UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Preseason media day is always one of the best days of the year for a Penn State media member, because we get terrific access to all kinds of players and coaches, which usually is not the case at all on this pretty restrictive beat.
Media day also is our one big chance during the preseason to catch up on a whole bunch of topics lingering over from the spring and summer, with regards to how they will impact the upcoming season.
Saturday was not disappointing at all from a news standpoint, as there was a whole bunch of good and useful information about the Nittany Lions.
We will have lots of feature stories and analysis pieces in the coming days based off media day, but here are the main takeaways that fans should know about at this stage of preseason camp.
* Potential for explosive running plays: Everyone knows Penn State's running game struggled mightily last season, playing behind a poor offensive line. But it wasn't all the fault of the linemen.
The running backs not only struggled in short-yardage situations, the group also lacked explosive play capability. Nobody had the kind of breakaway speed to make defenses pay once they did get to the second level, so the Lions weren't able to pull off many big gainers on the ground.
There's hope that will change this season.
"I think the biggest thing is potential for big plays in the running game," James Franklin said of the offense. "That's going to be really important for us. Your numbers are always going to be impacted if you don't have any of those long runs to affect not only field position, but also averages."
Freshman Nick Singleton has the kind of speed a running back needs to take it to the house from any distance, so we'll see if he gets opportunities to do so throughout the season.
Keyvone Lee, the projected starting tailback, isn't exactly a burner and is more of a tough, physical runner. So, will he be able to find a way to break off big runs? We'll see.
* Everybody loves Mitchell Tinsley: There's so much to like about the transfer from Western Kentucky, who caught 87 passes for 1,402 yards and 14 TDs last season.
Parker Washington is expected to be the No. 1 wide receiver this season, but don't be surprised if Tinsley challenges him for that distinction.
"Mitch has already had so much production in college, and he's super mature," Franklin said. "He also understands some of the things that maybe the young guys don't understand."
Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich added that Tinsley understands coverage and route conversions and is extremely intelligent, so he's able to absorb everything quickly in this offense.
Tinsley is "ahead of the curve because of where he came from," Yurcich said, referring to Western Kentucky's pass-heavy offense.
Tinsley also is rooming with QB Sean Clifford, so obviously that will help them from the standpoint of building a quick rapport.
* Yurcich in year two: Speaking of the OC, Yurcich had a rough go of it in year one as the offense really struggled for most of the season. The running game was a big problem, and at times the playcalling just seemed ... odd.
It will help all of the players to have the same OC back for a second year after so much turnover in recent years. And it also should help Yurcich now that he has been on the job for a year and can learn from his mistakes.
"One of the biggest things is him knowing our personnel and what those guys do well and where we need to help them," Franklin said of Yurcich.
"And again, that's in the running game. That's specifically with Sean. I think Sean and Mike know each other better, and I think that's useful. Obviously, like we've talked about, having the same offensive coordinator and the same offensive system for multiple years, I think there's a ton of value in that.
"I think the other thing is just the familiarity with the league, with the defensive coordinators, with the venues. All those things, I think, are helpful. So obviously, Mike's got a long track record of success. I think we have the ability to do some pretty good things on offense this year with the returning starting quarterback, the personnel and the coordinator."
* Running game has improved: So they say. And obviously, it really can't get any worse than it was last year, when the Lions averaged just 108 yards rushing per game.
Yurcich mentioned making strides in the running game and noted, "That’s been probably the one thing that as a staff we feel better about."
* The right guard spot: Just reading between the lines here, but it would appear that Sal Wormley will be the starter at right guard, over Cornell transfer Hunter Nourzad.
Franklin didn't come flat out and say that Saturday, but in what he did say, it seems like Nourzad has a pretty big learning curve to overcome.
"If you're a freshman coming in or a transfer situation, especially when you're transferring from, whether it's Ivy League or FCS or whatever it may be, it's a big difference," Franklin said of Nourzad's competition. "Blocking PJ Mustipher and Hakeem Beamon is very different than what he consistently faced in the Ivy League."
Now, Franklin also added these positives about Nourzad: "You look at his testing numbers, he's tested extremely well. He is fast, like really fast, explosive and strong, and obviously intelligent."
As for Wormley, Franklin kept talking about how high everyone was on him last year, before he got injured during the preseason.
