Penn State coach James Franklin met with the media for the final time before his team’s trip to Minnesota on Wednesday evening. The first question he asked focuses on why he said Monday he doesn’t believe the quarterback Drew Allar gets plenty of credit for the season he is having.

“If I wanted to go into those details at that time, obviously I would have talked about it,” Franklin said. “But I have no interest in going into that now.”

Next up was a question about the progress the second-year Nittany Lions cornerback has made thus far Audvaion Collins.

“Yeah, he’s a kid who transitioned into the program. When he came here he was 165 pounds, and he’s just embraced everything we asked him to do,” Franklin said. “He puts in the effort in the weight room every day at practice, has a big smile on his face and has really taken a big step forward in competitive periods during the spring and training camp.

“We felt like he could help us this year. He’s just a kid who really thinks that’s what we ask of our guys. I think he likes it here and he’s one of those guys where he’s really loved. As he continues to get opportunities and make plays, you’ll see his role continue to grow. He’s so close to making big plays for us. We are big fans of his.”

Read everything else Franklin said Wednesday and watch the video of his press conference below.

On Tom Allen not getting enough credit for how well Penn State’s defense is playing

“I think what happens sometimes is I don’t care what profession you are in, depending on who you follow plays a role in how you are perceived,” Franklin said. “He follows Manny Diaz, and we had one of the best defenses in the country, so come here, and I think we were somewhere between 2, 3 or 4 defensively, so unless you’re one, that’s not the case . I don’t feel like you’ve gotten much better.

“But I think he’s done a really good job of coming here and adapting. We have one of the best defenses in the country. I think our defense is our most highly regarded unit. And no one is talking about it. I think he’s done a really good job, he’s been a head coach for a long time and has moved back into a defensive coordinator role, and the staff and team have been great. Sticking with a lot of the things we’ve done and then putting his own stamp on it. He probably had the heaviest following. Give him a lot of credit. Very different personality and approach. But I think he’s doing a great job, and so is our entire defensive staff.”

On why former Penn State center Ty Howle is a good fit as tight ends coach

“Well, first of all, he’s the son of a high school coach,” Franklin said. “So he knows the ball. He likes ball. He studies it. So if you look at his background, I think he has a chance to be a coordinator one day. He studies the game. And often coaches live in their world or their box, and they know their responsibility, but the rest doesn’t. And he has always been a student of the game. But I think the other thing is I’m a big fan of o-line coaches at the tight end position. Because of all these tight ends, they want to run routes and catch balls, and most of them did that in high school, but you need someone to develop them as a blocker as well.

“So I just think you can’t have enough o-line guys on your staff, you can’t have enough quarterback guys on your staff, because they see the big picture. But the fact that that’s usually the area where tight end coaches and tight ends in general lag can be seen in the running game, because a lot of them are receiver or tight end guys, and it’s all about what they do in the passing game.

“Very similar to my argument with all these awards. It’s just based on catches, you know? And if it’s the receiver’s accolade, then I get it, but if it’s not, it has to be about being a complete tight end and I think blocking is part of the job description.

About Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter is a Lombardi Award finalist

“Yeah, he’s very, very disruptive, and he has plays that flash,” Franklin said. “Whether you’re a true football fan and someone who really studies the game, he has plays that really flash. But even if you’re not, he has plays that make you think, ‘wow, those are impressive plays.’ I think it took him some time to feel comfortable on the defensive line and especially on defense. But he is a disruptive player.

“When you talk about tackles for loss, you talk about sacks, you talk about pressures, and you talk about offensive coordinators spending all week thinking about how they’re going to manipulate their protection to deal with him, he’s an impact player.

‘The great thing is that he is on these lists for these awards. The bad thing is that none of these awards have adapted to the new college football. And all these prizes are still during the season, when we all play. They want you to come to the awards, but we’ve been rehearsing, so some of the awards have gone virtual, or they’ve moved the actual awards banquet to after the season. I think a lot of these awards are going to have to look at it and as the college football model is changing, they’re going to have to adapt as well.”

On dealing with the portal and the early signing period during a Playoff push

“That’s where having a larger staff is helpful,” Franklin said. “I think there’s a lot of discussion about people seeing the size of the workforce. I don’t know how you do today without that. But not only that, it’s not just about size. They must be really very qualified people. We are lucky here. We have a group of people who have been with us for a long time, and they work on those things. That’s what they do 16 to 18 hours a day.

“So you know, even the day of the signing will be different. For example, we’ll have a signing day, and usually that’s the entire staff. (This year) me and the recruiting staff and the rest of the coaches will be doing the game planning and all that stuff. So we’ll take some time every week where me and those guys will organize it, and then we’ll get the coaches involved in the part of the conversation that they need to be a part of. But make sure it’s already organized and ready to go so we can be as efficient as possible.

“And then we usually try to do it late in the week, like Thursday and Friday, when most of the game planning and everything is done. We try to do it, but it takes a lot of organization, vision and communication to ensure that everyone is on the same page. And I hear that, and Andy Frank hears, and Kenny (Sanders hears) from our staff to make sure we formulate the best plan based on all the information we have.”

Based on the Big Ten and CFP stories in 2024

“I think it’s interesting because there’s a battle going on right now, you know, in terms of the narrative of college football, about who should be in it, right? We’ve talked about this before,” Franklin said. ‘There were four, and everyone was arguing: we have to go to twelve. We have to go to twelve. And what happens? Everyone says 14, 15, 16 are fucked. And we were talking about the basketball tournament, right? How many are those? 68 and what happens there? Sixty-nine and 70 (think they should be in there). So this is part of it. But I will say this. I mean, obviously I’m worried about Penn State, and obviously I’m worried about the Big Ten. But I’m one of the few guys who has been a head coach in both conferences.

Penn State Practice Notes: Foul | Defense

“And for me, the right thing to talk about is: the two best conferences in all of college football are the Big Ten and the SEC. And we should have the most teams. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. I think it becomes problematic when you have rules for certain teams and certain conferences to get in, and maybe people don’t feel like they’re actually in the top twelve. So I understand.

“We are lucky. We are part of the two conferences that I think everyone would agree are the two strongest conferences. I don’t think we should shoot at the SEC in the Big Ten, because that’s been proven over time, and I don’t think the SEC should shoot at the Big Ten. We’re in a very, very good position, both conferences. I don’t think there is any argument. And the reality is, whether people’s feelings are hurt or not, these two conferences should have the largest numbers and the largest presence in the Playoffs because we’ve earned that all season long.”

On how Penn State will handle Minnesota’s turnover-driven defense

“The metrics we talk about week in and week out are turnover ratio and explosive play ratio,” Franklin said. “And those two things will be crucial on Saturday. And with a team doing very well on turnover ratio, that will be a factor. An important factor in the game. We protected the football well. We will have to continue to do that.

“And the area that I think we can get better at, which we talked about a week or two ago, is creating some of those revenues as well. So you know, I give PJ (Fleck) a lot of credit. He grew up a bit professional, just like me. Before you can learn how to win, you must first learn how not to lose games. And there are certain things that defeat you. And that’s turning the ball over, and that’s giving up explosive plays, and that’s not playing with a lot of effort.”