What James Franklin learned after visiting New England Patriots practices
Penn State head coach James Franklin and some of his assistants recently took some time to visit and observe how the New England Patriots operate, and the experience may already be paying off for the Nittany Lions.
Franklin discussed his recent visit to the Patriots this summer and what he has brought back from his observations of how the franchise operates under the leadership of future hall of fame head coach Bill Belichick.
“So we went up, and Coach Belichick was phenomenal to us.” Franklin said when asked about the trip during Penn State’s media day press conference. “We were there for about two days. We were in all the meetings, the individual meetings, the unit meetings, the team meetings. We were out at practice. We were at training table with them. They grind pretty good during OTAs, so we were there from early in the morning until late at night.”
Belichick is obviously a good coach to take notes from. The head coach of the Patriots has helped lead the team to six NFL championships, and he has a pair of other Super Bowl championship rings as a top assistant for Bill Parcells with the New York Giants. The three-time AP NFL coach of the year obviously runs a well-managed ship, even if things have veered a bit offline since the departure of Tom Brady a few years ago.
But as orchestrated as everything Belichick does with his routine with the Patriots, he still managed to catch Franklin and Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz a bit off guard when he asked them to address his team.
“Me and Manny were kind of caught off-guard because he had Manny and myself address the team after practice,” Franklin recalled. “I’m like, you know, what the hell does Belichick want us to say to the Patriots? But it was great. We had a phenomenal experience.”
And the experience of observing the Patriots during OTAs has led to a new technique already showing up at Penn State football practices in preparing for the upcoming 2023 season. And it’s one players likely hate the most.
“One of the things that we are doing right now that the Patriots did, that we’re now doing, that our players don’t like, is you jump offsides, you’re out,” Franklin said. “You lose your rep and you’ve got to run a lap around the field. The Patriots did that, and we are doing it now.”
Penn State was in the middle of the Big Ten in total penalties in 2022, so anything that can help prevent a couple of extra penalties per game could be one of the small things that makes a difference in any single game. If this punishment helps, then it will absolutely be worth it!
Franklin hopes the coaches taking time to watch others in their craft perform at a high level is seen by his players as leading by example by showing the coaches are doing whatever it takes to improve themselves for the sake of the team.
“I also think it shows the players, we are asking them to improve,” Franklin explained. “I want them to understand that we are trying to improve every single day and we’re lifelong learners, not only in football but in life, trying to get better and trying to be the best versions of ourselves every single day for our families, for our wives and children, but also for our players.”
Penn State kicks off the 2023 season with a primetime matchup on NBC with West Virginia on Saturday, September 2.
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