Penn State Football: Complete 2015 Spring Practice Primer
By any reasonable measure, James Franklin's first season at Penn State was a successful one. A 7-6 record and a win in the Pinstripe Bowl underscored the Nittany Lions' emergence from unprecedented sanctions brought on by the Jerry Sandusky scandal in 2012.
But while last season may have been about Penn State proving it's still on track following the departure of head coach Bill O'Brien after two seasons, the team will finally be back to focusing on football in 2015.
"It's amazing to think just Year 2 in general, how much different it is in every aspect," Franklin said as he previewed the Nittany Lions' spring practice on Tuesday. I was talking to [offensive lineman Angelo] Mangiro yesterday. This time last year, he was going onto the field with never being in the huddle the way we do the huddle, never going into a cadence, snapping a ball.
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"From last year where they haven't even done that yet to now, going out on the field and having a foundation laid on offense, defense and special teams, expectations, how we do things, morning workouts, coach [Dwight] Galt's program. We got the majority of our team now that have been through these things. That experience counts and is important."
Penn State won't take the field for its first of 15 spring practices until Friday, but Franklin has already made it clear his expectations are higher now than they were a season ago. Any sustained success for the Nittany Lions, however, will start this spring as they attempt to build on the foundation laid down a year ago.
What to Watch for on Offense
Penn State's offense starts with star quarterback Christian Hackenberg, but as we learned a year ago, he can't do it alone. The 6'4", 234-pounder was sacked 44 times last season, the second-most of any quarterback in college football.
Considering that, it's no coincidence that his numbers dropped from his stellar freshman season totals in 2013.
Hackenberg completed just 55.8 percent of his passes last season, throwing 12 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. The departure of wide receiver Allen Robinson didn't help matters either, but this spring will be all about making sure the Nittany Lions signal-caller stays upright.
"Our challenge, is to continue to develop the offensive line," Franklin said. "You really should not play defensive tackle or offensive line until your redshirt sophomore year. We have way too many redshirt freshmen in our two deep still, but I think we have a chance for great improvement."
Penn State will return four starters from last year's unit, including Mangiro at center, junior tackle Andrew Nelson, junior guard Brendan Mahon and senior guard Brian Gaia. But perhaps Franklin's toughest task will be replacing left tackle Donovan Smith, who opted to enter the NFL draft following the 2014 campaign.
Compared to last season, though, depth on the Nittany Lion's offensive line seems to be building, with Wendy Laurent and Derek Dowrey returning with starting experience under their belts. Franklin will also no longer have to lean so heavily on walk-ons either, as the removal of Penn State's scholarship reductions should benefit its offensive line the most.
"The fact that we're going to have a two deep of scholarship players is exciting. We had a bunch of guys that have had some experience," Franklin said. "There's nobody that is happier about this group returning and the strides they've made than Mr. and Mrs. Hackenberg.
"I'm excited about them. I know [offensive line coach] Herb [Hand] is excited about working with him. I know they're so much more confident mentally and physically."
If Hackenberg has enough time, he should be able to find a plethora of returning playmakers, including All-Big Ten wideout DaeSean Hamilton, wide receiver Eugene Lewis and tight ends Kyle Carter. The Nittany Lions' running back race will also be worth keeping an eye on, as Akeel Lynch appears to be the current front-runner to replace Bill Belton.
"Akeel, the way the season ended with him, I think he's done some nice things. Excited to see what [Nick] Scott, [Brandon] Johnson and [Mark] Allen are going to be able to do," Franklin said. "Scott and Allen redshirting, and Johnson is actually our biggest, strongest, fastest guy on our team. Going to see if it's going to translate."
What to Watch for on Defense
Perhaps the most interesting note that came from Franklin's press conference was the news that senior Jordan Lucas will be moving from cornerback to safety. As the second-year Penn State coach stated, the position change is as much about Lucas as it is the Nittany Lions' needs.
"Long-term, what we try to do is we try to do things that are not only best for Penn State and our football program specifically, but also in these guys' long-term potential," Franklin said. "I think Jordan is a guy who could play corner here and at the next level as well. I think he has a chance to maybe be special at safety.
"It's also back to the philosophy you have heard me talk about before. I think it's easier to play a freshman at corner and a freshman at wide receiver than it would be to play a freshman at safety, linebacker or defensive line. The closer you are to the ball, the harder it is to get on the field early. So we feel good about our young talent at corner."
That young talent at corner Franklin speaks of comes in the form of sophomores Christian Campbell and Grant Haley, as well as incoming freshmen Garrett Taylor and John Reid. Lucas' move to safety should also help counteract the departures of Adrian Amos and Ryan Keiser from last year's team.
Speaking of key losses, Franklin will also have to find a way to replace defensive end Deion Barnes and linebacker Mike Hull. In the case of Barnes, who declared early for the NFL draft, Franklin will rely on Carl Nassib, Evan Schwan and Garrett Sickels, while replacing Hull could ultimately be a harder job.
"I think that's clearly our challenge on defense, not just because of the football player Mike Hull was, but also his leadership and also the position he played, being the quarterback of the defense, making all those calls," Franklin said.
Asked to name a potential starter in Hull's spot, Franklin pointed to Nyeem Wartman and Gary Wooten.
"Wartman is an option. Big, strong, physical guy who moves very, very well. He's got experience now playing the position. You'd like to have a linebacker who is a guy who has played enough football. I think the fact that these guys actually watched Mike Hull for the last couple years is valuable, as well, just how the guy practiced and prepared. But he's an option for us," he said.
"Wooten is an option for us, played the position, done some things. We need the guys to be more verbal, more verbal on the field. But he's done some really nice things.
"There's a lot of options there."
James Franklin's Toughest Task
While the Nittany Lions may not have won as many games as they would have liked to last season, it's undeniable that positive momentum was created. Now that Penn State's sanctions have been lifted, the key will be for Franklin to maintain it.
"It's just everything in the program. It's learning Penn State. Just because we had a model at School X, doesn't mean that model is going to perfectly come and work in School Z," Franklin said when asked how far he felt he was into fully installing his program.
"The institutional knowledge, the knowledge of our players, the type of players, areas that we're recruiting, strengths and weaknesses, all those things, that takes time."
The former Vanderbilt head coach also mentioned that he's still learning about the Big Ten conference and getting used to new opponents and venues. He also didn't discount the importance of his program's return to a full 85 scholarships, as only having 65 for the past three seasons severely hampered its recruiting ability.
"Having the depth where you have a legitimate three deep at every position is really, really important. Not depending on a new arrival to campus in a prominent role, those types of things," Franklin said. "So I think we've made great strides."
The key this spring will be for Penn State to continue to make those strides as it prepares to keep pace in the ultra-competitive Big Ten East. Last season was a big step for Franklin toward doing just that, but even he knows there's still plenty of work to do.
"Like somebody tweeted out the other day that Joe [Paterno] was here 62 years and I was here 62 weeks," Franklin said. "I got a long way to go."
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.
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