It’s not quite football season yet, folks. However, it’s pretty much football season.

After a months-long hiatus, head James Franklin was back on the stand in the Beaver Stadium media room for Penn State football’s 2024 Media Day. Franklin was joined by his offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, defensive coordinator Tom Allen, and special teams coordinator Justin Lustig.

With Penn State kicking off its season in less than a month, here’s what we learned about where the Nittany Lions stand at the start of preseason camp.

On Kotelnicki’s Offense

When reporters asked Franklin about quarterback Drew Allar, the wide receivers, or just about any player on the offense, Franklin always turned the conversation back to Kotelnicki and the new offensive scheme.

With the quarterbacks, Franklin said Kotelnicki has interacted well with graduate assistant Danny O’Brien, the team’s de-facto quarterbacks coach, and with the quarterbacks themselves.

“I think Andy, with 19 years of experience as a play-caller, and really being able to float, which is really what he wanted to do coming here, to be able to float as an offensive coordinator, almost like a lot of the NFL organizations do, and then have someone like Danny, even before the rule changes, as a GA, Andy was able to get comfortable with Danny,” Franklin said.

Franklin and Kotelnicki also repeated the idea of getting the ball in the hands of Penn State’s best players. And, as Franklin has said since the firing of Mike Yurcich, he wants Penn State to be more explosive.

“Philosophically, how are you going to get your best players the ball? How are you going to get them touches? How are you going to get them touches early in the game? Those types of things are a big part of it. Again, it’s one thing to talk about those things in the process; it’s another thing to go watch the film and it’s another thing to study the data and make sure those things are happening.

Part of that work, Kotelnicki said, is figuring out which players deserve touches and then figuring out the best ways to put them in positions to succeed.

“We figure out who those players are and what their skill sets are. What are their capabilities? What are their limitations? Then we put them in a position to do what they’re capable of,” Kotelnicki said. “Then holistically speaking, you have to make sure that however you identify those best players, maybe it’s a running back, quarterback, tight end, whoever it is; OK, what parts of our offense need to grow and expand because this person is going to need more touches?”

On The Wide Receivers

Since spring camp, coaches and players alike have spoken highly of Penn State’s wide receiver corps. The group took a lot of flack for its performances (or lack thereof) throughout the season. While Penn State doesn’t necessarily have a firm top three starters, it seems that Julian Fleming, Trey Wallace, and Liam Clifford will be getting the majority of reps this season.

“You need to have someone at wide receiver who has the ability to dictate the depth and width of routes. Going to take the ball, not having those things dictated to you, not having a defensive back tell you where the route has to be run and how wide or how deep, but to push and fight with the physicality that you need to have happen,” Kotelnicki said.

“Even within route running. With our defense, we have a great secondary, and as aggressive as they’re coached to play, I’ve seen our receivers go out there and match that. I’ve seen those things. I’ve seen their commitment throughout the spring and summer to develop their trade and their craft. I’m excited for that group as we go into the fall.”

From talking with those around the offense, it seemed as if Penn State wasn’t going to totally abandon the 12-personnel scheme that it leaned on last season, but it wouldn’t come up as frequently. That hints at more confidence in the program in this year’s crop of wide receivers.

“I thought our entire staff, as well as the team, felt like the wide receivers took a big jump in day two compared to day one. And I know a lot of the coaches and players, Jaylen Reed, actually spoke to the team after practice about it. So I thought that was a real positive,” Franklin said.

“But it’s just a small pool right now to really base that off of. I’ll have a better idea a week from now. But so far, solid, and obviously there are still some steps that need to be taken there for that entire room.

“Obviously, that’s been a big question mark for the media and some of the fans. I think the coaching staff and I think the players have, I would say a good amount of confidence in what that room has the ability to do and the amount of work that they have put in with Beau and Drew all summer.”

On The Defensive Backs

Coming out of the 2024 season, Penn State lost several members of its secondary to the NFL. Kalen King, Johnny Dixon, Daequan Hardy, and Keaton Ellis all either ran out of eligibility or turned professional.

Allen said that when he arrived at Penn State, the cornerback position was a “question mark,” but it’s since turned into one of the team’s biggest strengths. The additions of Jalen Kimber and AJ Harris from the portal certainly haven’t hurt, but Penn State seemed positive about other players returning from within the team.

“I’m a big believer in playing lots of guys. I’ve been that way my whole career and want to have a good rotation, so you’re able to be at your very best at the end of the game,” Allen said. “Now also be that way at the end of the season, which could be a very long season, that’s the expectation that it’s going to be a very long season. I think the more guys you can play, the more depth you’re going to create.

“Whether it’s third down package, second pass packages that we have, guys that can cover guys that can tackle. That’s one thing coach Terry Smith has done a phenomenal job is, building a room full of guys that have the traits you’re looking for. The speed, the twitch, the abilities to make plays in space defensively, to tackle, to have a physical mental toughness to them that, that group has. I’m super excited about that group and excited to play a lot of them.”

On The Defensive Ends

One of Penn State’s biggest moves of the offseason was Abdul Carter, who made the switch from linebacker to defensive end. While James Franklin said days before media day that Carter will play both positions, the head coach said on Saturday that he was more than comfortable with the team’s depth at defensive end.

Franklin name-dropped Amin Vanover and Smith Vilbert as two players who, in addition to Dani Dennis-Sutton and Carter, could get some solid reps this year.

On The House Vs. NCAA Settlement

As the world of college football adjusts to the news of the House vs. NCAA settlement that alters NCAA rules about roster sizes and scholarships, Franklin said he’s waiting for the dust to settle before he begins switching things up at Penn State.

“I think everybody is working on plans based on what we know, but not everything has been settled. I think the other thing is every school and every program is going to handle a little bit differently, what they think is best, because I think everybody understands there’s no more limiting number of scholarships,” Franklin said.

“They’re limiting roster sizes, is how they’re handling it, so every school will have the flexibility within that to do what they think is best, but there’s still some things that we’re still waiting to get resolved in details, but we have some time.”

On Max Granville

Max Granville, a freshman defensive end who joined the Nittany Lions after reclassifying very recently, received some decent praise from coaches and players. Granville’s arrival was surprising to most, including Penn State.

Franklin said he wasn’t aware that Granville reclassifying was an option until late in the process. Franklin said Granville’s family realized was was eligible to graduate high school a year early and jumped at the chance to enroll their son in Penn State just as their other son got married.

“So there’s a lot of stuff that we had to get done in a short period of time and because of the wedding, he couldn’t,” Franklin said. “It’s not like he could even come a couple days early, like was getting here right at the last minute.

“But so far, first impression, really good. But obviously there’s a big difference between running around in shorts and a t-shirt than there is in full pads. So, we’ll see that today. We’ll have a better idea today.”