Interpreting James Franklin’s latest preseason camp progress report
Penn State head coach James Franklin met with reporters on Tuesday following the program’s afternoon preseason practice. The final session to wrap up the second full week of camp, Franklin detailed progress made, progress needed, and what’s next for the Nittany Lions as their August 31 season-opener at West Virginia draws near.
Blue White Illustrated was on hand for the session, which produced news in the form of Peter Gonzalez’s injury, as first reported by Sean Fitz on Monday.
It was not the only worthy subject tackled by Franklin, however. Here, we’ll look into the comments Franklin made and what they mean as the program turns the corner into week three of camp, by position group:
James Franklin football preseason camp positional updates
Offensive line depth
Starting out up front, Franklin offered some insight into the offensive line and its depth as it continues to work through camp. Noting that he thinks the Nittany Lions will have a chance to play eight up front, he described more than two tackles, at least three guards, and two centers that will be ready to play.
Without specifying who, some light reading between the lines suggests that rotation will include Drew Shelton at left tackle, with Anthony Donkoh and Nolan Rucci battling it out on the right side. Vega Ioane will man the starting left guard spot, with Nick Dawkins penciled in at center, and Sal Wormley good for a third year holding down the starting right guard spot. Cooper Cousins can back up Dawkins and Wormley, and Nelson can serve as a swing reserve to left tackle or left guard.
“We still got a ton of work to do between now and then, but I think we probably have a little bit more depth than we’ve had in the past,” said Franklin. “That’s a good thing.”
Franklin said this week that Cousins has been working at both center and guard. Ioane has also worked last season and this at center.
Tight end competition
A bit out of character for Franklin, when asked about Tom Allen’s comments regarding Khalil Dinkins, the head coach volunteered that the veteran tight end has “had some bumps and bruises as well and missed some time.”
Nevermind that Allen’s actual comments last week were actually regarding his brother, Kolin Dinkins, who has surprised at the safety position this offseason. Nonetheless, Franklin acknowledged Khalil’s absences at times this spring (of which Jerry Cross can say the same), noting that Penn State needs “to get him back and get him back soon” because of his potentially sizable role in the offense.
In that vein, Franklin also touched on Luke Reynolds, who is a player we noted through the first week as having buzzed in camp. The true freshman has added 25 pounds to his frame since arriving at Penn State in January. And, while Franklin said that number has plateaued and needs to continue to grow, his aggressiveness in run blocking and assertiveness in the passing game bodes well for the future.
How well? That might depend on what happens with the Nittany Lions currently nursing bumps and bruises at the position. Friday night, for instance, Reynolds, Joey Schlaffer, and Andrew Rappleyea all spent time working with the ones.
Running back good/bad
Two points of interest emerged when Franklin was asked about the progress shown by the offense. They ran the gamut of good and bad.
To the positive, Franklin said that Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen are playing with “a ton of confidence” this preseason in the Nittany Lions’ new offense.
To the negative, “bumps and bruises” have made the coaching staff’s judgment on the third-string running back a tough task.
“We haven’t really had a chance to make any decisions on a third back yet. That’s still a big question mark to be determined,” said Franklin. “It’s not really like we’re not sure if we have a third back, it’s just who is it going to be at this point.”
Quinton Martin had a nice run in Saturday’s scrimmage. On Friday afternoon, it was true freshman Corey Smith who had a big run in the absence of Cam Wallace, who has been nursing bumps and bruises.
Franklin highlights receiver standouts
As detailed in Monday’s Trimmings piece, Penn State has had similarly good and bad news at wideout this preseason. On the positive, and echoed by Beau Pribula and Cam Miller after practice, the steps taken by Trey Wallace and Liam Clifford through camp have been notable.
“I think that the biggest thing is, Trey and Liam have really had a nice camp,” said Franklin. “And whether it’s the coaches, or whether it’s defensive players, or whether it’s Tom Allen in the team meeting today talking about the receivers’ improvement. But specifically Trey and Liam, I think have been pretty good. I think they’ve been probably the biggest difference.”
Wallace is the clear No. 1, Clifford has shown the most consistency of anyone, Omari Evans is a speedster continuing to develop, Julian Fleming is a big body who will get open and catch the ball, and Kaden Saunders will need to get healthy.
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