Approximately one month after his team’s season wrapped up, Penn State football head coach James Franklin met with the media Monday afternoon.

Franklin discussed several topics surrounding the finish to the 2020 campaign, along with his goals entering the next season. The Nittany Lions have already made headlines this offseason thanks to movement in the transfer portal, coaching changes, and star players’ decisions to return to Penn State.

Here are some of the highlights from Franklin’s virtual press conference:

On The Hiring Of Mike Yurcich

The biggest story of Penn State’s offseason thus far was the firing of offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca after just one season in Happy Valley. Former Texas offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich will take over the job, and Franklin has high hopes for the new coach.

“Yurcich is a guy that I’ve been in contact with and communicating with for a long time,” Franklin said. “Philosophically, I felt like it was the right thing for us to do to get where we want to go and play a style on offense that will be important for us.”

Franklin noted creating explosive plays and minimizing turnovers as two areas where the Nittany Lions struggled this past season. He expects Yurcich to help turn the tide in those departments.

“We’re on the same page in what we want to do and how we want to do it,” Franklin said. “You better be able to protect the football and create explosive plays…His yards per play, his scoring. There hasn’t been too many offensive coordinators that have been able to average 40 points [per game].”

While his most recent stop was in Austin, Yurcich truly made a name for himself at Oklahoma State. He was dominant as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator over the course of six seasons and helped stars like Mason Rudolph and James Washington flourish.

Expectations are clearly high for Yurcich, especially after a fairly disappointing 2020 season for Ciarrocca’s offense.

“I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for Kirk,” Franklin said. “He handled it extremely well, and I wish him nothing but the best.”

On Transfer Portal Turnover

Along with that coaching change, the Nittany Lions have been extremely active in the NCAA’s transfer portal. Penn State has lost several players to the portal, including quarterback Micah Bowens and veteran defensive lineman Antonio Shelton, among others. However, the team has managed to bring in four players through the portal already.

The Nittany Lions have earned commitments from former Baylor running back John Lovett, former South Carolina defensive back Johnny Dixon, and defensive linemen Arnold Ebiketie and Derrick Tangelo.

“We’re gonna be as aggressive as we have to be at every position to help our football program,” Franklin said. “If there’s something that makes sense and clearly makes us better, we’re gonna look at it. It is obviously very different…But we’re gonna make sure that we do our homework at every position.”

While Franklin and his coaching staff have been productive in the portal, he still has reservations about it.

“I wouldn’t [say I’m] comfortable. College football has changed dramatically over the past five years,” Franklin said. “Whether you like it or you agree with it, you have to embrace it. This is college football. It’s not gonna go back to the way it was. From what I see and what I understand, this is how it’s gonna be.”

Franklin also discussed the negative effects the transfer portal has from an educational standpoint.

“The college football that I got involved with, every decision that was made started as educational decisions,” Franklin said. “I see less of that right now, and that’s concerning. Every time a guy transfers, his chances of graduating go down. That’s very different than the college football I got involved in.”

On Jahan Dotson’s Return

Jahan Dotson was clearly the brightest star for the Nittany Lions during what was otherwise a year most would like to forget. The star wideout, who balled out with 52 catches worth 884 yards and eight scores in 2020, announced he’ll be back for his senior season.

Unsurprisingly, Franklin is excited about Dotson’s decision.

“I feel like I have a really good relationship with Jahan and his mom and dad,” Franklin said. “We had some very direct, honest, transparent conversations with just the three of us. I thought that went well. At the end of the day, I’m gonna support whatever decisions these guys make.

“Having Jahan back I think is really important for us and gives us a really good building block,” Franklin added.

Aside from his unquestioned production, Dotson will also bring value in taking attention off of young wideouts such as Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith. Washington had a nice true freshman campaign with 36 catches for 489 yards and six scores, while Lambert-Smith had 15 grabs for 138 yards.

“I want to get more guys involved. I want to get more guys touches,” Franklin said. “I think it makes you more difficult to defend when the ball can go to a number of different people.”

On Seeing His Family

It was well-documented that Franklin was forced to be away from his family throughout the entire football season. Franklins’ wife, Fumi, and two daughters relocated to Florida because his youngest daughter has sickle cell anemia and is immunocompromised.

The head coach finally got to see them when this year’s season wrapped up. Franklin began a five-day quarantine starting after the Nittany Lions’ last game and made it to see his family just before Christmas.

“I had to take two tests the day after our season ended, and then I had to quarantine for five days,” Franklin said. “By doing that, I was able to get to see them on Christmas Eve. They didn’t know I was coming, so it was a pretty cool surprise.”

Franklin added that it was great to spend some extended time with his family after being away from them for several months, but the next hurdle now becomes finding a way to get them back in State College. Whether spring practice happens will largely determine if his family can return to Happy Valley or not.

On Goals For 2021

There’s plenty of room for this team to grow after an ugly 2020 campaign. When considering where to start, Franklin discussed his quarterbacks at length.

“I wouldn’t say that we took a step in the right direction or built on the year before,” Franklin said. “That’s another big part of this, getting back to that position and playing at a high level.”

Sean Clifford clearly didn’t have the year he wanted after a solid 2019 campaign. The lowest point of the season came when Will Levis got the start over him against Iowa after the Nittany Lions dropped their first four games.

Clifford did pick things up and limit his turnovers to close out the season, and Franklin hopes that momentum combined with Yurcich’s coaching can lead to more success. Yurcich has already helped developed some talented signal-callers, including Texas’ Sam Ehlinger and Ohio State’s Justin Fields.

As for the defensive side of the ball, Franklin plans to remain active in the transfer portal and recruit more defensive backs and linemen. He explained that some more depth on that side of the ball could result in bigger play and more production.

“An area that we have to improve in is creating turnovers,” Franklin said. “It’s big for the offense, it’s big for the defense. It also comes down to making people kick field goals and not score touchdowns when they get into the red zone.”

It’s unclear when the Nittany Lions will get a chance to hit the field and work on these goals, as there’s no word on spring practice just yet. Either way, Penn State is scheduled to start the season with a trip to Wisconsin on Saturday, September 4.