A 'Fragile' Penn State Prepares for First Game Without James Franklin

Interim coach Terry Smith says the Nittany Lions remain "hurt and torn" after Franklin's firing.

Penn State Nittany Lions players gather for the alma mater following the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

STATE COLLEGE | Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith described his locker room as “fragile” and “hurt and torn” after the team’s second practice since James Franklin was fired. However, Smith said he has seen incremental progress as the Nittany Lions prepare to play Iowa on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

“The messages that I've gotten all week [are], take care of the guys in the locker room, you’ve got to win them back and you’ve got to pick their spirits up,” Smith said Wednesday. “It’s so much more than just the game.

“Each day is getting better. You know, Sunday was really traumatizing to them. Monday they calmed down a little bit but had some anger in them. And then yesterday was, we'll show up for practice, coach, and give you some effort. And today was, hey, we'll run a little harder today.  So I think we're headed the right direction. We’ve just got to close the gap quicker, though.”

Penn State players have expressed anger and guilt over Franklin’s firing, a decision Athletic Director Pat Kraft said he made because “there just wasn’t a choice.” The Nittany Lions, 0-3 in Big Ten play for the first time since 2020, will play a game without Franklin for the first time since 2014.

“For us, at least as players, it's an overwhelming sense of guilt,” Penn State center and captain Nick Dawkins said. “We got our coach fired. We didn't play well enough, we didn't do our job well enough, and now he doesn't have a job anymore.”

Smith candidly admitted the same.

"We tell the truth in the building, and we all failed coach Franklin," Smith said. "That's why he's not here. We failed him. So we have to take ownership of that, and as we move forward we have to correct it. We want to play for him, we want to play for us, but at the end of the day it's the game of football, and every guy in the locker room has their own why."

Penn State gets back to work

“The message that I’ve gotten all week is, take care of the guys in the locker room, you’ve got to win them back.”

Penn State interim coach Terry Smith with a candid assessment of his team after practice No. 2 this week.

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Smith said the team canceled practice and meetings Sunday after learning of the decision and held some team activities Monday, the players’ usual off day. Smith and the staff met individually with players to “calm them down, give them a voice and allow them to express themselves.” Smith also spoke with Tom Bradley, who was Penn State’s interim head coach in 2011 when Joe Paterno was fired with three games remaining in the regular season.

“Obviously, this is a challenging week,” Smith said. “I think the guys are responding somewhat. We still have some work to do. They're all hurt and torn and disappointed in what happened. Coach [Franklin] brought in everyone in the building. These are young people, they're not used to this. We as adults have to adjust quicker. We're just taking the time to mentor these guys and spend some quality time with them to get them interested and motivated back out here.”

Defensive tackle Zane Durant and safety Zakee Wheatley participated in several meetings among players as part of the team’s leadership council. Smith wanted to gauge where the leaders' heads were after Franklin was fired.  

“Being the leader of the team now, he gathered the leaders and pretty much told us what he wanted,” Wheatley said. “[He said] it's gonna start from the top down, so .. be a good leader. Being an older guy, make sure everyone's coming together and being a family.”

With the locker room still emotional, Smith said he’s walking a fine line in how to coach the players. Smith, also the team’s defensive recruiting coordinator, recruited many of the players on the roster and has strong relationships with them. He also has to set a new tone and decide what changes to make in how the team practices and prepares.  

“It's a fine line, right? Because these guys are fragile right now. So you don't want to coach them overly hard, but you’ve got to coach them,” Smith said. “I have a saying in my old cornerback room: ‘Check your feelings at the door, and whatever you put on film we have to talk about.’ That's how we get better. That's how we make adjustments and corrections.

"So if you put something bad on there, we got to talk about it. You put something good on there, we're going to praise you and pat you on the back. But for us to be a good team, we've got to talk about the good, the bad and the indifferent.”

RELATED: How James Franklin's firing affected Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz

Preparing for Iowa

Penn State assistant head coach Terry Smith talks with cornerback Elliot Washington II (16) at Beaver Stadium. / Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK

Wheatley and Durant both said the team is trying to maintain its similar habits because, as Durant said, “that’s all I know.” Wheatley added that Smith is doing an “amazing” job leading and making sure the team plays for something.  

“[I have to] pick their spirits up,” Smith said. “It's so much more than just the game. Yeah, we’ve got to prepare for Iowa, but I have to get these guys emotionally ready to go play a football game.”

While they’re still processing, the Nittany Lions also must focus on playing Iowa at a sold-out Kinnick Stadium on Saturday night. Even with the distractions, Smith said the team will be ready.

“No, these kids are going to play hard on Saturday. I can see that,” Smith said. “I talked to them, I talked to the leadership council. One thing I won't accept is a lack of effort, and the guys know that. They understand that. And we hope we're going to win, but we're going to play hard.”

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