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he Penn State football program was only about an hour into its 2020 off-season, but already, James Franklin was looking ahead. Penn State had just beaten Memphis in the Cotton Bowl to cap an 11-2 campaign that few had seen coming, and before his postgame presser was over, he was al- ready thinking about next year. Being James Franklin, he was thinking big-pic- ture. "We've got a lot of work to do in a lot of different areas, but I think most people would agree that the program is headed in the right direction. We're developing well. We're game-planning well. We're recruit- ing well," he said. "And really, at this point, where we are as a program, you've got to do it all at a very, very high level. We've got great support from President [Eric] Barron and [athletic director] Sandy Barbour and the administration and the board. I think it's really important for us to continue doing that and be in align- ment, all of us, always putting Penn State first. It's always about the university first and what's in the university's best interest and also the athletic department. But we think we can have a big impact in that. "So I'm going to enjoy this win, but I do think this game and this win and these 11 wins and these young players who are going to be returning are going to give us a lot of momentum going into next sea- son, which we're going to need." The Nittany Lions gave themselves a tough act to follow, having put together their third 11-win season in the past four years. But many of the players who were responsible for those 11 wins in 2019 will be returning in 2020. The program bid farewell to only 16 players on senior day in November, and 13 of the starters listed on the Cotton Bowl depth chart are ex- pected to be back next fall. That list in- cludes the bowl's offensive and defensive MVPs: running back Journey Brown and outside linebacker Micah Parsons. It also includes starting quarterback Sean Clif- ford, four starting offensive linemen and All-Big Ten tight end Pat Freiermuth. Franklin said after the Cotton Bowl that the 2019 team "lays the foundation for the future." The team will be working to- ward that future in the months ahead. In the meantime, here's an early look at the 2020 Nittany Lions: QUARTERBACK KEY RETURNEES Sean Clifford, Michael Johnson Jr., Will Levis, Ta'Quan Rober- son KEY LOSSES None NEWCOMER Micah Bowens OUTLOOK If everything had gone to | PSU has a few big holes to fill on offense and defense, but an abundance of returning talent has inspired optimism as the off-season gets under way T F A S T F O R W A R D >> A N E A R L Y L O O K C O V E R S T O R Y 2020 VISION

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