Aug. 3—STATE COLLEGE — Penn State coach James Franklin told a large group of media assembled in Beaver Stadium’s pressroom on Saturday that preseason camp will be used in a variety of ways, including evolving with three new coordinators, looking at ways to get returning players better and create depth, all with the backdrop of a nine-win West Virginia team looming in four Saturdays.
Penn State held its third preseason practice after its annual media day on Saturday and its first practice in pads. Franklin said knowing the Aug. 31 opener in Morgantown is out there has created a sense of urgency. The Nittany Lions won last year’s opener against West Virginia in Beaver Stadium.
“It’s helpful for us, it kind of gets the guys’ attention,” Franklin said. “I have more respect for West Virginia than just about anyone, played there a ton of times. I know what Mountaineer football means to the people of West Virginia. There are some historic factors there as well.
“It’s going to be a great game in a great environment. They ended up winning nine games, so they have a ton of confidence coming into this season.”
The pressure to be ready for the season opener coupled with an expanded 12-team playoff means an extended season could be in line for many programs, including Penn State.
If a team qualifies for the new playoff bracket, there is a possibility a program could play 17 games to win a national title.
“We’ve always talked about trying to create depth, especially playing in a conference like the Big Ten,” Franklin said. “Now, with the potential of playing 17 games, we have to consider how we are going to do that.”
One way, Franklin said, is taking advantage of redshirt rules that allow players to see action in four regular season games and all postseason games, while still maintaining a redshirt.
“That factors into strategy and how we do these things,” he said. “We have to do a really good job of rotating for four quarters and the end of the season, and now a playoff run. It’s not dissimilar to what we’ve done in the past, it’s just heightened.
New-look No. 3
Julian Fleming, Penn State’s grad transfer wide receiver from Southern Columbia, appeared in his new No. 3 jersey during media day, just as he did as during spring ball. It is certainly an odd look for those who have followed Fleming from his days at Southern and Ohio State.
Fleming said he has embraced being a leader in a young wide receiver room with Penn State.
“They have some great leaders in the room already in Liam (Clifford) and Trey (Wallace) and they take great pride in that,” Fleming said. “I am an old man at this point in college football. Liam and Trey take that role very seriously, so joining them as one of the vets in the room has been great.”
Penn State has two No. 4s on its current roster, one on offense (freshman wide receiver Tyseer Denmark) and another on defense (transfer corner A.J. Harris). Many teams across the nation have duplicate numbers; the only rule is that the two players cannot be on the field at the same time.
Lions out
Just before media day began Saturday, Penn State officials confirmed that defensive end Jameial Lyons and linebacker Kaveion Keys were no longer with the team.
The two young defensive players were suspended for unspecified reasons earlier in the week. On Saturday, moments before Franklin took to the podium for his media day session, a team spokesman announced that the program and Franklin would have no further comment on the matter.
The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
