Penn State's James Franklin Talks Abdul Carter, Julian Fleming and Andy Kotelnicki's Debut

What did the Nittany Lions coach have to say at his weekly press conference? Here's a look.

Penn State coach James Franklin talks to a referee during the first quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Penn State coach James Franklin had plenty to praise after his team's 34-12 win over West Virginia last Saturday. The game unleashed the animated side of quarterback Drew Allar, delivered on the "super creative" promise of offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and was another showcase for the Nittany Lions' defense.

Franklin discussed that and more at his weekly press conference, which also included a few issues to correct. A sampling fro the Q&A:

On defensive end Abdul Carter: I thought he played really well; he was disruptive. We talk in our building about real football, study more than just statistics. So there are times where he's taking on two blockers where a couple of them I think could have been called holding where he's splitting two
blockers and they're unable to come off; either a linebacker or another defensive lineman gets the sack or tackle for loss. Obviously some of the pre-snap and post-snap penalties we've got to get cleaned up for sure. Overall, I thought his first game as a full-time defensive end was very disruptive and I think he's just going to get better each week.

You guys know there has been a bunch of buzz about him for his ability on the field, but I'm also really proud of his growth off the field. Had some conversations yesterday about the penalties, and just
the way he approached it, his maturity, his ability to take some constructive criticism and be accountable for it was really, really impressive. So I'm proud of him. I think he's going to have a big year for us and I think he's setting himself up for really bright things in his future as well.

On starting right tackle Anthony Donkoh: We're real high on Anthony. He's such a conscientious young man. Extremely intelligent from a football IQ standpoint and also in the classroom. He's very, very athletic. You know, there are a lot of good signs about his habits early on as you guys have heard me talk about before he committed to us, before he became a national recruit, and I think we had six camps. He came up to every single camp with his mom and two brothers.

That's kind of the approach he's taken. He's got a workman-like approach and just continues to get better. Played really well in the [Peach Bowl], which gave us some excitement about what his future could be. Then we thought he went out and played really well in week one. [You] can't have enough guys that are 6-5 and 330 pounds and can move like him. The consistency and the intelligence he has, he's another guy that I think is just going to get better and better as the year goes on. We also plan on playing [Nolan] Rucci more and getting Rucci some opportunities as well. But Donkoh is playing really well in the two games that we been able to kind of watch and evaluate him.

On receiver Julian Fleming's Penn State debut: We thought he played really well. [There were] a couple times where we tried to get the ball to him, but, again, based on coverage, it just didn't play out
that way. We definitely want to get him more involved in this game early in the game, but I think the most important thing is the things that he could control, he controlled. He blocked really well; ran really good routes.

If you go back and watch the play that we threw the touchdown, Beau [Pribula] threw the touchdown to Tyler Warren, that's because of Julian. ... Here he is late in the game still running great routes to put us in a position to make big plays. You could say the same thing for the ball we threw to Tre [Wallace]. He runs a corner routed, pulls a safety out of the window, allows Tre to get hit on the skinny post or seam or however you want to describe it for the touchdown. So [with] the things that he could control, he played very, very well.

On Andy Kotelnicki's first game as Penn State's offensive coordinator: I think he did a really good job. Obviously when you're able to do the things that we were able to do in this game on offense, in terms of running the ball, in terms of throwing the ball, in terms of explosive plays, it's definitely something to build on.
And then also the fact that we were able to create touchdowns and not turn the ball over. Touchdown to interception ratio, that continues to be a strength of ours. Drew [Allar] has done a really good job of
that last year and started out this year the right way.

Yeah, I think there is a ton of excitement. I think you guys have heard me say before it's been more balanced during all training camp. It was more balanced in the West Virginia game as well.

On new starting cornerbacks A.J. Harris and Jalen Kimber: We feel like we've got six guys that all can play, and I think you'll see a little bit of a rotation. [We will] see how this week goes, but [there will be] different guys starting based on how they practiced that week. A true competition based on weekly production and practice habits. You know, I think Elliott [Washington Jr.] is another great example. Played really well in special teams starting in four units and also got reps at corner and made a huge interception which was a big time play.

So ... I would be careful if I were you guys, not just at corner but at a lot of positions, feeling like the guys that started in game one are going to be the exact starters in week two or throughout the year.

On the special teams: I didn't feel like we kicked the ball as well as we're capable of kicking.That's kickoff, punts, field goals, really all three phases.

More Penn State Football

Quarterback Drew unleashes his swagger at West Virginia

Penn State adds versatile athlete to 2025 recruiting class

First look at Penn State vs. Bowling Green: How to watch, stream, betting line