Jahan Dotson and his Penn State teammates want everyone to forget about last year's terrible start, and they'll enter this week's season opener at Wisconsin with a great deal of confidence.
"We’ve got a lot of guys this year who are ready to prove that that team last year at Penn State was not us," Dotson, the Nittany Lions' standout wide receiver, said Tuesday.
Dotson and left tackle Rasheed Walker spoke to the media Tuesday, then James Franklin held his weekly news conference.
Here are the top 10 takeaways from those discussions.
1: "We're in a good place"
That's how Franklin described the program, added that this is a "highly motivated team and coaching staff."
The motivation part is simple. The Lions want everyone to believe that last year was a fluke, an asterisk. They were ranked No. 7 in the preseason AP poll, then started 0-5, becoming the first top 10 preseason team to ever do that.
Sure, Penn State won its final four games to finish 4-5, but the damage had already been done by that point.
This team believes it can show everyone that Penn State football is back right off the bat against a very good opponent on the road.
"Having Wisconsin as an opening game is different than the way college football normally starts out," Franklin said. "That was a motivator and driver for us all offseason."
"I honestly can’t wait for Saturday," Dotson said. "It’s gonna be a show."
"I’ve never been to Wisconsin, so everything’s exciting to me," Walker said. "Season opener, new setting. It’ll be fun. …. I’m excited to be able to play a good, powerhouse football team."
2: This is a very close-knit team
Dotson and Walker both spoke about how the players all get along very well and spend a lot of time together away from the field.
"Since I’ve been here, I feel like this is the closest team as far as relationships," Walker said.
"This year it didn’t matter who you were — freshman, senior, fifth year, walk-on, everyone hung out together. We all play basketball together, we all eat together.
"I feel like that’s really gonna translate to the field. I feel like we’re going to be playing for each other more because that’s how our relationship is."
"The camaraderie around this team, I’ve never been a part of anything like it before," Dotson said. "It’s truly amazing.
"This team is closer than any team I’ve ever been a part of. That’s kind of what separates us is that brotherhood around here. We know that every single day we’re willing to fight for each other, whether it’s on the practice field of the game field, and I feel like that can take us a long way."
3: Will the team be ready for this opening challenge
Franklin answered that question by saying the coaches and players have done everything they possibly could to be prepared -- from focusing on what Wisconsin does well, to crowd noise, to practice simulations and other things.
But there's no preseason in college football, so it can be difficult to know for sure how a team will respond.
Last year's Penn State team was a prime example, as again, the Lions were preseason No. 7 but started 0-5.
"You don’t ever truly know until you step out into that environment," Franklin said. "The more veteran players you have helps with that."
4: Where has QB Sean Clifford improved from last year?
Dotson gave a good answer to this. He said new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich came in and felt like Clifford had too much on his plate and was having to worry about too many things.
That was addressed, and ...
"He’s just playing ball now," Dotson said.
Specifically, Dotson said Clifford's decision making has really improved.
"This is the best I’ve ever seen him," Dotson said.
Franklin said Yurcich has come in and been aggressive with how he coaches, which has had an impact on Clifford.
"Mike’s been different, and I think in a lot of ways it’s been good for Sean," Franklin said.
5: The backup QB will be …
Ta'Quan Roberson. Franklin did confirm that for the first time Tuesday. It really was a no brainer, since Roberson has been around a couple of years, while true freshman Christian Veilleux just arrived in January.
Franklin said Roberson has taken 90 percent of the reps with the second-team offense. The coach noted he threw for a high percentage in practice and "for a while his attempts without an interception was ridiculously high."
"The ball jumps off his hand,' Franklin said. "When he’s confident pre-snap with what to do, he’s very good post snap. … He’s opened a lot of eyes this camp."
6: Who will play left guard?
It will be a rotation between Anthony Whigan and Harvard transfer Eric Wilson, both seniors.
"Both have shown some really good things," Franklin said. "They’ll both play on Saturday."
Walker said of Wilson: "His transition from when he first came in this summer to now is unbelievable. He looks like a whole different person."
7: Why isn't Penn State releasing a depth chart?
"We’ve always released a depth chart. I really don’t have a strong opinion either way," Franklin said.
But with more and more teams around the country choosing not to, Penn State made the decision to follow suit.
Franklin pointed out that Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State and Purdue are either not releasing depth charts or were considering not doing so.
"So it just didn’t make sense for us to do it if others don’t," the coach said.
"It saves some work, it saves some time."
8: What's the plan with Jesse Luketa?
As has been discussed before, the 6-foot-3, 247-pounder will play both linebacker and defensive end.
"We’ve kind of always viewed Jesse like this," Franklin said.
"It’ll probably be rotation at both positions."
Some weeks Luketa could play more at one spot, and other weeks it could be a different spot, depending on the matchup.
Walker had a lot of praise for Luketa.
"He’s kind of like a perfectionist," the left tackle said. "One thing, every move he makes, he’s gonna be very smart, very detailed.
"From the first practice and the last practice he’s been a whole different person. He’s really learned how to use his body and play in the trenches. … He’s tough as nails, too. You ain’t never gonna see him tapping his helmet to come out of the game for nothing."
9: Ebiketie a big addition
Big things are expected from defensive end Arnold Ebiketie, a transfer from Temple who goes by AK. He will have to play well, since PSU lost ends Jayson Oweh and Shaka Toney to the NFL and Adisa Isaac to injury.
"Me and AK, we’ve been getting some great work," Walker said.
"He’s gonna come to practice every day and give you everything he’s got. That helped me develop ... and it also helped the whole offensive line."
Walker added Ebiketie is "extremely fast."
"I can honestly say I’m not gonna see anybody in the Big Ten that can move like AK," Walker said.
10: Big potential in freshman Olu Fashanu
The redshirt freshman offensive lineman from Maryland is listed at 6-foot-6 and 313 pounds. He may not see a lot of playing time this year, but he has a chance to be really good.
"He’s maybe had one of the better camps," Walker said. "He’s humongous. He’s probably like 325-330 pounds, and he’s ridiculously strong. The only thing with Olu, he needs to learn how his body works.
"He’s a very smart guy. He wants to be great, he wants to get better every single day. … These last few practices, his punch has been crazy."