ALTOONA, Pa. -- Penn State needed to fix what went wrong last season, which included an 0-5 start, so the team's leadership council met and determined that the squad needed to face a difficult and challenging offseason from the coaching staff.
Linebacker Jesse Luketa shared that part of the story this week, and quarterback Sean Clifford was asked why the team leaders felt a tough offseason would help.
Clifford's response provides our first "quote of the week" installment, and this is something we'll do more of going forward this season as the Nittany Lions chase a berth in the College Football Playoff.
"I think that we just needed to change a little bit," Clifford said. "I felt like our culture kind of slipped last year from a leadership perspective. The standards, it didn't changed, but we kind of changed it a little bit just because of COVID. We made excuses for things. And that's not how we run our program.
"So we went to (James) Franklin right away and we said we need to be pushed, and we're going to have no backlash on any of it, no complaining. Making sure that we're working hard, and I think the team responded really well to that, and we had a great offseason and it's paying off week in and week out.
"But we've just got to keep it going, fight for your culture every day."
The Lions' culture under Franklin has always included the 1-0 mentality each week, always being prepared for opponents and never giving up. But following opening losses to Indiana and Ohio State last year, there clearly was a situation in a stunning 35-19 loss at home to Maryland where the Lions were not prepared and seemed to show very little interest.
Penn State did overcome its issues by winning the final four games last season, finishing 4-5. So, with this year's 4-0 start, the Lions have won eight in a row.
Clifford was asked a follow-up question after his comments above about when he noticed that the culture had slipped and in what ways.
"I think it was just over time just not being around the guys," Clifford said. "Like we talked about all last year -- I'm not gonna harp on last year that much because it's over -- but we just didn't have the time that we could spend together, and we didn't have the opportunities to push each other the way that we usually do. And it just changed.
"I can't really pinpoint a time. It was weird times for everybody, and that's why I'm not trying to focus on last year that much."
Lastly, Clifford was asked if the changes have made the team closer this year. His response was short and sweet:
"Yes."
BEAMON OUT FOR YEAR
Franklin said Wednesday night that defensive tackle Hakeem Beamon will be "unavailable this week and this season," without going into further details. Beamon has not played this season after appearing in eight games last year.
Beamon, a redshirt sophomore, came to Penn State in 2019 as a 4-star recruit from Virginia.
