What James Franklin said after Penn State’s spring practice on Saturday

Penn State took a unique approach to its spring practices and spring game this year. Limiting attendance to first-year students and family of players and coaches, no television coverage and a revised version of the Blue-White Game were the changes to this year’s event.

On Saturday, Penn State took the field in front of just over 7,500 fans, going through drills and hosting a scrimmage as the team begins the final stretch of spring ball. This weekend’s practice marked the 12th of the season for the Nittany Lions, and they’ll have three remaining.

After the event, head coach James Franklin spoke with the media to talk about the team’s practice. He talked about having fans in the stands, the quarterback situation, newcomers and plenty more with reporters.

Here’s what Franklin had to say when Saturday’s scrimmage and practice came to an end in Happy Valley:

Franklin on explosiveness in running game: "We got a bunch of backs that we think can provide that…That's also through scheme, that's what RPOs are all about."

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) April 17, 2021

Franklin on backup quarterbacks: "Both Ta'Quan and Christian showed some really good flashes of understanding what we're trying to do…Also the ability to make some plays and have the vision to read defenses and make a throw."

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) April 17, 2021

Franklin on Marquis Wilson playing wide receiver: "Marquis is a guy we've been really talking about since we've recruited him about the possibility of playing both ways… Marquis has got great ball skills, he has tremendous confidence in himself."

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) April 17, 2021

Franklin on Keyvone Lee: “Keyvone is your typical power back in the Big Ten that is always running north and south…He’s always falling forward… I think he’s doing a better job of understanding who he is.”

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) April 17, 2021

Franklin on Kalen King: "He is physically ready…He's also very mature, him and and his twin brother…He's got ball skills.

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) April 17, 2021

Franklin on the offense: "The run game is something that you'd like to leave the spring feeling good about…I like where we're at, but there's still plenty of work to be done."

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) April 17, 2021

Penn State will practice Monday, Wednesday, Friday this week. Franklin says "probably Friday night" under the lights. That's the practice for the senior students.

Unclear when they scrapped the other three practices in the past month to get to this point.

— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) April 17, 2021

We didn't see safety Ji'Ayir Brown today: "Tiig was not available today from a health perspective and we'll let it at that," Franklin said.

— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) April 17, 2021

James Franklin on Zoom after practice 12: "After last season it felt like 75,000 (fans). It really felt good."

"Anybody that's comfortable getting the vaccine, let's get the vaccine so we can get as many people in the stadium as possible."

— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) April 17, 2021

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB