With the college football season just over a month away, Big Ten coaches and media gathered in Las Vegas at the annual Big Ten Media Days conference. James Franklin addressed the media in a typical main stage session before hopping onto the Big Ten Network broadcast for another session.

Franklin glossed over Penn State’s transfer portal additions, expectations going into the year, and more as Week 1 looms closer.

On Transfer Portal Additions

Franklin began his press conference with a swift explanation of Penn State’s increased action in the transfer portal this offseason. The program plucked eight players from the portal, mostly acknowledging the lack of receiver production that was exposed late last season.

“We’re not a big portal team,” Franklin said. “We’re a developmental program, we embrace that, but we will go out and make moves in the portal where we need to.”

Franklin cited that he felt that quarterback Drew Allar was unfairly criticized for certain plays due to a lack of production on the receiving end, which led the program to look for receivers with “proven production” in the portal. He described the team’s portal targets as leading receivers who were targeted on critical downs, which ultimately came to fruition with the additions of Trebor Pena, Kyron Hudson, and Devonte Ross.

On Heightened Expectations In 2025

With Penn State’s combination of a deep run in last season’s College Football Playoff, slew of returning star players, and big splashes in the transfer portal, it’s no secret to James Franklin that the college football world expects the Nittany Lions to fight for a national title in 2025.

“The reality is when it comes to the Lasch football building or when it comes to local, these are always the expectations at Penn State,” Franklin said.

The head coach highlighted that the national conversations surrounding the team haven’t changed the program’s internal functions, and they’re using the drive of last season’s failure to make a fiercer push in 2025. He said the team doesn’t care for preseason rankings, as the program holds itself to a high standard no matter what.

Franklin said that he himself feels a lot of pressure to do the returning players justice. He acknowledged that players like Drew Allar, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, and Nick Dawkins could have departed for the NFL, but their choice to stay with the team adds a new dimension to how he is approaching the season.

“The pressure has switched to me now,” Franklin said. “I’ve got to keep them healthy, I’ve got to get them better.”

On Replacing Tyler Warren’s Production

With Tyler Warren going No. 14 overall to the Indianapolis Colts in the 2025 NFL Draft, one of Franklin’s main focuses on offense is how to replace the star tight end’s production.

Franklin started by expanding upon Singleton and Allen’s decisions to return to the program and just how crucial they are to the offense as a whole. He said that they are two weapons that can be used interchangeably, making it difficult for defenses to adapt quickly.

As for the specific tight end replacements for Warren, Franklin narrowed down three players likely to make an impact at the position in 2025. He thinks Khalil Dinkins, Andrew Rappleyea, and Luke Reynolds are all going to play key parts in Penn State’s offense and will create a lot of production.

Franklin credited tight ends coach Ty Howle for his work at the position, commending the fact that Penn State usually has a tight end drafted every year, going back to Mike Gesicki, Brenton Strange, and Theo Johnson.

Lastly, Franklin expanded upon the wide receiver pickups in the portal and how their addition to the offense will help immensely in replacing Warren’s role.

“What we hope to do is to spread that ball around to all of those people, and in a lot of ways it makes us more difficult to defend when there’s a lot of guys on the field that can impact the game at any moment,” Franklin said.

On The College Football Playoff

While acknowledging that last season’s end left the team disappointed, Franklin said the experience was incredibly important to the team’s development.

“Everybody knows what it looks like and what it takes now, so we can use that experience and grow from it,” Franklin said.

When asked about changes he’d make to the College Football Playoff, the head coach said he wishes that the schools had a lot more influence on their home games if they earned one. As of now, the College Football Playoff controls the production of every team’s home playoff game, which Franklin says gets in the way of a true home-field advantage.

Franklin’s final plea to the College Football Playoff committee was to ensure that the best overall teams get into the playoff, every team or no team plays a conference championship game, and that every team is in a conference before changing the format of the playoff itself.