Penn State Headlines: Changing With the Times

"Whenever the rules change," Nittany Lions coach James Franklin said, "we need to be as bold and aggressive as we can."

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin on the sideline against Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

College football's season of change in 2024 might serve merely as a prelude to 2025, when the game really begins to alter itself in overdrive.

In this week's edition of the Penn State Headlines, we explore how Penn State is confronting that change, and why Athletic Director Patrick Kraft thinks some changes could provide Penn State with a "huge, huge advantage." Also, training camp begins this week, Beaver Stadium clears an important hurdle and Penn State rides in Paris.

The House vs. NCAA settlement's impact on Penn State

"I want to make sure that at Penn State, whenever the rules change, we need to be as bold and aggressive as we can," James Franklin said at Big Ten Football Media Days. His response was to a question about participating in high school football satellite camps but also applies to the huge news released Friday.

The NCAA and the so-called "Autonomy Five" conferences released their proposed settlement to three antitrust cases involving college sports compensation, including the House vs. NCAA suit. The settlement provides about $2.8 billion in payments to former college athletes who couldn't monetize their names, images and likenesses and establishes a framework for sharing revenue with future athletes. That's the important part for Penn State.

As former Penn State football player Landon Tengwall said in a recent interview, "I think Penn State will be one of the programs that benefits the most in all of college football from revenue sharing." That's because Penn State was one of five athletic programs to spend $200 million during fiscal year 2022-23. Penn State has money and, according to Kraft, will spend it.

"We'll be all-in," Kraft said at Big Ten Football Media Days about revenue sharing. "We'll do it to whatever max we can."

Kraft also discussed NIL, the end of scholarship restrictions, which will be replaced by roster limits, and how Penn State will benefit from those changes. Much more here on how the proposed settlement impacts Penn State.

Penn State begins training camp

The Nittany Lions open preseason training camp this week, giving them about a month to prepare for the season-opener at West Virginia (where Franklin expects to face a "hornet's nest.") We'll learn more detail about Penn State over the next four weeks. But at Big Ten media days, Franklin delivered the mission statement for this year's team: "For us, we’ve got to play our best when our best is needed most, in the biggest games and the biggest moments,” he said.

Elsewhere, Franklin confirmed what defensive coordinator Tom Allen had suggested during spring drills. Abdul Carter will play roles at defensive end and linebacker, his former position, this season. In doing so, Penn State will move one of its most athletic players across the defense, leaning on Carter's sharp pass-rush skills while also dropping him into coverage occasionally.

Also, watch Franklin's Big Ten media days press conference here.

Some recruiting news

Penn State hosted its annual Lasch Bash, the final summer recruiting event, this past weekend and received two commitments from it Saturday. Notably, offensive lineman Kevin Brown, the 247Sports Composite's top-ranked Pennsylvania player for the 2026 recruiting class, was one of the players to commit.

Another interesting recruiting note: Max Granville, a 4-star defensive end from Texas, had been committed to Penn State's 2025 recruiting class. But Granville reclassified after three years of high school football and will join the Nittany Lions this year. He will be a 2024 freshman and eligible for training camp.

Penn State in Paris

A school-record 30 athletes are representing Penn State at the Summer Olympics. Current and former Penn State athletes will compete for 13 different countries in Paris. Fourteen of those athletes are representing Team USA, the most among current Big Ten teams. That will change Aug. 2, when USC and UCLA officially join the conference. Ultimately, Penn State ranks third in the Big Ten in Olympic athletes on Team USA.

In addition, Penn State basketball fans looking for another country to support beyond Team USA might consider Japan. Former Nittany Lion Tom Hovasse is the head coach of the Japan men's basketball team, which, following its head coach's ethos, seeks to "shock the world" in Paris. Hovasse led the Japan women's team to silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and brings a healthy dose of Penn State basketball to the Olympics.

Hot reads

Penn State AD Patrick Kraft said that Beaver Stadium will be "ready to go" for a possible College Football Playoff game in December. Beaver Stadium is undergoing a significant round of work ahead of the 2024 season.

Oklahoma State released terms of wrestling coach David Taylor's contract. Kraft discussed it.

James Franklin already is making travel plans for USC in October.

Franklin understands that fans won't settle for less than a playoff berth, writes Rich Scarcella of the Reading Eagle.

Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.