James Franklin, Penn State reflect on coaching changes, NFL decisions, Peach Bowl and more

June 30, 2024

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — James Franklin has been dining in prospects’ homes, coaching his current roster and trying to put the finishing touches on the Nittany Lions’ 2024 recruiting class. In between he’s hired offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and is hiring a defensive coordinator to replace newly appointed Duke head coach Manny Diaz.

Franklin would’ve liked to hire a defensive coordinator replacement by this point, but he’s still searching. He also reiterated that Penn State will remain active in the transfer portal, but that they won’t overpromise on starting positions or playing time, he said.

Until there’s some sort of reform to the NCAA calendar, Franklin knows this is the drill for a dizzying month. What’s his schedule been like?

“Are you saying that because I look like sh–?” Franklin quipped Friday as he sipped a cup of coffee during the team’s bowl media day. “The schedule is not good. It is not good. It is chaotic. You’re recruiting your own roster. There’s mixed messages everywhere. There are agendas in every direction.”

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Well, there’s been no shortage of changes for the Nittany Lions ahead of the team’s Peach Bowl game against Ole Miss on Dec. 30. Anthony Poindexter and analyst Robb Smith will serve as the interim defensive coordinators, Franklin said. They’ll join co-offensive coordinators Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle. While they’re all preparing for the bowl game Kotelnicki will continue evaluating the roster. After the bowl game, Kotelnicki said he, Franklin and graduate assistant Danny O’Brien will collectively work with the quarterbacks in 2024.

“I’m gonna give you the elevator pitch on what we want to do offensively,” Kotelnicki said Friday, his first time meeting with the media. “I’ll tell you that it’s a multiple, pro-style offense that uses spread concepts and components and emphasis on the word multiple. … It’s about putting players in a position to be successful.”

Kotelnicki, whose voice boomed as he enthusiastically entered the room, said his first football helmet as a kid in the ’80s was a white one with a blue stripe. For a kid growing up in Minnesota he eventually realized it was a Penn State helmet. It’s been a bit of a full-circle realization for him since being tabbed to replace Mike Yurcich on Dec. 1.

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Since then he’s met with quarterback Drew Allar multiple times all while working to meet with every offensive player in person, too. Kotelnicki stood on the practice field Friday night watching many key pieces to his future offense. It turns out Kotelnicki could’ve been coaching at Penn State sooner. Kotelnicki had interviewed with Franklin in 2021 when Franklin was hiring a tight ends coach. He hired Ty Howle over Kotelnicki and other applicants. It’s a detail Kotelnicki was able to laugh about now all while Howle has turned out to be a strong recruiter and position coach in the time since.

Franklin said he admittedly hasn’t spent much time around his new offensive coordinator just yet because of his own schedule. That of course will change once the team arrives in Atlanta later this month.

But until then, Franklin’s search for a defensive coordinator is ongoing.

While Poindexter said on Friday that he is interested in the job and has had “several conversations” with Franklin about it, the head coach outlined some qualifications for what he’s hoping to find in a defensive coordinator.

Franklin said there’s “value” in hiring someone who has been a head coach before but said that qualifier isn’t the be-all and end-all.

“Obviously someone who’s got extensive defensive coordinator experience, someone that runs a similar scheme and philosophy because our current players have had a lot of success in a similar system,” Franklin said.

He also pointed out that he doesn’t want someone who is intimidated by the position they’re stepping into. Realistically, given the heap of statistics that point to how spectacular this defense was this season under Diaz, there won’t be a ton of room for improvement, statistically speaking.

“A lot of times you’re taking over a job, and you say, hey, my job is to improve the defense,” Franklin said. “That’s going to be hard to do statistically, right?”

Other takeaways from Penn State’s bowl media day:

Fashanu continues to practice

Olu Fashanu met with reporters, and the projected first-round pick said he’s still practicing with the team and plans to make the bowl trip. It’s unclear what Fashanu’s role, if any, will be in the game. Franklin spoke earlier this week about his desire to work with players through a plan that’s fair for both sides in the bowl game. Penn State did something similar in the past, notably with Saquon Barkley who participated in a limited basis in the Fiesta Bowl. Barkley was able to finish out the season with his teammates while also being healthy to get to the next level. Thus far defensive end Chop Robinson is the only player who has opted out.

Fashanu said he will walk at graduation on Saturday, marking another accomplishment on the All-America honoree’s list of achievements.

“That’s definitely going to be a culminating experience over my last four years here,” Fashanu said. “I felt that most of the things I wanted to accomplish have gotten accomplished in the last four years so (Saturday) when I walk it’s definitely going to feel like a full-circle moment.”

