In a Weird Year, Penn State Hopes to Recapture the 'Purest Form of Football'

Penn State coach James Franklin sees the 2020 college football season from a fresh perspective.

At one of Penn State's first practices this September, receiver Jahan Dotson heard coach James Franklin call a defensive lineman's name that he just didn't know. Since the players lived apart, worked out in small separate groups and distanced from other positions, receivers and linemen didn't cross paths often.

"There's a lot of guys on this team right now that I've never even met before," Dotson said recently.

That's just one more side effect of a 2020 college football season that even players know won't be conventional. But they're trying to normalize it as much as possible, turning once-simple concepts like full-team practices into moments of appreciation.

And who knows, Franklin said. Maybe this will remind players why they started playing football in the first place.

"There's been some discussion we've had that I think have been really cool," Franklin said. "In some ways, we're going to get back to the purest form of football."

Penn State is under three weeks from its opener at Indiana, beginning a Big Ten season whose trajectory is unpredictable. Players said during a series of video calls recently that they felt safe under the protocols team doctors and trainers have set forth regarding COVID-19 prevention, even as some have had family members diagnosed as positive.

As they returned to full-squad practices and began daily antigen testing, Franklin remained vigilant about mask-wearing and distancing as much as possible. Franklin has told stories about scolding players on campus for not wearing masks and either circling the block to check on them again or, if need be, calling their parents.

"When you start testing every day, that's not a cure-all," Franklin said. "That doesn't solve your issues. That's just another layer of protection. The most important thing we can do is our behaviors."

That requires separation, which has affected team-building opportunities. Franklin has lamented the loss of field trips that foster bonding opportunities, which left some players still introducing themselves at the restart of practice.

For a quarterback, that's difficult. Clifford said there were some freshmen he hadn't met in person until practice resumed, simply because of the way the roster was separated through voluntary summer workouts. Confronting those unknowns, Clifford said he expects the season is "only going to get weirder."

"You talk about leadership all the time, and you try to get around as many people as you can. But at this point in time, you just can't see certain people," Clifford said. "So it's definitely been a harder task to get to know everybody. ... It's gotten a little bit easier, finally seeing everybody [once practice resumed], but it's definitely been a weird time to develop relationships."

But those practices have changed, too. The Lions, for instance, won't be blaring music and crowd noise to simulate hostile road environments, since the Big Ten is not allowing public ticket sales for its games. Quarterbacks have to be wary of their calls and snap counts, while defensive linemen are going to be better tuned to their cadences.

And then there's Beaver Stadium, which on Oct. 31 will host its first game in 11 months. Ohio State will visit for a likely primetime showdown of the only two teams currently ranked in both the AP Top 25 and Amway Coaches Poll while having yet to play a game.

As other teams rise and fall, these two wait their turn for a chance to play on a big but empty stage. It's yet another component of Penn State's "weird" season.

Tight end Pat Freiermuth, who returned to Penn State for moments like this, said he has talked with NFL friends about playing in empty (or mostly empty) venues. As his coach said, the Lions will have to "bring their own juice," something the players recognize as well.

"They say it's definitely weird, playing with no fans," Freiermuth said. "... But once we start playing, I feel like it's just going to be the same, and we won't really notice anything outside of who's on the field."

Franklin is hoping for that. On Wednesday, the Penn State coach told a story about playing football as a kid, when his mom dropped him off at the field wearing his uniform, ready to go. He called that the "purest form of football," one that perhaps his players might experience again.

"In some ways, I'm hoping for two things," Franklin said. "One, that we get back to the special time when the game was just so pure. You just played for love of the game and not about the fans and not about any of those things. There's also the part that we're so blessed to be at Penn State and play in front of 107,000 fans, and I don't think anybody takes it for granted. But if you did, I think this is kind of a wakeup call to all of us."

Get the latest Penn State news by joining the community. Click "Follow" at the top right of our AllPennState page. Mobile users click the notification bell. And please follow AllPennState on Twitter @MarkWogenrich.