Blue White Illustrated

September 2021

Penn State Sports Magazine

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1 0 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M they're going to account for him in pass protection. "There are a number of reasons why we're doing it. One reason is to gain an advantage through a guy who's got a unique skill set, and it's also to help us with some depth [problems]." Pry said the move will help the Lions make better use of Luketa's talents as a pass rusher. While he doesn't have a sack to date, he's now listed at 247 pounds and has flashed enough potential to make the coaching staff think that he could create some problems for opposing quarter- backs. "If you go back to his film and look at the snaps where he's blitzing for us, he's pretty hard to block," Pry said. "He's got a good low-shoulder rush. I consider his rush ability a real positive for him." And then there's Vilbert. Of all the defensive ends who will be vying for spots in the rotation this fall, Pry said the Monsey, N.Y., native is "the guy I'm probably most excited about seeing in camp." The coaching staff knew it would take time for the former three-star prospect to develop. He hadn't played much foot- ball before his final year at St. Joseph's Regional High, but his senior season was spectacular. He had 17 tackles for loss and nine sacks, helping lead his team to a state championship. After seeing action in two games as a true freshman at Penn State, Vilbert played in four last fall, contributing a QB hurry at Rutgers and an assisted tackle against Michigan State. Pry said that with his rangy build and basketball background, Vilbert is remi- niscent of Yetur Gross-Matos, an All-Big Ten defensive end at Penn State and a second-round draftee of the Carolina Panthers in 2020. Gross-Matos was an immediate con- tributor at Penn State, playing in all 13 games and winning honorable mention Big Ten All-Freshman honors from BTN. com. Vilbert, by contrast, has needed some time to develop, having only be- gun to get serious about football prior to his senior year at St. Joseph's. But by all accounts, that work appears to be pay- ing off. "Smith is finally turning the corner," Pry said. "He's a football player for the first time, not a basketball player play- ing football. He's got tremendous size, tremendous length, is athletic. … I'm excited about what Smith can do in this camp to put himself in position to be a productive end for us this fall." The last thing James Franklin wanted to do at his media day presser was to wade into a battle that has been thoroughly politicized. But he does want his football team to get the chance to play in front of capacity crowds again, so when asked about his hopes for a return to normalcy this fall, he said that vaccinations were the key to bringing traditional game days back to State College in the months and years ahead. "I just think the more people who can say, look, whether I completely agree with it or not, I'm going to get the vaccination, I'm going to wear a mask when appropriate, to give us the best opportunity to be in that stadium and as close to what we would describe as normal as possible," Franklin said. "We've all seen it. We've already been through this once. There are some mask mandates that are coming back, there are some variants out there. Obviously, all of us making some choices and sacrificing together is going to give us the best opportunity to fill that stadium up, to have a home-field advantage, to be able to bring a significant impact to our community and our state." Franklin's portion of the news conference was conducted via Zoom, as were the appearances of coordinators Brent Pry, Mike Yurcich and Joe Lorig. The player interviews were done outside, with roped-off areas set up on the field at Beaver Stadium to keep reporters socially distant from their interviewees. A year ago, Penn State did all of its media events remotely, including postgame news conferences. Games were played in mostly empty stadiums, with only football staffers and the relatives of players and staff permitted to attend. This past June, with COVID cases on the decline nationally, Penn State announced that it was planning to have full attendance at all of its athletic venues during the upcoming academic year. But that was before the more- transmissible Delta variant began driving cases back up again. As of early August, Penn State hadn't announced any change in plans. But at media day, Franklin didn't give the impression that a full-capacity Beaver Stadium was a foregone conclusion, only that he's hoping it will be possible. "I'd love our students and the people in Happy Valley and my players to be able to experience [a traditional game day], because last year was not a true Penn State experience," he said. "I'm asking and pleading for everybody to do everything they possibly can to give us the best chance to get back to what we would probably describe as normal." Franklin also said at media day that one of his daughters was in the hos- pital but did not elaborate. — Matt Herb Franklin: Vaccinations Are Key To Filling Stadium Again After playing in empty stadiums last fall, Penn State announced plans in June to have full-capacity athletic venues during the 2021-22 academic year. As of early August, the university hadn't announced any change in plans. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL

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