James Franklin Wants Penn State to Take a 'Significant Step' This Week

The Nittany Lions are big favorites against UCLA. Franklin seeks to avoid getting a "wakeup call" against the Bruins.

Penn State coach James Franklin talks on his headset during the third quarter against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State coach James Franklin said that it’s important his team take “a significant step” this week ahead of its game against UCLA, the teams' first meeting as Big Ten opponents. The seventh-ranked Nittany Lions enter at 4-0 after a 21-7 victory over Illinois, which still wasn't their cleanest performance. Franklin highlighted penalties and red-zone offense as areas to improve.

Franklin said he wants to fix those issues now, before they could come back to bite the team later in the season. 

“We’ve got to get better each week. Individually and collectively, we have got to get better,” Franklin said Monday at his press conference. “What I’m saying is, I don’t want to be one of these teams that waits until you have a loss for the wakeup call to happen, and now you start doing all the little extra things and getting things corrected.”

According to DraftKings, the Nittany Lions are 28-point favorites vs. the Bruins, who enter at 1-3 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play. UCLA has played a tough schedule that includes three teams ranked in the AP Top 25. The Bruins lost those games by a combined score of 110-43. They also are making their third long flight of the season, having played at Hawaii and LSU, and will play Penn State at the equivalent of 9 a.m. PT. Saturday's kickoff is scheduled for noon ET at Beaver Stadium.

Still, after No. 6 Ole Miss fell at home to unranked Kentucky and other ranked schools had close calls last week, Franklin isn’t taking UCLA lightly. Upsets can be “wakeup calls” for programs that prompt them to look in the mirror and address issues. Franklin doesn’t want to wait for that wakeup call. He wants to be proactive.

“We shouldn’t have to have a setback,” Franklin said. “We gotta just make sure we’re not becoming complacent.”

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Dan Connor’s impact on the defensive staff

Penn State is putting an NCAA rule change to good use. Defensive analyst Dan Connor, a former Penn State All-America linebacker, has taken over the in-game communications process for the Nittany Lions’ defense. Connor speaks with middle linebacker Kobe King to deliver play calls, a role defensive coordinator Tom Allen handled in the first two weeks of the season. Allen has coached from the press box the past two weeks, and Connor now relays calls to King or whoever is wearing the green-dot helmet on the field.  

Against Kent State and Illinois, the change appeared to help King, who receives the defensive calls through the earpiece in his helmet and relays them to his teammates. Franklin said that Connor has “a very, very bright future” in coaching and said his NFL and college experience has been valuable. 

“It allows [Allen] to just call the game and not have to worry about also communicating with the linebacker on the field as well,” Franklin said. “We’ve done that the last two weeks. I think that’s been good for us, I think that’s been good for our defense, I think that’s been good for Kobe, I think that’s been good for Dan and Tom.”

Connor is an analyst but can work directly with players, as the NCAA updated its rulebook to allow any staff member to coach players. Connor works with Allen to coach linebackers as well.

A unique situation on punt returns

Receiver Kaden Saunders has fielded punts for Penn State this season but hasn’t returned many yet. Through four games he has returned only four punts for 25 yards. Franklin said that a preseason injury has limited Saunders, who hasn’t played any snaps at wide receiver so far this season. 

Penn State has had competitions for a punt returner to join Saunders while he works through the issue. Wide receiver Jake Spencer has been in the mix after serving as a return specialist for Colgate, where he played before transferring to Penn State. Spencer fielded three punts against Kent State, making two fair catches and recovering his own fumble on the another.

Franklin also mentioned cornerback Zion Tracy. as a possible returner, though that hasn’t happened yet. With Saunders’ reliable hands and return experience, the Nittany Lions appear content to have him field punts, even if the returns will be limited. Franklin added that Penn State has tested some good athletes at the spot, but calle it "a unique skillset."

“So we’ve had a bunch of competitions for somebody else while Kaden was getting healthy, and no one really took the job, so we were still kinda at a point where having Kaden for the most part catch and fair catch,” Franklin said. 

Recognition for Abdul Carter

Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter earned two weekly awards for his performance against Illinois. Carter was named Big Ten defensive player of the week and the Senior Bowl co-defensive player of the week. Carter made seven tackles, four for losses, and two sacks and forced a fumble in the Nittany Lions' 21-7 victory over the Illini.

"The transition from linebacker to defensive end is a significant one," Franklin said. "He's done some really good things already, but as he gets more comfortable there, and then like you saw last week, we started to put more on his plate where we're doing different things, whether it's just one time lining him up on the left another time on the right at defensive end. Just that alone so they can't game plan him and know where exactly he's going to be."

💪💪💪 The Reese's Senior Bowl Co-Defensive Player of the Week is @PennStateFball OLB Abdul Carter @1NCRDB1 racking up 7 tackles, 4 solo, 4 TFLs, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 1 PBU in the 21-7 win over Illinois. #WeArePennState #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/IssQA20wkR

— Reese's Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) September 30, 2024

Penn State hosts UCLA at noon ET Saturday at Beaver Stadium. The game will be broadcast on FOX’s BIg Noon Kickoff.

More Penn State Football

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Final takeaways from Penn State's 21-7 win over Illinois

What they said about the Penn State-Illinois game

Sam Woloson has covered Penn State Athletics for the past three years and is currently the managing editor of The Daily Collegian. His work has also appeared in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Huntingdon Daily News and Rivals. Follow him on X @sam_woloson

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