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and if you ask any of our players that, they will tell you the same thing. It's the most competition we've had at the kicker posi- tion since we've been here, not even close. We really feel like that (Jake) Pinegar, (Vlad) Hilling, (Justin) Tobin and (Rafael) Checa, could all kick in a game for us, whether that was kickoff or field goal, and be able to do it at a fairly high level. So the competition at practice has been really good. I think that helps. Then as coaches, we have to manage that. We had a huge discussion this morn- ing and then also a week ago about, you know, when do you go for that field goal that's at the top of our field goal range, or when do we use one of the best punters that we have in America at pinning people deep? Or, when do you go for it on fourth- and-6 or less, when you're in that plus territory ¬– too long for a field goal but maybe you're not gaining a whole lot by a punt? That's a huge discussion. That's a huge discussion and we do it as a staff, because I want the offense and de- fense and special teams coaches to all be on the same page. So whatever our phi- losophy is, our offensive players can play with confidence knowing we're more likely going to go for it in these situations, and that the defense backs it. They want to see our offense be aggres- sive and go for a fourth down, and if it doesn't work out, they're not hanging their head because they're bought into the philosophy. We (want to) manage early on those young kickers and put them in advanta- geous situations early in the season so that we can continue to build their confi- dence and they have a chance to go out and be successful. So you'll probably see us punt or go for it on fourth down early in the season on some field goals that late in the season we're hoping to be able to go kick consistently. How did the tight end competition shake out? And with the two true freshmen you have, where does tight end rank as a position in terms of how hard it is to contribute early on? Is picking up the physical aspect of that position usually the biggest challenge for those younger players? It's like the O-line. Typically those guys have a hard time playing early in their ca- reers. Kind of like how we saw Mike Gesicki go through growing pains early on and things like that. We are at a different point as a program now. I do think (Pat) Freiermuth can factor in, partly because of how talented he is and how poised he's been through this process, but also because he's 258, if not 260 pounds, and I think that helps with the physical aspect of the game. (Jonathan) Holland and (Danny) Dalton have had great camps. I think (Nick) Bowers has shown flashes of being really special. I would say our tight ends are a lot like our D-tackles. I think we're talented at both of those positions, but we still have a lot of question marks because we're just relying on so many guys who haven't played a whole lot of football for us at this point. You mentioned at the start of training camp that you didn't want people to think that the program had arrived a5er back-to-back 11-win seasons, that you still wanted to work hard and with a sense of urgency. Do you think your guys in practice and training camp had that sense of urgency and desire to get better? Yeah. I feel good about it. It's funny, I'm writing this note down. You just made me think about something I want to cover with the team in the team meeting. But yeah, I've been very im- pressed. I think our culture is really strong right now. I think our chem- istry is really strong. I think our leadership is different in that we don't have a huge senior class and those types of things. But yeah, I like where we're at, I really do, and you see that in the weight room. You see that in the locker room. It proba- bly doesn't sound like a big deal, but our locker room is as clean as it's ever been. I think you guys know a few years ago, we bought our leadership council and the coaches, the book "Legacy," which is one of my all-time favorite books, and in that book they talk about the leaders sweeping the sheds, basically cleaning the locker room out, and that no role is too big or too small for anyone. Whether it's the head coach or the captain or whoever it is, he's going to pick up something that's on the floor. It probably sounds like a little thing to people who are watching this, but our players' locker room is as clean as it's ever been. I think that's a tremendous example of discipline and leadership on our team. I think we're in a good place. I know talking to the strength staff, they feel really good about where we are and how our guys are working. You talk to the training staff, you talk to the equipment staff, you talk to the aca- demic staff – because you learn things by talking to all those groups. There are usu- ally some places in the program where the guys go and fuss or moan and complain, A U G U S T 2 9 , 2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 11 Franklin is getting set to begin his fifth season at Penn State. He has com- piled a 36-17 record with the Nittany Lions, including a 22-5 mark during the past two sea- sons. Photo by Ryan Snyder

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