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ames Franklin has a wonderful phrase that he uses every once in a while to explain why certain defensive players seem to have a special talent for coming up with turnovers. The football, Franklin says, just happens to like some guys. When he was at Vanderbilt, Franklin used to say that about Casey Hayward, an All-South- eastern Conference cornerback and future NFL All-Pro. Hayward tied the school record for most career interceptions while with the Com- modores. The ball just liked him. At Penn State, Franklin used the phrase in connection with Amani Oruwariye, a first-team All-Big Ten cor- nerback who had seven picks in his last two sea- sons. The ball liked Oruwariye, too. A couple of weeks ago, Franklin used the phrase again, this time to describe the play of true freshman Kalen King. Footballs may be inani- mate objects made of cow hide leather and pressurized air, but sometimes they do seem to have a mind of their own. If Penn State's open practice on April 17 was any indication, the ball seems quite smitten with the four-star prospect from Detroit, landing in his arms twice during the scrim- mage – first on an errant pass from Ta'Quan Roberson, then on a misfire from Sean Clifford. King, who enrolled in January along with his twin brother, Kobe, had already generated plenty of buzz in practice this spring. But it wasn't until Penn State opened the gates of Beaver Stadium to a select audience of fans and media that King had an opportunity to show just how legit all that talk really was. Of the approximately 7,500 people who were on hand for the scrimmage – it was open only to freshman students and the families and guests of players and staff – a lot were probably sur- prised to see a January enrollee steal the show. Even in a stadium full of freshmen, King was the new kid on the block. But Franklin was not fazed by his showing. As he told reporters afterward, "What you guys saw today is not new. We've seen it all spring." What the program insiders had seen was the 5- foot-11, 185-pound King showing up on campus with the strength and physical ability to com- pete at an elite level right away. And just as im- portant, they had seen him display a talent for being in the right place at the right time. "I know this sounds strange, I know this sounds funny," Franklin said, "but some guys, the ball just likes them. … They get a number of turnovers by making great plays, and they get a number where the ball just tips up and lands in their hands or it was thrown to them off a misread. He's one of those guys." This theory raises some obvious questions. Such as: If the ball likes certain players, does it have other kinds of feelings toward other players? Does it put some players in the friend zone? Or worse? Does the ball just need some space sometimes? That would explain a lot. It would ex- plain, for example, Penn State's HOT TAKES A deep and talented PSU secondary will be looking to create more turnovers this fall, reversing a trend that proved costly during the 2020 season. The play of true freshman Kalen King is just one hopeful sign J BEGINNER'S PLUCK King returned his first interception of the day for a touchdown in Penn State's open practice April 17. After picking off Ta'Quan Roberson, he added another interception when he snared a pass from starting quarterback Sean Clifford. Photo by Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics

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