James Franklin still waiting to publicly praise offensive line
Penn State head coach James Franklin stated during media days over the summer that he would be taking a different approach to his public comments on the offensive line. Rather than go all out in suggesting this could be the best year yet for the unit, Franklin has taken a step back and said he will hold off on going through that routine after a couple of tough seasons for the offensive line. But after a solid performance on the road at Auburn, was Franklin ready to change his tune publicly about the offensive line?
“Yeah, I’m still not ready. I’m going to hold off,” Franklin said during his regularly scheduled Tuesday press conference with the media. So much for that idea, but Franklin did make a note of the solid performance the offensive line had at Auburn that gave some protection for Sean Clifford and allowed the running game to do some good work on the ground.
“Obviously, I do think this past weekend with zero sacks and being able to run the ball the way we ran the ball and being on the road and handle crowd noise, which can be challenging for an offensive line, I do think it was a step in the right direction,” Franklin said.
“But we still have work to do and I’m still not ready to pound the table,” Franklin added. “But I probably won’t be all year long, because I know as soon as I say something positive, something won’t go well.”
Well, that’s a pessimistic approach, but it is grounded in recent history. The offensive line has had its inconsistencies these past few years and there have been times when it looks as though progress is being made only to be hit hard with a negative play that makes you realize there is still room for improvement.
Penn State being able to run the ball the way it has the past couple of weeks is an encouraging sign and it is a testament that there has been improvement up front. We shall see if that can continue these next two weeks at home against Central Michigan and Northwestern heading into the bye week.
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