Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1518105
A P R I L 2 0 2 4 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State head coach James Frank- lin always kicks off spring prac- tice with a press conference on Day 1. This year's presser took place on March 12, but it didn't begin the way it did a year earlier. When he met with the media on March 14, 2023, the Nittany Lions' coach ticked off a list of primary ob- jectives for the team, unit by unit. On offense, Franklin said Penn State needed to "identify leaders and em- power them in the leadership posi- tions." Defensively, the Nittany Lions had to "identify leaders and empower them." And on special teams, Franklin said the staff would look to "identify leaders and empower them in leader- ship positions." The point, spoken repeatedly throughout the offseason, centered on the necessity of developing player leadership following the departures of multiyear captains Sean Clifford, P.J. Mustipher and Jonathan Sutherland. "Some of the focus of the offsea- son, probably the biggest focus, is on leadership and identifying leadership as a staff and players, as well as being transparent and open about that, and then really working hard at trying to resolve it," Franklin said last spring. "I thought our leadership [in 2022] was as good as we've had in my 12 years as a head coach. I thought those guys just did a phenomenal job. "We had really established guys … from a leadership perspective in our program. And I wouldn't say that we have that right now. We have to iden- tify who those guys are. They need to have strong voices. We need to be aligned with the players, and the play- ers need to be aligned from a leadership standpoint with the coaching staff. I thought last year that was as good as it's been." It's now been three months since the 2023 season ended, and any honest accounting of the Lions' performance would have to include an acknowledg- ment that the team was only partially successful in developing the kind of leadership that Franklin wanted to see. Several under-the-radar players made strides in that area, including a number of players who are back this fall. Redshirt junior linebacker Domi- nic DeLuca and senior wide receiver Malick Meiga are returning after serv- ing as captains last year, and they'll be joined by some other players with leadership potential, including junior quarterback Drew Allar, super senior defensive tackle Dvon Ellies, senior tight end Tyler Warren, junior corner- back Cam Miller, redshirt senior center Nick Dawkins and junior safety Kevin Winston Jr. Yet, while the Nittany Lions are working their way through a critical spring, one that demands a high level of attentiveness from both players and staff, they need to see an evolution among their highest-profile perform- ers. While listing Penn State's an- ticipated stars ahead of the upcoming campaign, few outsiders could imme- diately point to the shoo-in selections who genuinely fit the mold of cap- taincy leadership the program hopes to elicit. When asked specifically about War- ren and Winston ahead of spring prac- tice, Franklin offered a window into the reality Penn State faces as it works to turn the corner and maximize its po- tential this year. "One of the things we've been talk- ing about this offseason is that a bunch of guys have to be willing to step out- side of their comfort zone as leaders and be vocal leaders," Franklin said. "With this generation, I think most guys want to be leaders through ex- ample and don't necessarily want to speak up and challenge and call out teammates from time to time." Penn State's players know it, too. When BWI's Thomas Frank Carr inter- viewed Allar ahead of spring practice, the quarterback subtly acknowledged some of the missing components of true leadership from last year's team while also highlighting the work that has been done this offseason to rectify that dynamic. "I think we've done a better job of having a lot more vocal leaders at this point than we did last year," Allar said. "We had a tremendous group of lead- ers last year, but I feel like we've done a better job of being more vocal and demanding of teammates and hold- ing everybody to the standard that we want to [uphold] on offense." Allar described the scenario as "leadership by committee" on the offensive side of the ball, meaning that the next steps for Penn State are clear. At a moment when the Nittany Lions are counting on the biggest push for individual and team-wide improvement to be player-generated, the opportunity has arrived to show how substantial those strides have been. ■ Junior quarterback Drew Allar said before the start of spring practice that PSU's players have "done a better job of being more vocal and demanding of teammates and holding everybody to the standard that we want to [uphold] on offense." PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER O P I N I O N NAT E BAU E R N AT E . B A U E R @ O N 3 . C O M HOT READ Nittany Lions Seeking Leaders This Spring