Blue White Illustrated

N O V E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 9 Meeting with the media for his final news conference of the 2017 regular sea- son, James Franklin talked Thanksgiving plans, a few personnel notes, and, oh yeah, Maryland. Here were the major topics of conversa- tion: SUSPENDED PLAYERSMaybe the most immediate and pressing topic for Franklin to address was his linebacker Manny Bowen and kicking game specialist Irv Charles. Bowen, he said, will again not be avail- able, while Charles will be a game-time decision. Both have been suspended for unspecified violations of team rules. Additionally, Franklin reiterated that senior safety Troy Apke will not be avail- able in the first half of the Maryland game due to his targeting ejection Saturday against Nebraska. REVIEWING NEBRASKARevisiting one of the topics of last Saturday's postgame news conference, Franklin talked about the difficultly of protecting a big lead – Penn State was up by 32 points at halBime – while also trying to get as many young players as possible into the game. The Nittany Lions emptied their bench in the second half, and Nebraska rallied for 34 points to make the final score relatively close. "With eight minutes left in the game, we had [allowed] 283 yards, 24 points and six explosives, then things changed," Franklin said. "I still kind of struggle with what that answer is. You leave your ones in, and you're [risking] injuries and people say you're running up the score. You put your twos in, and people score a lot of points. You get angry text messages from people who have been drinking, and the spread got messed up probably for them. "I do think there's a lot of value. We have a bunch of young players, a lot of ex- perience. We didn't play up to our stan- dard with the young players. They're playing against the ones from the other team. That's a challenging thing. I know the most important thing for us is the guys that go on the field, whoever they are, they have to play up to our stan- dards." SCOUTING THE TERPSFranklin broke down the major tendencies on offense and defense that the Nittany Lions will be fo- cusing on. Offensively, he highlighted the Terps' no-huddle, check-with-me system. It's an RPO offense, but the Lions are also preparing for counters, split-zones, screens and shots downfield. Wideout D.J. Moore, and running backs Lorenzo Harrison and Ty Johnson are three players to watch. Defensively, the Terps run a 3-4 that can slide to a four-man front. "They're going to play cover three, some variations of cover one," Franklin said. "Pressure, 29 percent overall, 57 percent on third down. Then they've got a guy at each level who we have to spend some time on." Defensive lineman Cavon Walker, line- backer Jermaine Carter and defensive back Darnell Savage all earned props from Franklin as players to be concerned about. SCOUT TEAM SHOUT-OUTSABer Franklin exited the media room, Penn State players Marcus Allen and Trace McSorley took questions. Among other topics, they talked about the players on the scout team who have looked good in practice. Safety Jonathan Sutherland, defensive end Daniel Joseph and running back Jour- ney Brown all earned props. Sutherland and Brown are true freshmen, while Joseph is a redshirt freshman. Allen said he's been impressed with Sutherland's hard-hitting demeanor. "Every time there's a scrimmage, I always just get him hyped," he said. "I'll be like, 'Here come the choo-choo train.' He hits like a train. He's really physical. That's what I love about him. He's very consis- tent in tackling. He makes plays in the passing game. That's what impresses me the most. He's very mature for his age, as well. I'm pretty sure you're going to hear his name next year. I'm just excited for you guys to see him, see what he can do, because I already know, I've already seen it." McSorley said Sutherland is "definitely a hard-hitting safety. He comes down and hits. It's actually been fun to see him and Journey square up in the hole a couple of times. Sometimes Journey will get him. That's been a cool battle to watch happen over this year in those scrimmages." Joseph arrived with the Class of 2016, a three-star prospect out of Lake Forest Academy in Illinois. McSorley said he "kind of came in with that mentality of getting guys better every single week. He's done a really good job up front." N A T E   B A U E R | N B A U E R @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Bowen to miss regular-season finale at Maryland Bowen wraps up an Akron ball carrier during Penn State's opener in Septem- ber. The junior linebacker has sat out the team's past two games. Photo by Steve Manuel N O T E B O O K

• Cover