Takeaways From Penn State Football Media Day

James Franklin acknowledges a few injury concerns, and Jim Knowles details a challenge he faces installing the defense.

A general view of the West side of Penn State's Beaver Stadium, which will feature temporary bleachers for the 2025 season. | Mark Wogenrich/Penn State on SI

STATE COLLEGE | Between interviews and practice Saturday, Penn State coach James Franklin took a walk across campus. He broke his brisk pace for a few photos with fans but otherwise moved with purpose. Which he also brought to Penn State football media day.

Entering his 12th season as Penn State's head coach, Franklin has what he (again) called his best combination of personnel, players and coaches, that he has had in the program. The Nittany Lions began training camp this week with a spot in the College Football Playoff title game on their vision board.

"All the hard work that they have done, the number of guys that decided to come back, they have earned those types of conversations and that attention," Franklin said. "But I would also say to you, which I think you heard me say before no one cares about preseason rankings. Like, I'm not going to frame the preseason rankings and put it in my basement in the man cave. No one cares."

So what else did we learn from Penn State media day, other than Beaver Stadium's new temporary stands are steep and imposing? Here's a look.

First look at Beaver Stadium’s new East side temporary bleachers, which are closing in on being ready for Aug. 30. pic.twitter.com/RIBGLUzSwX

— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) August 2, 2025

Are James Franklin injury concerns a real concern?

Receiver Kaden Saunders, who played in just four games last year because of an injury, is likely out again this year with a long-term injury, which Blue-White Illustrated first reported. That removed a potential contributor from the receivers room, though Saunders didn't have a catch last season.

But Franklin added that the injury list "is not great right now." That largely was a reference to some players (notably offensive linemen Anthony Donkoh and Nolan Rucci, linebacker Tony Rojas, defensive tackle Alonzo Ford, tight end Andrew Rappleyea and safety King Mack) who missed parts or most of spring drills with injuries or rehab programs.

"What happened is, you've got a number of guys — we played late in the season, as everybody knows, the longest season in Penn State history — who played late into the season and we had some injuries that required some surgeries and things like that at the end of the season," Franklin said. "They are going to be considered limited until we've had a padded practice to show that they are able to do that.

"So some of these guys are limited up there. They are ready to go and I think if you asked them, they could play in a game right now. But our trainers and doctors, you know, smart, we hold them in the limited category until they actually go out and do it. So if they had an upper body extremities issue, we've got to get through the first day of hitting to clear them back to full go. So the list is a little bit longer than I probably would like but nothing that we're concerned about and nothing that you guys I think aren't already aware of."

The players seemed largely unconcerned, though they're not permitted to discuss injuries anyway. Rojas and Mack were particularly positive about their situations, and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki said that Rappleyea is pushing pretty hard.

"We have to pull Rap back," Kotelnicki said. "Like, we have to kind of grab him and say, 'OK, you don't need to take this rep, dude.' I mean, he wants to just keep jumping in the front of the line and getting more reps, which I appreciate."

Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Andrew Rappleyea is returning from an injury that limited him to one game in 2024. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Franklin acknowledges a real issue at wide receiver

Quarterback Drew Allar threw 24 touchdown passes last season but just one to a receiver (Liam Clifford) still on the roster. The position overhaul has been an offseason story line for two years, with coach Marques Hagans even detailing the "pact" his group made this summer. Now, Franklin said, it's also time to produce.

"I think the biggest thing is, we need more play-making at the wide receiver position for us to go where we want to go in critical moments, in critical games," Franklin said. "... They grew dramatically last year as receivers. I expect them to take another step this year and I want them to get the ball in the space as well. A lot of weapons, a lot of people to use, but we are going to have to build on this every single day."

The three receivers to watch all are transfers. Notably, former Syracuse standout Trebor Pena and Devonte Ross, who had a big season at Troy last year, are generating most of the preseason conversation.

"I think the biggest thing is, they are veterans that have already produced in college football," Franklin said. "[Kyron] Hudson was a captain at his previous institution [USC] [and] had one of the catches of the year against LSU. Senior, veteran, mature. So that's been valuable for us.

"Peña is a sixth-year guy. Same thing, was captain at his last school. He's got a lot of maturity, got a lot of experience. I think you guys have heard me talk about this before. I compare college football in some ways now to college basketball when the one-and-done started, and you could have a veteran older team make a run, because, as we know, experience and talent matters.

"And then Ross didn't play [vs.] the Big Ten or the ACC, but we were able to watch him against Iowa. I think you guys know how much respect I have for Iowa, that program, defensively, special teams-wise, and to be able to watch him make plays against an Iowa defense and an Iowa team in general on special teams gave us a lot of confidence about bringing that young man in."

Ross does it again! 💥 @devonteross22 to the house for @TroyTrojansFB pic.twitter.com/ogxC20dpUq

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 14, 2024

Can Jim Knowles install his defense in time for the opener?

Penn State's defense has to move quickly to be ready for the Aug. 30 opener against Nevada, though the Nittany Lions will have three non-conference games to get right before hosting Oregon on Sept. 27. But Knowles, Penn State's first-year coordinator, is racing a bit, in part because Penn State reached the CFP semifinal.

Franklin limited, or even held out, a significant number of players during spring drills. That included the previously mentioned Rojas and Mack, cornerback A.J. Harris and defensive linemen Zane Durant and Dani Dennis-Sutton. Knowles is seeing some of them for the first time this spring, which has impacted his installation.

"It was definitely a concern, because not having seen them do it on the field, but so far so foor," Knowles siad. "The pace of the installation will really depend on how well those guys perform it on the field. So as long as they keep doing well, it's just an early sample size, we get to press forward at a rapid pace."