Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1525333
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 4 17 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M They Said It Coach James Franklin has led Penn State to 10 or more victories in five of his 10 seasons with the program. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL "We've been able to consistently, for the most part, win 10 or 11 games, but that's not the expectation at Penn State. … We are one of the few programs in the country where you can win 10 or 11 games and people are unhappy. We embrace that, and we're excited about those opportunities, and it starts for us at West Virginia in Morgantown, which is going to be a challenging opening game." — James Franklin, talking to reporters at Big Ten Media Days in July about the outlook for Penn State heading into the 2024 season "[James Franklin] has been in this brutally tough division. They have no more divisions in the Big Ten, but he's been in that division with Ohio State and Michigan, the two perennial powers, and he's been definitively third in that group. The 12-team playoff could benefit Penn State as much as it benefits absolutely anyone." — Mike Greenberg, host of the ESPN morning show "Get Up," on the Nittany Lions' College Football Playoff hopes "I feel like I can play any position on the field, so going from linebacker to defensive end wasn't hard at all for me. I just know I'm a natural football player. Wherever I line up, I'm going to find a way to impact the game." — Junior Abdul Carter on his offseason move from linebacker to defensive end "I don't know where Penn State is getting these guys, man. … How do you go from Micah Parsons to Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac to Abdul Carter on the edge?" — Trevor Sikkema, Pro Football Focus draft analyst, on Penn State's recent success at developing edge rushers "I feel like we're trending in the right way right now. It's going to take time. That's what fall camp is for. We've got this whole camp to see who the leaders are." — Senior safety Jaylen Reed on Penn State's efforts to develop leadership ahead of the 2024 season "I've learned a lot of things over the past year, in general, about football life. I think I've been able to really apply that, and I feel a lot more comfortable being me. I'm just going to be myself at the end of the day and go out and play." — Junior Drew Allar reflecting on his first year as Penn State's starting quarterback "It's been eight months since Kotelnicki arrived as the Nittany Lions' new offensive coordinator. By the looks (and, frankly, sounds) of his style in a handful of practice viewing sessions, it appears as if Kotelnicki has officially meshed with his offense and, most importantly, returning starting quarter- back Drew Allar. "Allar, as well as his coaches and teammates, have raved about Kotelnicki's fun and creative coaching style. All reviews point to the former Kansas offen- sive guru being a hit, but the world won't truly know until the games begin." — Seth Engle, StateCollege.com columnist, looking ahead to Andy Kotelnicki's first season with the Nittany Lions "What if they get some explosivity on offense? That defense is going to be great. … You have one of the best backfields in college football with Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. … Penn State could absolutely make a run at this thing if you told me they're going to be more explosive offensively." — J.D. PicKell, host of On3's "The Hard Count," listing Penn State as one of the teams that could reach the Big Ten Championship Game this year, upending his previous prediction of an Oregon- Ohio State title clash "It was like Clark Kent standing up from his desk at the Daily Planet, removing his glasses to initi- ate his transformation into a superhero, saving the whole world and then casually sitting back down in his chair." — Reporter Suzy Byrne of Yahoo! Entertainment on bespectacled pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik, a former PSU gymnast and one of the breakout stars of the Paris Olympics after helping Team USA win a bronze medal in the team competition "We're happy for David. He's one of ours. But I'm just going to tell you, we're the best wrestling program in the world. They can have whoever they want. Good luck, David. Second place is cool." — Penn State athletics director Patrick Kraft on the challenge posed by Oklahoma State after the Cowboys hired two-time Penn State national champion David Taylor as head coach