This spring, the Blue-White Game seemed to bring a different dimension to Beaver Stadium. Between Keegan-Michael Key’s coaching throughout the afternoon to Spice Adams punt return touchdown, there was plenty for the fans who actually made it into the stadium to laugh along with.

Keegan-Michael Key, a Penn State graduate, was picked to serve as a guest coach for the intra-team scrimmage. He certainly brought lots of laughs to the scrimmage (but that’s no surprise). Key was instrumental in calling plays like “caterpillar 64 clap, taper elephant, tine tine down, banjo 60 boogaloo.”

We had @spiceadams ask @KeeganMKey for a play call, and here it is:

"We're going caterpillar 64 clap, taper elephant, tine tine down, banjo 60 boogaloo."

Got it, @McSorley_IX? pic.twitter.com/BXaXd1DBWi

— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) April 21, 2018

Key even stood in as Franklin himself for a nice family picture. The resemblance, we must admit, is almost scary.

You vs. the guy she told you not to worry about: pic.twitter.com/FZh5qr4Xj5

— Alex Roux (@a_roux) April 21, 2018

Halftime brought even more entertainment to the field as prominent Penn State figures like Sandy Barbour and Pat Chambers fielded punts. The most impressive return of them all, however, came from Penn State letterman and BTN personality Anthony “Spice” Adams who took it the length of the field to the house.

Everyone running to Cafe when it's finally warm outside pic.twitter.com/UTpT67zuUi

— Onward State (@OnwardState) April 21, 2018

One of the more touching moments of the afternoon came when one Penn State fan scored a touchdown through the heart of the Penn State defense.

If we ignore the play on the field for a moment, this Blue-White Game seemed to have a slightly different feel from years past. Penn State brought about 71,000 fans to Beaver Stadium on this Saturday afternoon in what currently stands as the third-most in the country as far as spring games go.

It seems as though James Franklin and the athletic department understand that having an upbeat and lighthearted atmosphere during which players and fans can really enjoy themselves is the best way to fill those seats.

This atmosphere has to factor into recruiting as well. Franklin notched one commit so far this weekend in Caedan Wallace, the four-star offensive lineman from New Jersey. Franklin stated in his post-game press conference that his staff hosted about 160 recruits on unofficial visits on top of a number of official visitors along with their families. Blue-White Weekend has always been an important recruiting weekend for obvious reasons, but making the game a little more fan-friendly is probably a smart move.

Making that atmosphere a possibility is only really possible given the success that James Franklin has had during his tenure – especially in the recruiting department – but Franklin surely never stops thinking about ways to improve the state of the program.

We’ll get to see the Nittany Lions in action for the first time in the 2018 regular season on September 1 against Appalachian State in Beaver Stadium.