Penn State opens spring practices with new defensive coordinator, revamped receiving corps

The first of 15 spring practices for Penn State on Tuesday evening will officially begin James Franklin’s 12th year at the helm, and the expectations have likely never been higher.

After making the College Football Playoff semifinals and falling just short against Notre Dame, much of Penn State’s roster from last season remains intact. New defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and running backs coach Stan Drayton join a staff that is largely similar to last season as well.

The process of figuring out who the Nittany Lions will be this fall begins this week. Just like in recent years, Penn State’s returning stars will have their practice reps managed in an effort to get better evaluations of players who don’t have a defined role yet in the program. Franklin said Tuesday that he anticipates “one if not two guys like that at every position that will have some form of a modification this spring.”

The Blue-White game is set for April 26, and although several programs across college football, including Texas, Ohio State, Nebraska, and Auburn, have decided to cancel their spring games, Franklin believes there’s still value in it, although it will be modified.

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“For me to, at any point, sit here and say, ‘We’re not going to have a spring game,’ I don’t think that would make sense for a ton of reasons,” Franklin said. “The university schedules a ton of fundraising events around the spring game. A lot of people are in town. It’s like a homecoming for the spring type of deal. So that’s going to factor in, always, into our decision making process.

“There’s some things that we will not do. The game will not be televised. … We will have a spring game, probably more similar to what we’ve had in the past. At least right now, as we go through these 15 days, that could change, but I could see it being maybe a little bit shorter.”

The Nittany Lions played more of a 4-3 base defense (four linemen, three linebackers) last season, but entering their first season under Knowles, they will move to a 4-2-5 scheme. It’s a scheme that Franklin’s defenses at Vanderbilt ran before he took the Penn State job, and the defensive system Knowles has utilized at Oklahoma State and Ohio State.

Part of the reason the Nittany Lions are going to that defensive model is the lack of experienced linebackers on the roster. Tony Rojas and Dom DeLuca will return for the 2025 season, but the group lost middle backer Kobe King to the NFL draft, and Franklin believes the roster as currently constructed “fits our personnel this year, and also fits with what Jim [Knowles] has liked to do in the past.”

“Jim has been doing it long enough to understand we got to get our best 11 guys on the field,” Franklin said. “At Oklahoma State and other places that may have been three safeties, at Penn State, that may be three corners, that may be three safeties. … I think that’s a little bit of this process right now. That’s why spring ball is important. It’s going to give Jim the ability, not only to install some of the changes that we’re making on defense, some of the tweaks that we’re making on defense, but also to evaluate our personnel, to say: How are we going to play at our best?”

For the fifth defensive back role, Franklin says the list of players who could play the nickel spot is coming from both the cornerback and safety groups.

Tyler Warren set school records last season as Penn State’s top receiving weapon, but with the tight end departing for the NFL, his production will need to be replaced this season.

Penn State’s group of receivers looks different from last year. Liam Clifford is the lone returning receiver who saw significant playing time. Kaden Saunders played just four games before missing the rest of the season with a foot injury, and rising sophomore Tyseer Denmark figures to compete for a bigger role in 2025.

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“If I’m wide receivers, I’m excited. If I’m tight ends, I’m excited because [Warren’s] production needs to go somewhere,” Franklin said. “The interesting thing is, the wide receivers need to understand they’re not just competing with the wide receivers. They’re competing with the running backs: Who’s going to get the touches? They’re competing with the tight ends: Who’s going to get the touches? … At the end of the day, we’ve got to make sure that we’re getting our best players the ball. ... We’re going to have to make sure we have enough of those people.”

Through the transfer portal, the Nittany Lions added Troy receiver Devonte Ross, who finished last season with 1,043 yards and 11 touchdowns, and Southern Cal receiver Kyron Hudson, who caught five touchdown passes in the last two seasons. When asked what stood out most about both receivers, Franklin was plenty complimentary about Ross’ 142-yard performance against Iowa last season.

“Whoever you talk to from [Hudson’s] high school, whoever you talk to from his previous institution and on our current team, everybody just loves the guy,” Franklin said. “Tremendous work ethic. Obviously made some big-time plays. Everybody saw the huge catch he made against LSU, the one-hand catch.

“With Ross, very different scenario, different body type, different school he came from. … And that young man, I think Troy was beating Iowa at the half at Iowa, which we know that’s a tough place to play, and in that game, I think he had two touchdowns on offense and one as a punt return on special teams. So for him to do it against that type of opponent on that stage, [it] gave you a lot of confidence that that could translate to us.”