UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- James Franklin said Penn State isn't waiting to get any additional information back from the medical staff this week so what the No. 7 Nittany Lions have up front on the offensive line is what they'll roll with Saturday afternoon against No. 24 Michigan State.
"I think we're pretty set with what we're going to do," Franklin said Wednesday night following practice. "What we're probably still working on is getting reps in terms of contingency plans and if we get more injuries where do we go from there and those types of things."
So where does Penn State go from here? Well, Chasz Wright and Will Fries were the first-team tackles Wednesday night during a 10-minute portion of practice open to the media and Franklin said Tuesday the Lions would need Wright to play well this weekend. So, it certainly looks like the Lions' line was dealt a blow late in the Ohio State game when starting left tackle Ryan Bates was rolled up on.
Should Bates not play Saturday, look for the Lions to use the same line they ended the Ohio State game with. The line included Fries, the Lions' redshirt freshman starting right tackle bumping over to left tackle while Wright, a reserve who started in the Rose Bowl and played key games down the stretch last season, stepped in at right tackle.
The Lions could move Brendan Mahon from guard to tackle if they so choose as well, but Franklin said earlier this season he didn't think the Lions would look to do that because then they'd have a deficiency at guard. So, much of this week has been spent creating contingency plans should the Lions lose more contributors along the offensive line, Franklin said.
"You never know who is going to go down at what time," quarterback Trace McSorley said Wednesday night. "We have that next man in mentality. ... I have complete faith when Chasz stepped in the game and unfortunately we weren't able to get it done, but I have complete faith this week with the guys we have up front."
Redshirt freshman Michal Menet, a highly-touted prospect who took a redshirt last season, continues as one of the Lions' young linemen who is making strides behind the scenes. While Franklin wouldn't tip his hand with any contingency plans, Menet potentially could be one player to see an uptick should the opportunity arise due to another injury up front.
"I think he's always been an extremely athletic guy," Franklin said of Menet. "That's never been kind of a question for him. His first year on campus, he had a lot of little nagging injuries, which made him miss a lot of practice. In high school, you can get away with being a better athlete than everybody, but here the techniques and fundamentals and things like that, and just the physical aspect of it. ... There are things that he's been learning and growing and I think in the last month we've seen a significant change and growth in him. There's progress, and I think he has a very bright future here."
The other injury that will have a lot of eyes on it ahead of Saturday is that of starting defensive end Ryan Buchholz. Franklin didn't have any update on Buchholz Wednesday night.
QUICK HITS
• Several players mentioned on Wednesday that Tuesday's practice was one of the team's better ones they've had this season. After the players-only meeting helped set the tone on Sunday, the Lions came back from their Monday off day seemingly with a full head of steam. Franklin said it's been "business as usual" since the loss at The Horseshoe.
"Tuesday, came out [had a] really good practice, really energetic, guys were jumping around," McSorley said. "Honestly, it actually surprised me more than I kind of thought. Guys really kind of bought into what we were talking about."
• Franklin will meet with Penn State's first and second-year players on Thursday to discuss with them what they saw unfold on Saturday in Columbus. He wants this to be a learning experience for them too and while many of these players weren't even on the travel roster, Franklin said this could pay dividends 2, 3 years down the road should these players find themselves in a similar situation.
Franklin said he doesn't want to be the one doing most of the talking in the meeting, rather relying on his younger players to provide their feedback.
• The Lions held a kicking competition for field goals and kickoffs during part of Tuesday and Wednesday's practice, Franklin said. While Tyler Davis continues to have both the kickoff and field goal jobs locked up this season, after the senior departs Franklin said he's like to return to having one person do kickoffs and a different person do field goals. That's been his philosophy during his time at Penn State, but Davis proved capable of handling both this season.
Carson Landis, Alex Barbir and Nick DeAngelis -- a pair of walk-ons and a scholarship player in Barbir -- will be the challengers starting in spring ball.
"We're going to need one of those guys to factor in next year," Franklin said. "We do things like that throughout the year so we have an awareness and an understanding of where those guys are at and then also they do as well. I thought Landis did a great job today on kickoff."
• When Penn State hit the locker room Tuesday night it did so to the TVs already tuned into the College Football Playoff selection show. McSorley said the Lions' No. 7 spot is about where he expected them to be, but added that maybe it's even a tad better than he had hoped.
"A one-point loss to the No. 6 team in the country on the road to a talented Ohio State team so we didn't think we'd drop too, too far. Obviously for us it's not where we want to be because we want to be in the top four so I'm not going to say we're happy with it, but we know we got our work cut out for us. For where we're at after one loss, we'll take it."
• Monday is a key game-planning day for the Lions and that means offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead and the graduate assistants are usually in the building until about 3 a.m., Franklin said. A self-described "morning person," Franklin said he wasn't going to stay in the building until 4 a.m. to meet with Moorhead one on one so they've since adjusted and he meets with his coordinator throughout the day.
• Injured cornerback John Reid has been on the Lions' travel roster for every game this season, meaning he's playing a key role despite not actually being able to play. Reid sustained a knee injury during spring ball, but has taken to helping his teammates breakdown film and even working on the defense's signaling from the sideline.
"He's a study force for our defense," Franklin said. "He's a tremendous leader, always kind of been a student of the game, how he approaches it, how he is with the younger players. We alternate him as the signaler as well. We feel like he brings a lot of value and we'd like to travel him whenever we can and that's pretty much been every single week so it's part of our routine now."
• Have the Lions repped the four-minute offense more than usual after the meltdown against Ohio State?
"I think it was more talked about than usual on Sunday," McSorley said. "We didn't rep it, but we kind of talked more about what we need to do."