receivers.

[ Josiah Brown ], that missed a lot of time, he’s still kind of working through that. I know he feels really good, but he’s still working back,” Franklin said. “It’s a lot of time to miss, both physically and emotionally. So I think he’ll just continue to get better every single week. Tyseer [Denmark] has really flashed and done some really nice things. This is very, very different. So there’s still an adjustment period going on. But there’s a pretty significant buzz in the program about him. And then Peter [Gonzalez] has been kind of steady Eddie. Really smart, understands how to prepare. I think having a dad that played major college football and had some time in the NFL [helps]. Has taken a very mature approach, very smart, very consistent. So really pleased with all three of them. Tyseer’s probably the guy that right now is the closest to maybe helping us.”

What does it look like when Denmark flashes?

“Yeah, it’s not one thing,” Franklin said. “It’s route running. Being competitive. It’s his confidence with his hands and catching the ball. It’s his ability to retain information; he’s just doing enough good things that you think he’ll have a chance. But it’s not like it’s one specific thing that’s standing out.”

What’s standing out about Penn State safety Kevin Winston Jr.?

“He’s a man,” Franklin said. “He really is. He’s so mature. He really knows how to practice, how to prepare, totally locked in, totally focused. Football is really important to him. I mean, I don’t have enough adjective adjectives for him. You look at him, physically beautiful. He’s got a great relationship with the coaches, and he’s kind of an extension from the coaching staff. I could go on and on and on. I think he’s going to have a big year for us, and I think he’s got a very, very special, bright future.”

Have the Lions accomplished what they wanted to so far?

“I think the biggest thing is, when you do have some turnover on the staff, especially at the coordinator positions, you don’t want to feel that,” Franklin said. “You don’t want to feel that way. And under the old rules, it was almost impossible to not feel that way. And under the new rules, with what we’re able to do in the summer and the expanded coaching staff, we really could get a lot done. So it doesn’t feel that way, offensively, defensive. There’s enough that we kept the same, but still there’s enough wrinkles that it could make the kids play slow and have hesitation. I think the coaching staff has done a really good job of grinding through it.

“And, I think the players have done a really good job all summer so that it doesn’t feel like that. It doesn’t feel like, ‘ah, we’re working through some things.’ It doesn’t feel like. So I’ve been very pleased with that. And then, obviously, you’re trying to kind of figure out what type of team you are, how physical you are. With the rule changes, there’s not as much tackling anymore. So, how do you get enough tackling that you got a chance to be good at it, but not too much that you put yourself at risk? It’s always kind of the fine line and the struggle. But it’s been a physical camp. I’ve been pleased so far with what’s going on.”

What does the Penn State right tackle battle look like?

“ [Anthony] Donkoh and [Nolan] Rucci are in a battle,” Franklin said. “Rucci is another guy [who is] steady Eddie. And a lot of times with o-lineman, if you don’t notice them, it’s a good thing. He’s just kind of doing his job and getting better. I think he’s gotten comfortable with the weight that he’s put on as well, and then finding that sweet spot of what the right weight is for him to play, so that he’s got a chance to block Abdul [Carter] and also Dani [Dennis-Sutton] which are two very different type of players. But he’s doing really well.

“And I think you guys have all seen what Donkoh was able to do as a true freshman was pretty impressive. So that’s been good. And then we also think JB Nelson can and will play right tackle for us as well. JB is kind of a Swiss army knife. We think he can play right tackle. We think he play both guards. And, we think he can play left tackle as well. We’re very pleased with JB. We think he’s got a very, very bright future. So he’ll factor in as well.”

How is freshman lineman Cooper Cousins looking in camp?

“I don’t like to talk in ways that’s going to create, you know, crazy expectations, but I could not be more impressed with him,” Franklin said. “Really, from the beginning, he was as low maintenance and highly-rated recruit I’ve ever been associated with. We offered him, they walked around the corner of the building and walked back and said, ‘we’re coming,.’ And it was over. And that was it. That was early. I think you guys remember, he committed, like, two years early. No issues, no wavering. Family is so appreciative. Awesome. Shows up on campus, he is competitive.

“A lot of guys say they want to play as true freshman, but they’re not willing to do necessarily what it takes. And the guy is either in class or in the building and asking a ton of questions. He’s super aggressive. He’s not intimidated, afraid of anybody. And then every night, I’ll come from watching film, and I’ll go to bathroom, it’s like 9:45 p.m., and I walk to my office, and he’s out there on the field every night at like 9:45 with headsets on doing pass sets. It’s kind of weird, to be honest with you [laughs]. But he is as driven and as committed as a young player as I’ve ever been around, and specifically on the O-line, because it’s hard to play those grown man positions, O-line and D-line, as a true freshman. But, he’s going to be hard to keep off the field.”

On Dominic DeLuca’s impact on the Lions as a leader and returning captain

“His story, being the player of the year in the state, torn ACL, gray shirt, walk on, earned a scholarship, captain,” Franklin said. “I mean, they could make a movie about Dom, right? He’s that type of kid. Parents are awesome. Starts out as a special teams guy, dominates in that role, then an expanded role on defense, does really well there. He’s just another guy that I think is maximizing his Penn State experience. And everybody respects and loves him, the players, the staff, the coaches. He’s an unbelievable representative of Penn State and what we’re all about. Blue collar, hard nose, coal region kid. I can’t say enough good things about him. I really can’t. I’m a big fan of Dom, and I think he’s going to have a really good year for us. Obviously, we know as a special teams player, but also on defense.”

Where is the Penn State offense vs. the defense and vice versa?

“It’s more even than it’s been in the past,” Franklin said. “What I would say is we’re still inconsistent with that, where, in terms of, to me, it should come down to like, one or two reps in every period who wins. And we have that. But then we have other days where the defense dominates a period. Then we’ll have other days where offense dominates a period. And what I talk to the guys about is, we can’t have a bad quarter on offense or a bad quarter on defense. We got to make sure for the games that we want to win, we got to play really well in all three phases.

“So it’s more competitive than it’s been in terms in terms of the score. And we keep score. Every single day we put it up there. We track explosive plays, we track turnovers, and then we track competitive periods, and who won the periods? And I want to say it’s been tied more than it hasn’t been.”

How will Tom Allen’s defense be similar and different compared to Manny Diaz’s?

“I think the majority of it is similar,” Franklin said. “The four down front, the attack front. I think where we changed with Brent [Pry] from Manny [Diaz] is, we were more of a quarter, quarter, half team with Brent that did play some man coverag. And we became more of a man coverage team with Manny. It’s interesting. When you look at the statistics, not as much as you would think, but more of a man coverage team. And, I think we’ll we’ll continue that. We just had so much success with it. For me, I’d like to, and so would our defensive staff, I just would like to take away all the gimme yards on the field.

“When you get access with soft coverage and zones, it’s comforting as an offensive coordinator, quarterback, to know they’re giving you field access. So being able to take all them easy yards away, it creates pressure. And, that’s how we’d like to continue to play. So that’s been very similar. So, really, it’s just been a few tweaks in terms of, obviously, some coverage variations that we think will compliment what we do, some blitz variations that will complement what we do, but not a whole lot different. Again, Tom was able to spend a lot of time here and make sure he was comfortable with that, and everybody felt like that was in everybody’s best interest.

“It’s worked out really well. Usually when a coordinator comes in, he wants to bring people, but I’m really loyal to those guys, and they’ve done a good job. They’ve earned that loyalty, and I think Tom and Andy have seen the type of staff that we have here. And it’s worked out really well.”

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