"I think you remember Adisa (Isaac) and Sal, there was a lot of excitement about them last year," Franklin said. "You think about how many guys last year that we lost either before the season or during the season that were significant leaders and players from a production standpoint. For us, Sal, there was a lot of buzz about him, how well he was playing."
Again, just a projection here, but it would seem like Wormley will be the starter.
And Nourzad will get opportunities.
"Whether it's game one or game four, we'll see, but he's going to have a significant role," Franklin said. "But it's too early to say right now who and how it's going to play out."
* Biggest question marks: It's no secret that linebacker is the biggest question mark on the team, outside of offensive line. New defensive coordinator Manny Diaz didn't shy away from talking about it, either, saying the LBs "don't like being labeled the question of our football team."
Franklin also mentioned the linebackers as a question mark, specifically who will start at the middle spot. That's a competition between Kobe King and Tyler Elsdon.
As for other question marks:
On special teams, it's replacing Jordan Stout, specifically as the punter. Barney Amor is leading that competition right now.
On defense, another concern is figuring out who will start at the other safety spot beside Ji'Ayir Brown. Keaton Ellis, Jaylen Reed and Zakee Wheatley are competing there.
On offense, Franklin reiterated what he said at Big Ten media days in that he won't be promising an improved O-line this year, but instead will wait and let that unit come out and prove itself this season.
* Special teams competitions: New coordinator Stacy Collins gave a rundown of who's competing for various jobs.
At punt return, it's Parker Washington, Mitchell Tinsley and Marquise Wilson.
At kickoff return, it's Devyn Ford, Daequan Hardy, Omari Evans and Nick Singleton, whom Collins noted "has juice and size."
At place-kicker, it's between Jake Pinegar and Sander Sahaydak. Collins called it a tight competition and said both have struck the ball well. There's also no magic timeline for when that job will be decided.
* The young QBs: Behind Clifford, the Lions have three good young quarterbacks in Christian Veilleux and true freshmen Drew Allar and Beau Pribula.
"They’ve grown leaps and bounds from spring to now," Yurcich said, adding that it was very important that Allar and Pribula enrolled early for extra work.
* How do you say his name?: We got a chance to ask Veilleux to pronounce his name, which we all thought was Vay-you.
Nuh-uh.
Since he's French-Canadien, there's a bit of an R sound at the end. So it's actually more like Vay-you-ur."
I asked Veilleux if anyone at Penn State has ever pronounced his correctly.
"Not if I haven't told them," he said. "So I've had to tell people. That would not be people's first guess."
* Singleton update: There's a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year, and we'll probably get to see Singleton some early in the season. But he is still working on learning how to be a complete running back, which does take time at the college level because it's not all about just running the ball.
"He’s still got to progress in progressions and fundamentals of tailback play," Yurcich said.
* Make sure to play young guys early: Franklin talked about how it's important to make sure and get backups into games whenever you can, especially early in the season if games are already decided early in the fourth quarter.
Rather than continuing to play the starters, the coaches have to make a point in getting in younger guys to help them gain experience.
"One of the things we talked about on the retreat is not being led by ego," Franklin said. "You're up 35-0 in the game, and I'm on the headset saying, 'Hey, we need to sub out, get our backups in.' Whether it's the defensive coordinator or offensive coordinator saying, 'I just want to get one more drive, there's still plenty of time in the fourth quarter,' but a lot of times you're doing that because you want to preserve the shutout.
"I want the shutout as much as anybody. But what's more valuable? The shutout or getting those guys in there and letting them play valuable minutes and gaining experience?"
Add in the transfer portal, where guys could leave if they're not getting to play, it becomes even more important.
"On top of that, again, under the new model, guys want to feel like they're being developed and having an opportunity to play," Franklin said. "That's where out-of-conference scheduling is as important as it's ever been," to make sure younger guys can have chances to play.
* Heads up about Big Ten additions: Franklin actually knew before most everyone else about USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten, since Penn State AD Pat Kraft called and told him about it beforehand.
"It was either a day or two before it was announced publicly," Franklin disclosed. "So that was good to kind of have that conversation. I read some things and heard some things at Big Ten media days and other things where, I don't know if that was the case everywhere in the league. So that was great to be able to have that conversation and be prepared for it."
Adding the California schools could help Penn State with recruiting out that way, with Franklin noting it could help "get into some conversations that maybe you haven't been able to get into before from that region."
"When you add two universities and two schools like that to a conference, it should create some more opportunities for kids."