Players ponder post-bowl decisions

Tight end Tyler Warren said he’s still working through his NFL decision but will play in the bowl game. The same holds for cornerback Daequan Hardy and defensive end Adisa Isaac, who all met with reporters on Friday. Cornerback Johnny Dixon, cornerback Kalen King, wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith and offensive linemen Sal Wormley and Caedan Wallace — all with NFL decisions to make — were not among the players who met with reporters on Friday. Lambert-Smith and Wallace were among those practicing Friday evening during the media viewing window. Fashanu was too, as expected. I did not see King or Dixon during the 15-minute media viewing window.

Tight end Theo Johnson previously announced his plan to turn pro after the bowl game. However, Johnson will play in the Peach Bowl. While the decision was made public this month the team captain said he informed Franklin before the season even started that regardless of how things were looking for him individually he’d be participating in the bowl game.

“I wanted to make sure I was a man of my word and it was kind of a no-brainer for me,” Johnson said. “We just kind of have a culture at Penn State of guys finishing out the season. Obviously, different guys make different decisions, but I think more times than not guys decide they’re gonna stay.

“Around the building, it’s kind of a known thing that captains really don’t leave,” Johnson said.

Linebacker Curtis Jacobs announced Friday night that we would take a similar tack to Johnson, playing in the bowl game and then entering the NFL Draft.

Sharing the spotlight, but not play calling

The co-offensive coordinators met with reporters and fittingly shared the spotlight. While neither coordinator has acknowledged who is calling plays and has been since Yurcich was fired, both Seider and Howle pointed to one another when they were asked. The two seem to get along well and the offense’s success late in the season as the two of them worked to simplify things and highlight what these players do best was noticeable.

“Think players not plays,” Seider said. “That’s the biggest thing we talked about. How do our best guys touch the ball?”

In punter Riley Thompson’s mind his collegiate career was likely over. He walked on senior day and was preparing for whatever was next. Then, Franklin called out the 23-year-old Aussie in front of the entire team ahead of a bowl practice. He informed Thompson his NCAA appeal was granted. Thompson now has two years of eligibility remaining.

“He told me and I was stoked,” Thompson said. “It was a pretty awesome moment to have. … (My teammates) kind of knew that we weren’t really sure what was going on so when we found out they were pretty stoked. It was a pretty awesome moment to hear right before training.”

Special teams coordinator Stacy Collins, who also is serving as the linebackers coach in the lead-up to the bowl game — the position Diaz previously coached — said throughout the compliance process he hoped Thompson would have more eligibility remaining. But, they were unsure given Thompson’s time spent in Australia.

“You just never know how long that process is going to take,” Collins said. “… You have Plan A, you have Plan B and you have Plan C. And Plan A was able to get the appeal and we’re extremely excited about it.”

Even as Manny Diaz departed for Duke, he found time for a last goodbye. (Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)

A farewell to Diaz

While this time of year often doesn’t allow players and coaches the chance to say goodbye, Penn State’s players did have a moment with Diaz. Isaac said he went looking for Diaz in the Nittany Lions’ football building when it became apparent that Duke had zeroed in on him as their next head coach.

Diaz wasn’t around and Isaac assumed he had already gone to Duke. Defensive tackle Dvon Ellies assumed the next time he’d see Diaz was online when he’d be stepping off the jet in Duke gear and that would be that.

“I was fully prepared to just say congratulations. I wish you the best coach and you know to see him on Duke’s webpage getting off the jet,” Ellies said. “That’s usually how it works.”

But, anyone who spent time around this defense and this coordinator could recognize that there was something special here. During the last two seasons, players raved about Diaz and how he helped elevate their level of play. In a sport where jobs change in a hurry, there was a moment of finality for this defense.

When Diaz was back in town after accepting the Duke job he stopped by at the end of one of Penn State’s practices.

“We all got to give him hugs and say how much we appreciated him,” Isaac said. “You could see it obviously meant something to him and it meant something to us. … We’re just happy for him. We know what he brings to the table. We know what he’s done for us these past two years. We’re just happy for him.”

Players said Diaz tried to keep his emotions in check as he thanked them. Ellies said Diaz told them that after coming here after getting fired at Miami this group “really brought his love for football back.”

“There were a couple of guys who were in genuine tears and that’s real love,” Ellies said. “That comes from a genuine place because that’s just who he was as a coach. He was just a really genuine man.”

(Top photo: Michael Hickey / Getty Images)

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