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was slicked to the side and his face B efore he had ever coached a game at Penn State, James Franklin was pounding the drum. Under his direction, he insisted, the Nittany Lion football team would be fast. In recruiting, it would seek out and at- tract prospects with speed. In the weight program, under the tutelage of strength coach Dwight Galt, the development and enhancement of speed would be a high priority. In practices, players and coaches would hurry from drill to drill to bring a feeling of urgency to every moment. And in games, all of those points of emphasis would manifest themselves fully. His program would be fast, top to bottom. "When you talk about speed, every- body thinks about DBs and wide re- ceivers," Franklin said. "We want to recruit that at every position. So that's the offensive line, that's kickers, that's punters, that's everywhere. We want to do that across the board." The results of that philosophy were ev- ident in Indianapolis earlier this month. Eight former Lions attended the NFL Combine, and all of the four participants who chose to run the 40-yard dash fin- ished in the top 10 of their respective po- sition groups. Mike Gesicki and Troy Apke turned in the top time for tight ends (4.54 seconds) and safeties (4.34), respectively, while Saquon Barkley's 4.40 was second among the running backs. The 20-yard shuttle produced similar results, as Gesicki (4.1), Apke (4.03) and Grant Haley (3.94) nabbed top honors in their position groups, while DaeSean Hamilton, Marcus Allen and Barkley also finished in the top 10. All of which points back to Galt and the standard he espoused upon arriving at Penn State with Franklin in 2014. Ex- plaining that dynamic, diverse training was part of his regimen, he said that ad- hering to the basics was the best way to improve speed and strength. "The old school stuff is a derivative of powerlifting, which is squat, bench and deadlift, and Olympic training, which is snatch and power clean. You put those two together and you've got a strength component and a power component," said Galt in February 2014. "Power is strength with speed. There's nothing in football that doesn't require great speed of movement. It's not a slow sport." Galt admits there was a learning curve. While at Maryland in the early 1990s, he was able to boost the team's strength numbers, but those gains came at the expense of its speed. "We couldn't catch anybody. We couldn't reach anybody. We couldn't get off press coverage. There were just so many things we couldn't do," he said. "So that's where the movement model, the speed im- provement, the agility, over a five- or six-year period, started integrating into the program and we started winning." Taking over for one of his protégés, Craig Fitzgerald, Galt is in his fifth year working with the Lions, and those divi- dends have started to pay out on the field. Although maybe not the most physically imposing team in a league that includes Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State, Penn State is proving itself to be one of the fastest across the board. "I'm very fortunate. I think the coaches value the strength staff's opin- ion on movement," Galt said. "I like to think that we're experts on speed devel- opment and speed enhancement and speed analyzation. I can watch a kid on film and I can tell you where his me- chanical flaws are and what his potential is for maximum speed capacity." For Franklin and Galt, that's a primary goal now, one that is being brought to fruition as the program pushes forward. ■ 111 E. Beaver Ave s State College, PA 16801 www.The-Phyrst.com 814.234.4406 137 Elmwood St. s State College, PA 16801 www.HappyValleyBeer.com Wood-fire Grill 12 Beers on Tap 200 Year Old Barn 821 Cricklewood Dr. s Toftrees, State College www.AmericanAleHouse.net 814.237.9701 s Piano Bar s Sommelier 814.238.1406 814.234.7700 s 1611 Atherton St. s State College 814.941.7788 s Plank Rd. Exit s Altoona www.ChampsSportsGrill.net s Best Game Bar s Large Groups Welcome c lc e W We s p u o r G e g r a L s a e B m a st G e B s S n S h 1 A 1 6 1 0 0 7 7 4. 3 2 4. 1 8 me co r a l l C S r G s rt o p S s p m a h C . www s t i x . E d k R n a l P s 8 8 7 7 1. 4 9 . 4 1 8 S s . t n S o t r e h t 1 A 1 6 1 s 0 0 7 7 4. 3 2 4. 1 8 t e n . l l i r na o o t l A e g e l l o C e at t S JUDGMENT CALL Nittany Lions take checkered flag in Indianapolis

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