Blue White Illustrated

N o matter what preceded it, dominant performance or Dumpster fire, there's a perfunctory moment in the final news conference of every college football season, an item that's as scripted as any political speech. In between the breakdown of the game and the assessment of players and tactics, the head coach needs to hit a few predictable beats, the most important of which is an affirmation that things generally are headed in the right direction, that the state of the program is strong. James Franklin did just that on the heels of Penn State's 24-17 loss to Georgia in the TaxSlayer Bowl. The Nittany Lions may have been un- able to muster enough offense in the fourth quarter to rally back from the three mediocre quarters that led up to it, but the outcome was by no means a discouraging sign, Franklin said. "Our guys battled. They should be proud. They should walk out of that locker room with their chest out and their heads up," he said. "We've got a lot of work to do moving forward, but I love these guys and I'm proud of them. The future is very bright." That future is getting closer by the day. The Nittany Li- ons' Sept. 3 opener against Kent State may be seven months away, but there's no such thing as an off-sea- son anymore, and after a wave of attrition that began in early January, this team can't afford to waste any time. The Lions are losing only seven of the 22 players who started on offense and defense in the TaxSlayer Bowl, but that septet includes some of the top performers in school histo- ry: career passing leader Christian Hackenberg, Lombardi Award-winning defensive end Carl Nassib and All-Big Ten defen- sive tackle Austin Johnson. Also departing: multiyear starters Kyle Carter (tight end), Angelo Mangiro (center), Anthony Zettel (defensive tackle) and Trevor Williams (cornerback). On a more positive note, the Nittany Lions will have something ap- proaching 85 scholarship players on their roster for the first time since the imposition of drastic NCAA sanctions in 2012. What's more, many of the returning players have gained extensive experience during Franklin's first two years at Penn State, and the Lions will also be wel- coming back an All-Big Ten-caliber player in linebacker Nyeem Wart- man-White, who sat out virtually the entire 2015 season after injuring his knee in the opener at Temple. Franklin and his staff, which will feature two new coordinators in Joe Moorhead (offense) and Brent Pry (defense), are keeping things upbeat despite ending with four consecutive losses. The second-year head coach points to the team's Big Ten record, which was 4-4 this past sea- son, a two-game improvement over 2014. "There is progress being made," Franklin said. "Moving forward, there's an excitement that next year will be the first year post-sanctions where we'll be back to 85 scholarships and will have the depth and will continue to be able to develop our guys. There's excitement about that. "There's progress in terms of trust. There's progress in terms of rela- tionships. There's progress in terms of the program and what we're do- ing. [There have been] very different styles [employed] over the past three [coaching] regimes. It really comes down to trust. It comes down A T T H E 2 0 1 6 N I T T A N Y L I O N S |

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