Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1001699
J ames Franklin has been preaching the importance of special teams since his arrival at Penn State, and it hasn't just been lip service. Some of the best players of Franklin's tenure, includ- ing star running back Saquon Barkley, have seen action in the kicking game. Last season, Penn State fielded some of the Big Ten's better kicking units, ranking among the league's top four teams in kickoff and punt returns, as well as punt coverage. The Nittany Lions will be looking to equal or improve upon those performances this year, and they will be doing so under new leadership. Phil Galiano was named special teams coordinator in December following Charles Huff's decision to join Joe Moorhead at Mississippi State. Galiano, a veteran col- lege and NFL coach who spent last season as a de- fensive consultant at Penn State, has appreci- ated Franklin's emphasis on the kicking game. "Coach Franklin is in every special teams meeting, and I think that's always important," he said. "Going from when I've been in the NFL or different colleges, when the head coach sits in on something, the rest of the team understands that it's that im- portant because he's there and he's a part of it. … It re-emphasizes how im- portant special teams are and how they're going to help us win a national championship." Galiano recently took the time to talk to BWI's Nate Bauer about the Nittany Lions' kicking game. Here's what he had to say: BWI What is the Phil Galiano philoso- phy of special teams? GALIANO I don't know that there is a Phil Galiano phi- losophy, because I think my philosophy is going to be in line with Coach Franklin's and what he wants to do. So I think that's the first thing. I have a bunch of ideas, things that I've done in the past. And then the neat thing is, Coach wants me to put my own flavor on things. They've set a great foundation here. The players here, before I got here, know how important it is. Coach puts the practice time and meeting time em- phasis on it with the guys. So they un- derstand. We have a great culture here, and I'm just trying to take it to the next step. I want us to be aggressive. I want us to be able to dictate to the opponent what we're going to do. We're not going to sit back and let people do things to us. We're going to take advantage of the great players that we have, the great speed and athleticism, and we're going to apply pressure to our opponents and make them adjust and play to our speed. BWI James Franklin has used offensive and defensive starters on special teams throughout his tenure and has even caught flak for it at times. What are the benefits of that practice? GALIANO I've never been anywhere where your starters aren't going to play on at least one special team for you. If special teams are that important, then why would you not have your best play- ers on it? All of our starters are on at least one special team for us here, and there are circumstances where a starter P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> T H E K I C K I N G G A M E SPECIAL DELIVERY Under new coordinator Phil Galiano, PSU's special teams will remain a top priority TEAM MEETING Galiano sees a place for offensive and de- fensive starters on his kicking units. "We want to win, so the way you win is to put your best players on the field," he said. Photo by Bill Ander- son