James Franklin offers new clues for absent players’ return, Drew Allar, Beau Pribula dynamics, more: Radio recap
Penn State head coach James Franklin wrapped up his appearances with the media on Wednesday night following the Nittany Lions’ practice. It was not, however, his last public conversation before traveling to Illinois this weekend.
Set to take on the Illini on Saturday afternoon, Franklin joined host Steve Jones for his weekly radio show on Thursday night. And, within his 20 minutes of taking questions from Jones and fans on hand at The Field restaurant in State College, Franklin offered some new insights into his program through its first two weeks of the 2023 campaign.
From Drew Allar and Beau Pribula, to an update on a trio of missing Penn State defenders, here is a look at the standout moments to emerge from the show:
1) “If not this week, then next”
Met with a question on Wednesday regarding the immediate plans for Coziah Izzard, Daequan Hardy, and Amin Vanover, Franklin said little. The three defenders, practicing with scout team jerseys ahead of games against West Virginia and Delaware, returned in their normal numbers on Wednesday afternoon.
Without specifying their status previously, Franklin said simply that he didn’t know, and couldn’t speak on it yet.
Thursday, that wording changed slightly, but significantly.
Asked by Jones about the number of packages defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has been able to utilize through the first two games of the season, Franklin noted his confidence in the job done thus far. He also clued in the potential plans for Izzard, Hardy, and Vanover moving forward.
“I think we’ve done a good job of that,” Franklin said. “Hopefully, we’ll see how this thing plays out, but we have a chance to maybe get some guys back this week. And if not this week, then next week.
“And that, I think, will help Manny in terms of what we’d like to do, not only on third down but really first and second down as well.”
A sure thing? Not necessarily, given Franklin’s use of the word “hopefully.”
Still, for the first time since their unexplained absences leading into the matchup with the Mountaineers, this is the first real timeline on a potential return that the head coach has given.
2) Role reversal
Asked about Beau Pribula early in the show, Franklin said something interesting that he hasn’t so far this season. Happy with what Pribula has done to this point in his Penn State career, the dynamic between the clear backup and starter Drew Allar is one Franklin noted probably needs clarified for Allar.
“It’s one of the things that we need to have a conversation with Drew. Just like last year, we were very intentional about getting him into games,” Franklin said. “We’d like to try to do the same thing with Beau. That’s going to be valuable for us down the stretch.
“And so far, it’s worked out that way. You can’t always predict it. But, we’d like to be able to continue to expand his package. And, also give people things that they got to work on and be concerned about.”
As a true freshman last year, Allar appeared in 10 of Penn State’s 13 games. He finished with 35 completions on 60 passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns. Pribula, after a redshirt in 2022, has completed 4 of 6 passes for 29 yards and a touchdown. He’s also carried the ball 11 times for 64 yards, adding another two scores to his tally on the season.
3) Path to playing time
Franklin began talking about the ways that special teams contributions can be an early path to the playing field. Volunteering a recent conversation with Grant Haley, who’d provided one of the indelible images of the Franklin era with his scoop-and-score against Ohio State on a field goal block in 2016, Franklin said that Haley’s career should be instructive to today’s younger players.
Then, he brought up some of the players that has specifically applied to so far this season.
“You look at Zion Tracy, you look at Elliot Washington, you look at King Mack, you look at Tony Rojas. They’re guys that are playing a bunch on special teams right now. And also, obviously, getting some reps on defense,” Franklin said. “I see them gaining confidence each week and getting more comfortable.”
Rojas is currently third behind Cam Miller and Dominic DeLuca with 28 total snaps on special teams. Mack has appeared on 17 special teams reps, while Tracy (16) and Washington (14) haven’t been far behind.
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