Penn State's James Franklin Talks Beaver Stadium, Revenue Sharing and Some Football

The Nittany Lions begin summer workouts while Franklin addresses the big-picture world of college football.

Penn State head football coach James Franklin speaks to reporters during a press conference in State College. / Dan Rainville/USA Today Network - PA /

STATE COLLEGE | As college football continues racing, often awkwardly, into its future, Penn State coach James Franklin wants to retain some thread of normalcy. Which is why, as he discussed the issues surrounding his game Thursday, Franklin also made one of his most frequent points.

"Talking about revenue sharing and all these things are important big picture, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to make sure we can play man coverage, make sure we can run inside zone and that we can cover a kick," Franklin said. And then he said "West Virginia" seven times.

But entering his 11th season as the Penn State football coach, Franklin carries an important voice regarding those issues. He discussed a few Thursday in State College, notably the financial impact of the forthcoming Beaver Stadium renovation and how Penn State is positioned to enter the revenue-sharing market. Here's what Franklin had to say.

Penn State's place in a revenue-sharing world

If the House vs. NCAA settlement is signed, athletic departments could be sharing revenue with athletes perhaps as soon as 2025. Some estimates place the initial annual limit that schools can share with athletes at $22 million. It's certain to go increase. Franklin said Penn State is well positioned to make those payments but still needs more detail about how it will work.

"Although we've got a pretty good idea of where this is all going big-picture, how it’s going to play out on all these different campuses is going to be very different," Franklin said. "Some schools won’t be able to meet the threshold. They won’t have the revenue to be able to do it. I think we’ll be a program that will. But then also you also have Title 9 that factors into that as well. So there’s a lot that goes into it."

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Backing the Beaver Stadium renovation

Penn State has positioned its $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium as a huge maintenance project coupled with a path toward generating new revenue streams. Franklin understands and endorses that approach.

"I was always a believer that Holuba [Hall], our practice field and Lasch [the team facility] were the most important things for our football program: the buildings we're in 365 days a year from a development standpoint for our players," Franklin said. "Once that was taken care of, I think Beaver Stadium was the next thing. To me, Beaver Stadium is more about the athletic department and about the university and the community and about the state and specifically the other sports, really more than it is about football.

"We've had great environments there. I think people consider us one of the best environments in all of college football. But we weren't going to sustain that when we hadn't really updated the stadium in a long period of time. Here we are now, and it's become a massive project. But this is going to allow football to continue to really support all those entities."

Penn State has begun some of the key maintenance work that’s part of the $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium. A few stadium scenes: pic.twitter.com/HRnRQ6CeBR

— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) June 13, 2024

Some Penn State football talk

Penn State is two weeks into its summer workout program, one that will last for another six weeks. But Franklin and strength coach Chuck Losey have seen some critical advancements this offseason. Notably:

The offseason strategy with quarterback Drew Allar has centered on his movement and mobility. Losey said he's primarily working to lower Allar's bodyfat percentage, raise his lean mass and increase his "movement qualities."

"He's moving around more and he's going to have to be able to do that in the game too," Losey said. "... We've always had some really good movement guys back there [at quarterback], and that's something that we've been trying to improve on with Drew."

Left tackle Drew Shelton is cleared for team activities after missing spring practice because of offseason surgery. Shelton, projected to replace All-American Olu Fashanu, is a key element of the line's redevelopment after losing three starters to the NFL Draft. "He's in a really good position," Franklin said. "He probably needs to put on a few pounds, but besides that, he’s a super mature kid: very conscientious, very intelligent and obviously he's played well when he's been in there. We're expecting him to have a good year, but this summer is going to be important for him."

Running back Nick Singleton continues to amaze Losey for his offseason approach to strength and speed training. Losey said Singleton is faster now at 226 pounds than he was two years ago at 208. "It's an easy statistic to point out, but that's also hard to do," Losey said. "From a development standpoint, it’s hard to put on that type of lean mass and improve your movement qualities. That’s an area he got a lot better with."

Receiver Harrison Wallace III also is healthy after missing five games last season with various injuries. A healthy Wallace will help unlock Penn State's deep passing game. "We thought he was going to have a big year last year, and that got limited through no fault of his own," Franklin said. "And we feel that way and probably more so this year. He’s a year older, he’s a year more mature, he’s been developed and he’s very hungry because I think there’s frustration that last year got cut short."

More Penn State Football

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AllPennState 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 Twitter @MarkWogenrich.