ALTOONA, Pa. -- It sounds as if Penn State's depth chart is pretty close to being finalized, with the season opener at Purdue now just eight days away.
James Franklin discussed ins and outs of how the depth chart comes together following practice Tuesday night, and it's some pretty interesting stuff, especially if you're into the nerdy data and nitty gritty of how things work within a team.
We'll get to the specifics of what Franklin said about that stuff in a bit.
With regards to the depth chart itself, we're not likely to see one prior to the season opener. And we're not likely to see one -- at all -- for the entire season, either, assuming Penn State continues the policy started last year of not releasing depth charts to the public.
It begs the obvious question: Why doesn't Penn State release a depth chart?
But in all honesty, this should be the more obvious question: Why would ANY college program ever want to release a depth chart?
It really makes no sense, if you think about it, to disclose to opponents which players are on your two- or three-deep, which only makes it easier for opponents to prepare for you. The way things are now in major college football, with programs having literally dozens and dozens of analysts and support staff, you can bet on the fact that there are folks within every program whose job it is to find out everything they can on each guy who might play in the game.
So, why make it easier by handing them a depth chart pointing out the main guys who will be playing?
Well, because FANS want to see a depth chart, you might say. Shouldn't that be enough reason to release one?
LMFAO!
C'mon, coaches don't have to care what fans want anymore, especially at a place like Penn State, where fans will show up regardless. Coaches control everything in these programs, so if they don't want to give updates on injured players or release a depth chart, then that's just how it's gonna be.
Now look, obviously, once the season goes on, opponents -- and fans -- know which players are going to be playing for Penn State anyway. Opposing coaches all watch film, note who's in the game for each play and situation, and will evaluate the Nittany Lion players on their own.
But for a season opener, or even the first few games of a season, there's no benefit at all of just handing over a list of guys you expect to play.
I actually can't believe it took this long for Franklin and many other college coaches to figure this out and decide to nix depth charts. An occasional team here and there stopped doing it several years back, then Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh decided in 2016 to stop releasing depth charts.
Why?
"I saw the depth chart, etc. I was trying to imagine how many people sat around and how many hours they worked on that," Harbaugh said back in 2016. "We found, when it comes to the depth chart, modern technology seems to make the depth chart an outdated task by about 20 years. We found that studying last week's film of the opponent is the most accurate way of determining another team's depth chart."
Now, since Harbaugh is Harbaugh and likes to do bizarre things, the following year, he refused to even list Michigan's roster before the season. It was stupid, and he was called out by many in the media at the time. The Wolverines' full roster wasn't updated until three days before the season opener.
That's taking it too far, but again, that's just how Harbaugh rolls.
One year ago, Franklin explained why Penn State wouldn't be releasing a depth chart.
“We’ve always released a depth chart," he said. "I really don’t have a strong opinion either way. There’s been multiple schools in the conference that haven’t been releasing it for a number of years. This year, we found out that Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State and Purdue either were not releasing it or were thinking about not releasing it, so it just didn’t make sense for us to do it if others weren’t.”
Maybe Franklin will reverse course this year and decide to release a depth chart. But don't count on it. There are a bunch of sites that cover Penn State football, and most do their own preseason depth chart estimates based on what we know, so it's not like there are going to be huge surprises.
Unless they've got a linebacker returning kicks. (Wink wink to Bill O'Brien and Gerald Hodges.)
DATA DRIVEN
Franklin was asked Tuesday if this time of year brings about tough conversations once position battles are finalized and the internal depth chart is formed.
"Oh, they're tough conversations," he said. "They're tough to have as a coach. They're tough to have as a player to hear. I would also say that for all of us -- and coaches and players specifically -- being self aware, I think, is a really important trait to have. It allows you to grow if you're self aware, and 90 percent of the conversations, they should see it if they're being honest with themselves. But as we all know, that's not always the strength of everybody is being self aware."
OK, so how do the Lions decide who wins a starting job, or who is where on the depth chart? That's where Franklin gave a nerdy, yet informative answer that reveals just how complex the whole process is nowadays with so many analysts poring over so much data that's collected on every player in each practice.
"We've done a better job over the last couple of years, and we have all the data from every competitive period of every practice, whether it's a team period, whether it's a 7-on-7 period, whether it's an individual one-on-one rush.
"So, we have all that data for two things. Number one, so the coach has the data to back up what his gut is telling him -- I think this guy's a starter, I think this guy is the backup, I think this guy is third on the depth chart, and not only do I feel that way, but the data backs it up. It's also with missed assignments and mental errors and those types of things. But that's also valuable to show the kid. The kid says, 'I don't get it. What do you mean?' Well, here's the data.
"I think the data is powerful because it's very black and white. And most of them, they're not judgment. Like, one-on-one pass rush, there's a little judgment. But one-on-one receiver and DB, you either caught the ball or you didn't. So, it's pretty black and white. I do think that's valuable."
The last thing Franklin mentioned on the subject was that, no matter how much the coaches try to justify with players where they stand, based on data or whatever else, it's still not always easy for everyone to accept if it's not what they want to hear.
"(The discussions) don't always go perfect either with them, or sometimes their parents or high school coaches. But this isn't Little League. We're gonna play the best guys. It's really that simple. There's always gonna be some hurt feelings for some of the conversations we have to have, but I think it's fine. That means you care. That means you're invested. But then you gotta move on."