by Kyle Golik
Penn State head coach James Franklin enters his 10th season in Happy Valley and the expectations haven’t been this high in a long time.
Most prognosticators have the Nittany Lions finishing 11-1 and even some like The Late Kick’s Josh Pate and Andy Staples have Penn State making the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.
?CFP & NATIONAL TITLE PICKS? pic.twitter.com/bmGahjwI6C
— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) August 28, 2023
Fueling the expectations is a loaded roster that at all levels has high end talent that has NFL GMs salivating waiting for them to declare.
Left tackle Olu Fashanu is considered by analysts either the best blindside protector in the game or second only to Notre Dame’s Joe Alt. Cornerback Kalen King is considered either the top defensive back or right behind Alabama’s Kool Aid McKinstry. EDGE rusher Chop Robinson is amongst the best pass rushers in the nation, and Adisa Isaac is considered his near-equal.
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Running back tandem Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined for 2,201 yards from scrimmage and 24 touchdowns last season and are expected to be the spark plugs for the Nittany Lion offense that averaged nearly 36 points per game last season.
The biggest question is how good former five-star quarterback Drew Allar will be.
Franklin has been mum and noncommittal in naming a starter, but at this week’s press conference he alluded to just how good Allar has been in practice, “Yeah, I think I would say touchdown-to-interception ratio or just interceptions in general. I want to say that we got to like practice 13 or 14 I think before we had a turnover, an interception, specifically with Drew. That’s valuable in terms of evaluating the quarterbacks, especially with the type of defense that we’re going against every single day, then also just the style of defense that we play, not just the personnel but the style of defense we play.”
Penn State has had its fair share of five-star quarterbacks in the 21st Century with Zac Wasserman, Anthony Morelli, and Christian Hackenberg.
While each of them had their share of successes, none of them lived up to the hype they had entering State College. In Hackenberg’s defense, staying with Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and limited scholarships held him back.
Allar’s situation is different. He gives Penn State the elite quarterback it has lacked in the James Franklin era. I have nothing against Trace McSorley (whom Urban Meyer recently named amongst his five toughest players to prepare for on offense while he coached in the Big Ten) or Sean Clifford, who was a warrior during his six seasons at Penn State. Both were very good college quarterbacks.
But when you look at how Ohio State dominated the Big Ten for the best part of a decade, one of the key points of separation between them and the rest of the conference was elite quarterback play.
So many playmakers spanned @CoachUrbanMeyer's time in the @bigten.
We asked the former @OhioStateFB coach to rank his hardest players to prepare for ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/y85OXsJlFb
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) August 30, 2023
Penn State and Franklin thought he had that elite quarterback signed when Justin Fields committed a few years ago. After a change of heart, Fields decommited from Penn State and, after a quick stay at Georgia, transferred to Ohio State and dominated the Big Ten, haunting Franklin and Penn State.
Kalen King lauded Allar’s performance in camp, “That whole camp, I think he threw maybe two picks. .. He was protecting the ball like crazy, not doing anything to damage the offense. Making the right choices, making smart moves.”
Camp Kings ? pic.twitter.com/8Y8y9mZV0P
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) August 23, 2023
James Franklin’s lack of success in big games has been covered ad nauseam, by both this publication and many others.
Entering his 10th season, Penn State fans are wondering when they will finally break through.
Joe Paterno didn’t reach a national championship game until his 13th season, but the Nittany Lions, prior to the 1978 season, enjoyed three undefeated seasons. This is the most talented Penn State has been since the Paterno era.
Franklin’s 2016 & 2022 teams did not start in the Top 20. They were surprises that exceeded expectations. The 2009, 2017, and 2019 teams started and finished in the Top 15, but I don’t feel either of those teams were as talented as this 2023 Penn State squad is.
Franklin’s job is not on the line at all, unless this whole team completely unravels in a way that no one could imagine. Even if it repeats a 10-2 season and returns to a NY6 Bowl, it could still be considered a successful season.
But the hopes and dreams are a lot higher, and coming up short will emanate the feeling of the season being a bust. At some point, Franklin has to reward the amazing faith Nittany Nation places in him. He has answered the call whenever critics have wondered if he is the right guy.
One thing Franklin has never delivered on in his nine previous seasons in Happy Valley is coming through when expectations are high.
From “Good to Great to Elite,” as Franklin once said after a loss to Ohio State in 2018, the program is elite now. The time is now to act and deliver as champions.
Anything less than the College Football Playoff this season will be a bust for Franklin and Penn State.
