Blue White Illustrated

He's probably one of the more improved players in our program from the end of the season until now. We think he has the ability to play all three inside posi- tions, right and leB guard as well as center. We think he may have a really bright future at the center position as well with his quickness. So he creates some flexibility, which is what we are trying to create throughout our pro- gram, guys who can play multiple posi- tions, solve problems for us. But overall, I've been very, very impressed with him really since the end of the season. He has been much more durable. When he first got here he had little nicks and things like that, which was affecting his development, but he has been durable, he's been really coachable and has made tremendous strides in a short period of time, so he's going to have to continue in that path between now and camp. How do you feel the spring went for your early enrollees? As we all know, it's very challenging to play as a true freshman. You see it more and more, obviously, in the culture of today's football. For the guys who grad- uate [from high school] early, it is sig- nificant in terms of creating an oppor- tunity to make an impact earlier in your career. They're here and their heads are spinning during the spring, but they're starting to figure it out and then that al- lows them in the summer to really focus on competing, because the game starts to slow down for them. Those other freshmen are going to show up and it's all going to be brand new to them, and these guys have gone through that tran- sition time already. The six guys who were here [all semester] evolved and grew at a different pace, they all had a different journey, but there's no doubt that time academically on campus as well as athletically, from an adjustment standpoint, is going to be really valuable for training camp. The young woman who ran the football, Brooke Fisher, what did that mean for you and what do you think it meant to your players to be a part of that? I think you guys know how important it is to make sure our guys have a very well-rounded experience here: aca- demically, athletically, socially and spiritually. We are all over our guys when it comes to academics. Then, we are fortunate Penn State has such a service-minded community, and our players have really embraced that. I think you've seen it with THON and the hospital trips and all the other things we do. We have people come out to practice all the time, and our guys love it. When we had the opportunity to do something today with somebody from our com- munity, our guys understand that a small act of kindness or a small moment in our game or in our day can be dra- matic for somebody else. Our guys spend a lot of time doing that individu- ally, as a program, and collectively and that's what its all about. On a day like today, where we can take 10 minutes to do something special for a young woman like Brooke, who is awesome… that's what it's all about. We probably don't take enough time out of our days, all of us, to reach out or try to make a difference and do something positive and make an impact on others. Our guys really embrace service leadership, and I am really proud of them. A P R I L 2 1 , 2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 9 Franklin gathers his players during a break in the action at the Blue-White Game. The fifth-year Nittany Lion head coach said he was pleased with the team's progress dur- ing its off-season drills, but added, "We have a lot of work to do between now and training camp to be the type of team that we want to be in the fall." Photo by Patrick Mansell E X C E R P T S F R O M J A M E S F R A N K L I N ' S P O S T G A M E P R E S S E R

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