Penn State head coach James Franklin, the reigning Big Ten champion, took to the podium in Chicago on Tuesday to address assembled media as the Nittany Lions prepare for camp.
Some highlights:
- “We only had one senior on offense last year and two on defense.” Called the Big Ten championship game and the Rose Bowl “critical” for their growth.
- On the loss to USC, Franklin noted the silver lining is it gave his players a sense of hunger heading into the season.
- On players handling increased expectations: “They're always pretty big at Penn State. Where it’s probably changed is nationally. There are probably more people nationally talking about Penn State than in years past. But one of the reasons we came here is for the big expectations. … With the players, it’s the same thing.”
- Penn State won’t focus on last year’s nine-game winning streak. “That doesn’t do us a lot of good.”
- Franklin considered Year 1 and Year 2 as his best coaching jobs, as they laid the groundwork for his Year 3 breakout.
- When asked about the Pitt rivalry, Franklin said he’d prefer to talk about Akron. “We’re excited about the teams we play this year. It starts with Akron and we’ll go after that.”
- Franklin is not a fan of Big Ten playing on Friday night, which he considers a sacred night for high school football. He does not want Penn State to play on Friday.
- Franklin considers his offensive line to be one of the best lines in the conference.
- He expects teams to load up on Saquon Barkley, but Penn State has surrounded him with so many weapons he doesn’t think they’ll be able to focus on him 100%.
Penn State's season starts Sept. 2 in Happy Valley against Akron.
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