James Franklin has kept score. Penn State’s offense and defense are, more or less, even after a week of training camp. At least more even than it’s been in the past. Franklin has tracked explosive plays, turnovers and competitive periods — among other categories — and determined winners. These periods have typically ended in ties.
More competitive practices are naturally a positive. But Franklin said he’d like to see more consistency from each unit, rather than the offense dominating one period and the defense dominating the next. He wants each unit to trade shots from one rep to the next, not in alternating periods. This is aimed to symbolize the consistency needed to find success in 2024.
“We can’t have a bad quarter on offense or a bad quarter on defense,” Franklin said after practice Thursday. “We gotta make sure for the games that we want to win, we got to play really well in all three phases.”
The even competition could signal one of two things. Either the offense has truly taken a step forward, or the defense has taken a step back. It’s possible, and even likely, that both are true.
Andy Kotelnicki is said to have done wonders in his first offseason as the program’s offensive coordinator. His presence has seemingly helped to expand quarterback Drew Allar’s comfort level while his playbook has put more of an emphasis on his best players, translating to more explosive plays.
The players have taken notice. There’s been an offensive breakthrough of late, particularly from the wide receivers. Harrison Wallace III has garnered the most praise from teammates, but the entire unit has wowed teammates at points throughout the preseason. It’s only a matter of turning flashes into consistency.
“I give respect when it’s due. Yeah, they’ve been very good this year in this camp so far. They’re competing like no other,” safety Kevin Winston Jr. said.
For all the nuances of Kotelnicki’s offense, not much has changed under defensive coordinator Tom Allen. Penn State’s defense is good and has been for a while, and it should be again this fall. The team’s three starting cornerbacks from a season ago are gone, but the competitive spirit still remains in a secondary hoping to keep things sturdy.
There’s a clear standard the Nittany Lions’ defense holds themselves too, and their dominance is known by all players who’ve experienced the program’s camp before. It’s an opportunity for wide receiver Kaden Saunders and the rest of his position group to compete against one of the nation’s best.
“It just comes with reps and doing things over and over again. Obviously we think we have the most physical defense in the country, so going against them every day is doing nothing but making me better,” Saunders said.
Penn State’s brief practice viewing sessions reveal only so much, especially when one-on-one matchups are rarely showcased. That being said, it remains unclear what the even preseason between the offense and defense has looked like; which moments have stood out, which haven’t.
It’s simple for Kotelnicki to explain to someone in need of visualization. He summed up the battles with a question.
“If you were to watch a receiver go against a DB, what would competing look like in your eyes?”
