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What James Franklin said as Penn State’s fall camp gets started
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Fall camp is starting in Happy Valley and James Franklin will begin his eighth season at Penn State this year.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a less-than-impressive campaign in 2020, finishing with a 4-5 record. There was some momentum generated at the end of the year, winning the final four games of the season.
Penn State made some staff changes and returns some significant talent from last year’s squad. Despite the sub-.500 record last fall, Franklin’s bunch is projected to be a Top 25 team and climb back into the B1G East conversation.
Saturday, Franklin met with the media to talk about the early start to fall camp. Here’s what the eighth-year head coach of the Nittany Lions had to say about the upcoming season:
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Franklin said Parker Washington is similar to KJ Hamler in that he has several attributes that make up for his lack of size.
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) August 7, 2021
"I think he's got elite ball skills…Elite ball skills make you bigger and faster than what you are."
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) August 7, 2021
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JF: Luketa will be working at DE mostly in camp, because his foundation is so strong at LB.
— Donnie Collins (@PennStateTT) August 7, 2021
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Franklin on interior offensive lineman: "We think we've got a really good group of guys competing for those three inside spots."
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) August 7, 2021
Franklin also said "there's a lot of excitement" surrounding Smith Vilbert and Zuriah Fisher.
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) August 7, 2021
Franklin noted that he and special teams coach Joe Lorig were roommates at Idaho State at some time around 1998.
"We go way back."
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) August 7, 2021
Franklin says the installation of Mike Yurcich's offense has been "so far, so good."
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) August 7, 2021
Franklin: "It's great to be back out at practice with the guys. I think we've had a really productive offseason and summer."
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) August 7, 2021
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