What did we learn about Penn State football at Tuesday’s practice?: Newsstand

Penn State held its only open practice and James Franklin’s only news conference of the bye week on Tuesday night. Today’s newsstand is headlined by what we learned on the field and during the head coach’s chat with reporters.

Penn State tweets of the day

We start with practice field takeaways. There were no absences of note as the team worked through a short fundamental-focused practice that Franklin coined as “really good.” He spoke afterward, and said that the team hopes to get returners Kaden Saunders and Jake Spencer plus linebacker Keon Wylie back at some point during the second half of the season. He also feels good about where his program is during its second and final bye week of the season.

“The exciting thing is there’s still a lot of room for improvement for us, and that’s the exciting thing, right? We’re fortunate to get a win going into the bye week,” Franklin said. “Got a really good practice today, not very long, but a smart, really good practice. We’re able to work on some things that I think we’re going to need to work on moving forward. We’ll get a chance to do that [on Wednesday] as well, and then, obviously, get into actual game week and be able to build on it even more.”

In other news, tight end Tyler Warren is the Maxwell, Paul Hornung, and John Mackey awards national player of the week. And, kicker Ryan Barker is one of three Lou Groza Award kickers of the week.

Headlines of the day

The overlooked Penn State playmaker who doomed USC: Don’t forget about what this defender did: Flounders, PennLive

Penn State midseason evaluation: How did the quarterbacks do so far, and what must they do now?: Pickel, BWI

The Penn State Football First-Half Report Card: Wogenrich, SI

Who could be next for Penn State in the Class of 2025?: Fitz, BWI

Penn State is destined for spot in College Football Playoff, but a national title still seems a step too far: Talty, CBS Sports

The weekly rundown: Is Penn State really the No. 3 team in the country?: Pickel, BWI

Penn State’s Tyler Warren, Ryan Barker combine for 4 national honors: Daily Collegian

Quote of the day

“It’s been really good, and I think it’s magnified when you got a really good player who’s also really smart and also was a high school quarterback. All those things help and they kind of play into it. So taking a snap from [shot]gun with a cadence isn’t foreign to him. Taking a snap from under center isn’t foreign into him. So those things magnify it and allow you to do different things. It’s funny, we ran a similar play when we were at Vanderbilt. So, having players like this that could do a lot of different things, and he’s one of your best players and one of the best players in college football. It helps.”

–PSU coach James Franklin on tight end Tyler Warren’s versatility.

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