Blue-White game will have a different feel to it Saturday taken in Altoona, Pa.  (Penn State)

PENN STATE ATHLETICS

Sean Clifford, Christian Veilleux and Ta'Quan Roberson

ALTOONA, Pa. -- The annual Blue-White game, which typically has a game-like atmosphere that includes tailgating and is as close to real competition as an intra-squad scrimmage can be, is a big deal at Penn State.

The 2021 edition Saturday will have a very different feel, however.

Sure, something will be held that afternoon at Beaver Stadium, but unless you're one of the select few in attendance, it's just another final spring practice. Only select media, first-year Penn State students and friends and family of the staff and players will be in attendance, so unless you've got James Franklin on speed-dial, the odds are low that you'll be able to get into the practice. 

Nonetheless, it should still be a productive afternoon for those involved. It will give first-year students their first opportunity to see the Nittany Lions live in Beaver Stadium since entering the school. It will give Franklin and his staff the ability to evaluate the program and its players in game-like situations and afford them the opportunity to play in front of fans, something that wasn't possible last fall. 

The game, according to Franklin, will look "more like a practice" than the typical Blue-White game to which fans are accustomed with the final practice of the spring.

"The spring game is usually an opportunity to divide the team, the coaching staff, play as close to a game as you can," Franklin said Wednesday. "Sometimes, the idea is to make the scrimmage a little more digestible for fans and on TV."

Events inside the stadium won't be televised, although Penn State will offer an opportunity to listen to it on the radio. While there will be no TV showing how Ta'Quan Roberson and Christian Veilleux have developed, the practice will serve an important purpose for the program.

"These spring practices are very key for an offensive line," offensive line coach Phil Trautwein said. "Just being able to get momentum in the summer is key." 

Those practices are invaluable to backups like Roberson and Veilleux, who've been the beneficiaries of increased reps due to transfers. 

"Obviously, losing some quarterbacks, it's put Ta'Quan and Velleux in a situation where they're getting a lot of reps," Franklin said. "We're in a situation where we've got a lot of confidence in our starters, but also the backups."

Penn State isn't the only place where spring practices are huge, as decisions made around the country will have a ripple effect throughout college football on the transfer portal, a place the Nittany Lions are still actively looking 

"For us, pretty much at every position, we're going to be open to it," Franklin said. "I think there's probably going to be two more waves in the transfer portal. We're going to constantly stay aware of it."

Arnold Ebiketie, Johnny Dixon, John Lovett and Derrick Tangelo were all acquired this off-season from the portal, which marks an off-season emphasis on it that Franklin hasn't had previously. Saturday, those new faces get to put on a Penn State jersey for the first time, continuing the trend of things being different for the Nittany Lions, on and off the field, this year.

The Nittany Lions' final spring practice is scheduled to begin at noon and last two hours.

More from Wednesday's availability:

• Franklin, on transfer rules: "Let's be honest, over the last two years, everyone knew all of the policies and requirements to get eligibility. Everyone was saying whatever they needed to say to become eligible. I don't think a whole lot's changed over the last couple years."

• Franklin, on recruiting: "One of the challenges we have is, we're recruiting guys that want to come to our spring game but are going down South ... and there you would never even know that there was a pandemic."

• Franklin, on running back Noah Cain: "Noah has been able to go. Not full-go, not in live settings, but he is getting reps. ... He's probably a bit further ahead than I anticipated him being."

• Trautwein, on his starting five right now: "I really can't give you that ... What I can say is, right now I have 10 guys I think I can go into that game with. And I think that's a great thing to have. Having depth is key to an offensive line."

• Trautwein, on Rasheed Walker: "He came back with the mindset that he wants to be a first-rounder ... He wants to lead his team to a national championship."

• Trautwein on how football relates to golf: "There's so many different parts of it. There's your putting, your short game, your drive and your long irons are all different parts. Same thing as an offensive lineman. There's your pass-sets, your hand placement, your punch, your feet, your assignment, your alignment, your aiming points. All that takes a lot of work. i didn't say right there that you had to run a 4.8 40 and bench 225 pounds 30 times. You just have to do your job and do it at a high level. The only way to do that is by doing those little things and to be able to take coaching and to be able to want to be great."



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