Takeaways From James Franklin's First Press Conference of Penn State's 2023 Season

Franklin assessed Drew Allar's camp, revealed the green-light freshmen and welcomed back a long-time coach to Beaver Stadium.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. | Penn State coach James Franklin held his first game-week press conference of the season, discussing quarterback Drew Allar, some freshmen to watch, West Virginia's many familiar faces and the return of Tom Bradley. Here's what you need to know as the Nittany Lions prepare for the Sept. 2 season-opener against West Virginia at Beaver Stadium.

Drew Allar shines in camp

Though Franklin refrained from naming a starting quarterback, he and cornerback Kalen King were highly complimentary of Drew Allar’s performance in training camp. Franklin said that Penn State tracks "everything" statistically through camp, from touchdowns to interceptions to completion percentage and beyond, and Allar’s numbers were starkly positive. The sophomore didn’t throw an interception until practice 13 or 14, Franklin said, while King noticed just one or two interceptions throughout camp.

"He was protecting the ball like crazy, not doing anything to damage the offense, making the right choices, making smart moves," King said. "In practice, it's hard on me because I'm always trying to get the ball, and when he's not giving it away, that makes my job tough. Yeah, I'm looking forward to Drew, man. He's gonna be a good one."

Though Allar isn’t publicly the starter, Franklin said the Lions have a “pretty good idea” as to who will be. Based on Tuesday’s discourse, and literally everything else, Allar continues to be the safe bet.

"I think Drew has had, I would say, a good camp," Franklin said, "a camp that's given himself, his coaches and teammates a bunch of confidence."

RELATED: Penn State's offense makes a significant change this season

Green-light freshmen

Every preseason, Franklin introduces the true freshmen who will play early. On Tuesday, Franklin highlighted four: linebacker Tony Rojas, safety King Mack, cornerback Zion Tracy and cornerback Elliot Washington II. A "green light" means the player will see action, as soon as Game 1, and likely burn his redshirt.

Interestingly, all four play defense, but their spots on the green list also revolve around special teams. There’s also a list of "yellow" players, whom Franklin said he hopes will be ready by Game 5 or so.

"These guys have shown that they're the closest not just to play on defense but also have significant roles on special teams," Franklin said. "I think that's one of the big things out there for recruits and players, whether it's in college or even in the NFL. There's so much value in that in terms of, here's a guy that's in the two-deep on special teams, and here's a guy in the three-deep on offense or defense. He's going to play enough that it makes sense to green-light him and go from Game 1. He's going to get enough reps between the combination of his offensive responsibility and his special teams responsibility or his defensive responsibility that everybody is comfortable with it. The coaches are comfortable with it. The players are comfortable with it. It makes sense."

Though Franklin didn't name him specifically, offensive tackle J'Ven Williams is another freshman to watch for playing time. Offensive tackle Olu Fashanu said Williams "had a great camp" and earned plenty of attention from his fellow linemen.

"He had the opportunity to get a lot of reps," Fashanu said. "That's really important for a freshman's development, just getting reps against other college football players with him being less than a year removed from high school."

Olu’s back

Speaking of Fashanu, the preseason All-American and projected first-round draft pick said Tuesday that he's "completely healthy" after missing the final five games of 2022 with an injury. His decision to skip the draft was surprisingly good news for Penn State, and he’s been happy with his continued development.

"Right now I’d say I’m in a pretty good spot," Fashanu said. "I don’t think overnight success is possible in any terms of college football or professional sports. Everything takes a process, and that’s something that I truly understand. So with myself, it’s all about just getting consistently better day in and day out."

Scrap's back

A significant person in Penn State history returns to Beaver Stadium on Saturday, as former defensive coordinator Tom Bradley will participate in the ceremonial coin toss. Bradley spent more than 35 years as a player and coach at Penn State, the only place he worked until Bill O'Brien became head coach in 2012. Bradley, whose nickname is "Scrap," was Penn State's defensive coordinator for 12 years and the interim head coach for four games in 2011.

Bradley, who returned to coaching in 2014 at West Virginia, has been involved with Penn State football recently as part of the television show Nittany Game Week. On the show's first episode of 2023, Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft revealed that Bradley would be part of the coin toss. And earlier this year, Franklin told Adam Breneman in an interview that he wished he had spent more time with Bradley early in his tenure at Penn State to learn "what do I really need to know to navigate this place." Former Penn State receiver Allan Robinson, now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, will be the team's honorary captain.

"Excited about having Tom Bradley, Scrap, and Allen Robinson being the honorary captains," Franklin said. "Obviously getting a guy like Allen Robinson back is always important, but having a guy like Scrap, who I've been able to develop a relationship since I came into town, obviously with his history and connections to the program, is awesome as well. I'm glad we're doing that."

1st Impact Interview on @NittanyGameWeek is Dr. Pat Kraft .. he announces coin toss duties before WVU kickoff for former D-Coordinator and our co-host @TomScrapBradley .. can't wait to see Scrap in front of 107K! @penn_state @PennStateFball @GoPSUsports #PennState #NittanyLions pic.twitter.com/hbwnD831yL

— Todd Sadowski (@ToddFox43) August 28, 2023

West Virginia's familiar faces

With West Virginia being a regional rival — a good thing for college football, Franklin said — a number of familiar faces dot the Mountaineers' roster. Among them are former Penn State linebacker Lance Dixon and defensive tackle Fatorma Mulbah. Wide receiver Devin Carter briefly was committed to Penn State last winter as a transfer player before flipping to the Mountaineers. And Franklin heavily recruited several other West Virginia players, including offensive tackle Wyatt Milum and wide receiver Rodney Gallagher III.

Also of note, head coach Neal Brown has not named a starting quarterback, either, though Franklin anticipates junior Garrett Greene taking the first snaps. 

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Max Ralph is a Penn State senior studying Broadcast Journalism with minors in sports studies and Japanese. He previously covered Penn State football for two years with The Daily Collegian and has reported with the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Follow him on Twitter (X) @maxralph_ and Instagram @mralph_59.