Penn State’s Physicality Setting ‘the Tone’ in Preseason Camp

James Franklin always begins practice at a fast pace. Something to get the heart pumping and the blood racing. With heightened competitiveness often comes an uptick in physicality. And that’s just the way Franklin likes it. Most of the time, Penn State starts with red-zone one-on-ones, used as an effective way to get the most out of the receivers and defensive backs.

And this offseason, especially, those two units are under the microscope.

There’s no use in wasting time. Franklin wants to simulate a game environment as best he can, and wants to ensure his team’s two most glaring question marks (at least to those outside the facility) are ready once the season begins. Players, like cornerback Cam Miller, say it's working.

“It sets the tone, like, from the jump you got to be on it. Like, you got to be ready to go,” Miller said after practice Tuesday. “So, that just carries over for the rest of practice. ...It'll be very competitive. The score will be, like, 10-9. It'll come down to... one rep, and it just carries over.”

Who scores 10 in that scenario? That depends on the day, Miller said. It’s been back and forth since camp started. Trading reps and periods, each day brings something new, and sets the foundation for a player’s mentality moving forward. Franklin has seen this preseason system work before, but it’s certainly different for his new coordinators.

Tom Allen, the program’s new defensive coordinator, even addressed the team after practice to praise the improvement of the wide receivers, specifically Harrison Wallace III and Liam Clifford. Other coaches and defensive players have done so, as well. That’s been a product of physical reps and overall competitiveness rubbing off on each player.

“I think we've always been a physical team and physical in camp and in spring ball,” Franklin said. “It's always interesting when we hire new people and they come in, I think they're always somewhat caught off guard by how physical things are. … It's been a physical camp. Last scrimmage was physical, you know, even today's practice has been very physical, even when it’s stud periods.”

Penn State’s offense isn’t perfect yet, and Franklin knows that. But recently, practices have increased in production as Andy Kotelnicki’s playbook comes to life. There’s been a ton of work in short-yardage situations, as well as four-minute drills. These high-pressure simulations have also led to more competitive periods.

Kotelnicki has also used the influx of one-on-ones to continue teaching his ideologies for those unclear. He wants to make sure that every player is completely fluent in his playbook and “know why we’re running a certain scheme.” The learning and understanding, he said, is really important.

“No surprises, but very pleased with the physicality, the growth mindsets of the individual, the desire to improve, the willingness, the willingness to like, learn football, and how we're trying to win football games,” Kotelnicki said. “You know, there's a lot of philosophical discussions that we have, and the explaining of why we run plays the way we do, I think, are really important.”

Kotelnicki’s way of doing things likely hasn’t impacted anyone more than quarterbacks Drew Allar and Beau Pribula, who will have to sign off on every play Kotelnicki implements this season. Pribula has also seen his offensive teammates take the next step in practice, and praised the defense for setting the standard.

“We have a lot of good DBs. We have a lot of good wide receivers. So that's been really good for us. And it's been good because of our talented DBs,” Pribula said. “It forces our wide receivers to become physical and competitive in that aspect, and we've gotten a lot better because of those drills.”

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