ALTOONA, Pa. -- I reached out to Dejan Kovacevic in the middle of August last year, wondering if he might be interested in expanding the site's Penn State football coverage. He liked the idea, brought me on board and provided me with the perfect outlet for the kind of Nittany Lions coverage I like to provide.
Fast forward to today -- my one-year anniversary of starting at DKPS -- I can happily report that things are only going to get better with our Penn State coverage this season.
First and foremost, I'll be traveling to every road game, which I did for my first 15 years on this beat. That will start with the season opener one week from today at Purdue, and also include a trip to Auburn in a few weeks, something I'm greatly looking forward to after thoroughly enjoying my last trip to Alabama for the 2010 game against the Crimson Tide.
I haven't been able to go on the road much the past two seasons, first because of COVID in 2020 and then other issues last season, so getting back to that aspect of coverage will be a welcome change.
Before I get into some other new aspects of the coverage plan, let me tell you what will not change about my Penn State coverage.
I'm gonna tell you the truth. Period. I'm not here to sugarcoat things, glorify everything or tell you only what you want to hear about your favorite football team. One of the things that separates me from most other Penn State writers is that I am primarily a columnist/analyst who doesn't shy away from taking a stance on something if it needs to be addressed.
Most writers on the beat are primarily news gatherers, meaning they primarily do the "just the facts, ma'am" kind of thing. There are many, many fantastic sports journalists on this beat, and they all do excellent work. But there are differences in how we go about our jobs, and since I'm really a columnist/analyst first and foremost, I feel that cutting to the chase and telling you why something happened or how it will impact the big picture is more important than just presenting only facts with little or no overriding context.
Some Penn State fans think I'm too critical of the program. OK, fine. I'll accept that criticism. But when the team is losing, it's my job to tell you why and what's to blame for it, not to try and comfort you with story after story about how, "Oh, everything is going to be OK, don't worry about it."
I hold Penn State to an extremely high standard, which is exactly the way it should be for one of the most storied programs in this country. Diehard Nittany Lions fans also hold their team to an extremely high standard and don't accept the kind of mediocrity we've seen the past two years.
As I've said numerous times during my career, my coverage and writing style are not for everyone. If you don't like the things I focus on, then we all know full well that there are dozens and dozens of other outlets that cover the program where you can get just about any kind of coverage you prefer.
If you're reading me, I'd like to think it's because you know I'm going to cut to the chase and tell it like it is.
And that's good or bad.
If the program is doing well, which it has for several of the years I've been on the beat starting in 2006, then you should know that I am often full of praise for players, coaches or anyone else who deserves it. Whether others will agree with this or not, in my mind, I've always covered Penn State fairly -- through the good and bad times.
OK, so what can readers expect now in year two? Let's take a look:
MORE FOCUS ON FOOTBALL
Last year was mostly about James Franklin. It was immediately clear when USC fired Clay Helton on Sept. 14 that Franklin's name would be closely attached to that job opening all season. It put a cloud over everything the Penn State program was doing, and things only got worse as time went on and the LSU job also became a possibility.
Now Franklin has a 10-year contract. He's not going anywhere for a long time. So expect more stories about actual football stuff -- the players, the schemes, the coaching, etc.
Franklin needs to get off to a good start this season, or else there will be a whole bunch of criticism about his coaching -- from me, from you, and from everyone.
MORE FOCUS ON FUTURE
This has to do with the transfer portal and NIL, because let's face it, those things have changed college football dramatically -- and will continue to do so.
Programs that don't have a plan for how to handle NIL and how to navigate the portal will struggle. That's just all there is to it.
Specifically, I will focus heavily on younger players getting opportunities to play, and why that is so, so important in today's college football landscape. For instance, there will be an ongoing focus on freshman Drew Allar and how the program handles him, because Penn State cannot afford to have the No. 1 QB recruit in the nation grow frustrated and transfer.
As I've already written about extensively, if Penn State gets off to a slow start, Franklin will have to consider pulling Sean Clifford in favor of Allar or Christian Veilleux and start playing for the future. But can a coach whose primary focus is a 1-0 mentality each week actually make that kind of move? It'll be interesting to see.
PLAYER FEATURES
You may have already noticed that I've written more player features in the past couple of months than usual. Look for that to continue.
On one condition: You guys gotta show me that you want to read those kinds of stories.
I always hear from readers about how they want to read more about a certain player and his background. But you know what happens? When I write stories about a given player, readership for those stories is almost always way down compared to columns or analysis pieces.
I want to write what's neat, what's important and what needs to be written. But ultimately, you folks will tell me what you want to read by, you know, actually clicking on the stories.
THE ALTOONA DATELINE
I've been asked about this a good bit, so just so everyone knows ...
I live 45 minutes away from Penn State. I do not make the 90-mile round trip drive to go cover a press conference that lasts 10 minutes and can be found in video form online. I try to work smarter, not harder, and strive to be efficient with my time. Most media around the state that cover the Nittany Lions do not make the drive to State College for all the press conferences, but rather cover them by phone, Zoom or online video.
Sure, we miss some small things here and there that the State College media will pick up on. That's the way it goes. But if anything big happens, all of us are all over it as quickly as possible. It's been that way forever on this beat, which encompasses the entire state rather than just one city.
BASKETBALL AND WRESTLING
When I came on board here, I had hoped to do a lot with these, especially basketball. It hasn't worked out that way, unfortunately, since the readership numbers just aren't there and the time commitment to do them the right way wouldn't be efficient.
I'm still hopeful some of this will change over the next year, again, especially with hoops since college basketball is my favorite sport.
READER INTERACTION
I'm saving the best part, for me anyway, for last: I absolutely love the interaction with readers in the comments section here at DKPS.
You guys make this job a whole lot better, being able to read your thoughts and get your feedback on stories and issues. Of all the great things DK has established on this site, having actively engaged, passionate fans commenting with respect and having quality discussions is probably my favorite aspect.
So, I'll keep writing stories and giving my opinions. Whether you agree or disagree, always feel free to discuss in the comments. I'll be reading them and will chime in when necessary.
Now, on to Year 2!