ALTOONA, Pa. -- Coming into the 2020 season, it was well known Penn State had talent with star linebacker Micah Parsons and starting running back Journey Brown both returning. On paper the Nittany Lions looked every bit of the top-10 ranking despite having some inexperienced players behind the talent.
"I don't think we ever had a veteran team. We only had eight seniors, I think, you know, returning scholarship seniors to the program," head coach James Franklin said Wednesday night after practice. "We never had a veteran team, but we were talented, we were explosive and had a bunch of guys coming back that had played and played significant roles but again, that changed quickly."
And did it ever as Parsons announced he would be opting out of this season to focus on the draft prior to the Big Ten even agreeing to play football and Brown having an undisclosed medical condition which has rendered him unavailable thus far in 2020.
"This year because of the circumstances and because of Covid and everything that was going on and because it was kinda so common, I think that's kinda how this year is," Franklin said. "I think under normal circumstances where you lose those types of players from your program it's bigger news."
Those circumstances have forced Penn State to use players who otherwise would have been on the bench this season earning valuable experience and growth in practice. And as a result, the growing pains have not only been real, they've been exposed in both games so far.
?Usually you're fortunate enough depending on depth to allow that guy to earn the trust over time and other moments based on the circumstances you might be in at the time, you might not have that luxury and you just gotta go with it," Franklin said. "And that's really kinda what we've done at the running back position and some other positions. We've been able to play them a little, not as much as we would like, but they have a responsibility in that as well."
It takes a multitude of different scenarios and instances to have those players see the field and eventually see it often. Those evaluations extend far beyond the realm of on the field production as well.
"It's obviously the guys that can do their job consistently in practice," Franklin said. "Most of the guys we bring in here, they're able to it, a certain number out of 10 times just based on ability...It's how consistently can you do your job to build the trust of your teammates and build the trust of the staff and that is from a physical perspective, that is from a fundamental perspective.
"It's a lot of the off the field stuff. If you're always having to be all over a guys because he's not mature enough to handle his business academically, that affects you. It affects your believe that you're gonna be able to depend on this guy when he's supposed to."
That dependability Franklin has mentioned has been seen in guys like Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith both starting and playing significant minutes so far.
"It's a combination of their talent and their maturity and the trusty they've been able to earn from the staff and their teammates," Franklin said. "It also talks about the lack of depth at that position or some of the injuries we've had or some of the things that have limited guys to even be able to play this year. It's a combination of factors, takes nothing away from them because they've done a good job and earned this opportunity."
At the rate this season has gone, more opportunities are sure to happen for the underclassmen and Franklin and company are prepared for it.
"At the end of the day this is the circumstance we're in and guys need to step up and as coaches we need to get them ready," Franklin said.
More from James Franklin's post-practice availability:
• On struggling running backs: "Losing our two guys at the top of the depth chart is part of it. We just need to be more detailed with everything we're doing from a fundamental and from a technique standpoints. That's obviously magnified the better opponent you play. The better opponent you play, you better be as detailed as you possibly can be with your footwork, your fundamentals, with what your understanding of what we're trying to do."
• On analytics in the return game: "We spent a lot of time this offseason studying analytics and the analytics say that no one is really getting it back to the 25-yard line consistently. Unless you're playing an opponent where they're not kicking it deep and they don't have appropriate hang time it doesn't make sense to return it. Each week, we've always done this but it's been magnified here a little bit more recently, if our opponent doesn't kick for the appropriate hang time or distance, we'll bring it out because we feel like we have a chance to make a big play."
• On going through multiple wide receiver coaches: "One of the challenges that we have had, mostly for good reasons, we've had a decent amount of turnover at that position. Guys that have gotten promotions, obviously guys have gotten coordinator jobs and things like that. It's created some challenges for us, stability in that room and it's affected recruiting as well."