Blue White Illustrated

T H E 2 0 1 9 S E A S O N "I just keep seeing him getting better, getting more confident, getting more re- laxed, getting more assertive in some areas," Franklin said. "Because of the way he approaches things, he and [backup] Will Levis are just going to continue to get better. It's going to be gradual." Franklin hasn't talked much, if at all, about the longer-term implications of Clifford's development and how it might impact the team beyond the current sea- son. I suspect that if you were to pose that question this week, the response would be something like this: Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers, Rut- gers, Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers. The coach and his team have been nothing if not resolute in their de- termination to keep the focus on the next game. But that doesn't mean we can't indulge in some long-term thinking in this space. And the thinking here is that the Lions' long-term outlook is pretty bright. Of the 36 offensive players listed on the depth chart Penn State released prior to the Minnesota game, all but three – tight end Nick Bowers and re- ceivers Dan Chisena and Weston Carr – will have eligibility in 2020. The losses are heavier on defense, with starters Robert Windsor, Jan Johnson, Garrett Taylor and John Reid all set to graduate. But there are 28 other players listed on the defensive depth chart with the op- tion of returning. That doesn't mean all of those players will return; Yetur Gross-Matos is presumed to be eyeing an early entry into the NFL Draft, and there could always be a few surprises, just as there were last year. But that's a solid foundation on which to build, es- pecially with all the major contributors on special teams back except for punter Blake Gillikin. Expectations will be high, and having a veteran quarterback or- chestrating the offense only adds to the feeling of optimism that Penn State is likely to carry into the off-season. There's also the schedule to consider. This year's slate was backloaded in a way that allowed Clifford to grow into the position, with the Big Ten East Divi- sion's three other perennial powers – Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State – wedged into the second half. You know, we're part of a pretty good company. Obviously, Ryan Day is doing a great job at Ohio State, and you look at [Lincoln Riley] at Oklahoma, he's doing a phenomenal job. The coaches who have been doing it since 2016 and the programs that have been in place, there are very few people. I'm very proud of that. I know how much hard work went into that, from our players, from our staff, from the administration, from President [Eric] Barron, from the board, taking some really hard looks at ourselves and say- ing, where do we need to get better, me doing the same thing, all of us. There's been a lot of hard work, blood, sweat and tears poured into it. So I'm very proud of it. Whenever you can point out some things and have some conversations with people that illustrate some of the successes, and some of the adversity that you've been able to overcome, I think that's important. To be honest with you, I don't know if it's talked about enough to think about how far we've come in the past eight years. It's remarkable. To me, it's not talked about enough. It's interesting, as we went out and did some trips this summer, went and visited some people, and even our own peo- ple, you kind of sit down and you say, you know, bullet point one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, of what we've been able to do in the past six years and what we've been able to do specifically in the past three years and people are like, I wouldn't have known that if you didn't tell me. So we probably could do a little bit better job of that. We've got a pretty amazing story that we should be very proud of. ■ CULTURE CLUB Franklin said he's been pleased with the leadership that his team has de- veloped this season. Photo by Ryan Snyder

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