How a Team Meeting Might Change the Course of Penn State's Season
Penn State on Tuesday held its first in-person team meeting of the season (together, in one place, and not on video) at its indoor practice facility. Coach James Franklin said he had to explain how to hold such a meeting to some players, notably the freshmen, and four assistant coaches who had yet to attend one.
Then, the Lions conducted what Franklin called their best practice of the season. And perhaps they turned a corner.
"I felt as connected with the team on Tuesday after having an in-person meeting as I've felt in a while," Franklin said. "... You know, we just felt like that needed to change. I think they felt better, and I know I felt better. I know I felt better getting in front of them face to face."
During a difficult week, in which Franklin announced Journey Brown's medical retirement and his own struggle coaching without his family, Franklin found a measure of comfort in an old habit. The coach has built his career on personal relationships, developed in person, and COVID-19 has stripped him of that ability.
So on Tuesday, after conducting dozens of team meetings through Zoom video calls, Franklin gathered the team for an in-person meeting as it prepares to visit Nebraska. At 0-3, the Lions need something to provide a lift. Franklin hoped this might offer one.
"I'm a relational leader, and talking on Zoom sessions every single day to the team, it just doesn't have the same type of connection," Franklin said. "... And that was the best practice we've had this year."
Franklin has been persistent since March about adhering to a strict set of COVID-19 protocols, at one point labeling himself the "nag" of Penn State football. Players have practiced in separate groups, have used locker rooms in three different campus buildings (including the Pegula Ice Arena) and have heard frequently from their head coach about proper mask-wearing.
That has served Penn State well in virus prevention. On Wednesday, the athletic department released its latest set of COVID-19 testing numbers, with six athletes (from unnamed teams) receiving positive tests for the week of Oct. 31-Nov. 6. Those positive results were among 2,285 tests administered.
The results did not include results following Penn State's game against Maryland, which on Wednesday announced that it was pausing football activities after eight players tested positive for COVID-19 over the past seven days. Maryland's scheduled game against Ohio State was canceled.
Franklin said Wednesday that, "as of right now," the team had no COVID-19 impact from the game. Players undergo antigen testing daily. Penn State's game at Nebraska remains on as scheduled.
Yet Franklin said that maintaining vigilance regarding COVID-19 prevention has impacted him as a coach.
"I have spent a lot of time on non-football things. whether that's throughout the day, whether that's out at practice," Franklin said. "... We are staying vigilant and attacking, making sure our protocols keep everybody as safe and healthy as we possibly can. But during practice, I'm going to let the trainers and the doctors manage COVID, and I'm going to coach football.
"And I know that sounds ridiculous. But I've been spending a lot of time trying to manage those other things as well. And I feel like I've got a responsibility for that as a head coach. But I also have a responsibility to make sure that we play well."
On Wednesday, Franklin was asked whether he had experienced any joy this season. It was a disarming question.
Franklin fought to have a Big Ten season, lost two of his best players before it started, is 0-3 for the first time in his career and can't see his family at night.
The head coach began his answering by saying he's "aware of his blessed I am." Still, this has been a "challenging" year.
"But the year is not over," Franklin said. "And we have an opportunity to experience some joy on Saturday. And that's where all of our focus and energy is at."
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