Five Things We Learned at Penn State's Virtual Media Day

James Franklin and his Penn State staff covered plenty about the 2020 team. Here are some highlights.

What did we learn from Penn State's virtual media day with James Franklin and his three coordinators? For one thing, Franklin doesn't hire coaches who are 4-handicap golfers, a point he clarified later in his video call.

"I wasn't saying I don't like people to [play] golf," Franklin said. "I don't like hiring coaches that like golfing all day as much as they like football."

Beyond that, Franklin is eager to see what Penn State looks like in pads, defensive coordinator Brent Pry expects a competitive battle at linebacker to replace Micah Parsons and offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca is just plain excited.

With that, here are some of the highlights from virtual media day.

'We're in a good place'

The Lions resumed full-squad workouts last week and will begin practicing in full pads this week, which is when the Big Ten's daily testing program is scheduled to start as well. Franklin even had the players practice in the rain this week, a small sign of normalcy in what the coach called "the new normal."

Though they still need to get in some live hitting, the Lions are well-positioned to be ready for the Oct. 24 opener against Indiana, Franklin said.

"I'm excited about all three phases [of the team]," Franklin said. "We've got three veteran coordinators, feel really good about the staff that we put together, feel really good about the leadership that we have on our team. And I know there's a lot of excitement and anticipation moving forward."

Expecting a Saturday opener

Indiana coach Tom Allen indicated this week that Penn State's visit for the opener might actually be played Friday, Oct. 23. Franklin said he still expected the game to be played Saturday, though that's not official.

Penn State plans to conduct at least one controlled scrimmage before the game that would include live tackling but "not a whole lot of it."

"You try to do things in as controlled an environment as possible," Franklin said. "So instead of doing a full scrimmage, maybe you do just a tackling drill. We've been doing tackling drills for the last couple of weeks, but they've been more tagged off, where now we may go to a "thud" tempo where we're going to bang and wrap without going to the ground. We've got to build it in stages, no different than you do anything else."

Replacing Micah Parsons

With Micah Parsons' departure becoming official, Penn State is looking for a new starter at outside linebacker. Franklin and Pry said they have plenty of options, since several linebackers have cross-trained at multiple spots.

Pry was effusive about Jesse Luketa, who was projected as a middle linebacker this spring but also can play outside. Same with sophomore Lance Dixon, who is listed behind projected starter Brandon Smith at the other outside spot.

"You never want to lose players, but we feel like that's a position of strength for us and we're excited about what those guys are going to be able to do moving forward," Franklin said.

'Strike first and strike fast'

Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca meshed well with Franklin not only because they're both morning people. The former Minnesota coordinator arrived at Penn State with a clear vision for his offense, one that he shared with Franklin.

"When you watch us, I want you to say, 'They take care of the ball, they execute at a really high level, their details are tremendous and these guys are always attacking. They're relentless,'" Ciarrocca said. "We're physical, we are going to strike first and strike fast and just be aggressive. That's what I want you everyone to say when you see our offense."

That's certainly what Brent Pry thought

When Ciarrocca first arrived at Penn State, Pry was constantly reminded of Minnesota's 31-26 win last year in Minneapolis. He got over it, but it took some effort.

"After I got past hanging my hat every time I walked by him in the hallway for the embarrassment of a butt-whipping he put on us, it's been really good," Pry said. "He's a great guy, super, super ball coach and has a high, high football IQ. He's a lot of fun, and I think the kids love him, offense and defense."

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