ALTOONA, Pa. -- On a recent drive through downtown State College, James Franklin recognized five of his Penn State players out and about. Of those five, four were wearing masks and one wasn't.
It was "awesome" according to Franklin, to see those four doing what they were supposed to. For the player not wearing his mask, well, he had to not only deal with a phone call from Franklin, but Franklin also informed the player's parents of the issue.
"I still want to make sure we're making all the other choices away from Penn State football," Franklin said Wednesday afternoon during Penn State's virtual media day.
Accountability has never been higher both inside the locker room and on the field for the Nittany Lions as they began padded practice today. It will be a collective effort to keep the team safe throughout all facets of football and everyday life as they follow guidelines both implemented by the university and Big Ten in hopes of starting and finishing the 2020 season.
"The daily testing is a critical piece," Franklin said. "The feedback that I've gotten from other coaches and other leagues and even other sports is that, once people started testing everyday, people made mistakes that they could go back to living like normal because, I'm being tested everyday."
While it's not as easy as testing everyday, it's up to the players and staff at Penn State to make the right decisions even when nobody is watching or whenever their coach isn't on a trek through downtown State College.
"The most important thing that we can do is our behaviors," Franklin said. "Daily testing can give everyone a new sense of false security. This is the new normal and we have to embrace that."
Franklin had plenty more to say about a multitude of topics Wednesday afternoon, here are some of the highlights:
• On the possibility of linebacker Micah Parsons returning: "We're in a really good place, had great conversation with Micah and his mom and dad. There was legitimate possibility for it to happen, but timing made it a challenge. He'd been gone for a while, things were complicated. Won't be happening."
• On diversity in college football and among his coaching staff: "I have a responsibility to make a positive impact on college football...diversity is always going to be a part of our hiring process. When you got a football team of 125 young men, all different backgrounds, diversity is important. I need to make sure every single guy on the team can have someone that they can connect with on a variety of topics."
• On player activism: "For there to be any growth, there is an aspect of it that is about making people uncomfortable. For you to grow, you have to break outside of your normal routines."
• On voting: "Whenever I post something on social media about voting, there's a certain group that attacks me. Just to be clear, we're not telling people who to vote for. We're trying to get young people involved in the process. Being involved in the process is important for whatever side of the aisle you sit on."
• On starting padded practices: "Day one, it's just helmets and shoulder pads. Most of the programs that I've been around, there's very little contact left in practices. But it's not like you can go from not doing any of it and then into a game. We gotta build it in stages. Just like we do everything else."