DisruptU PSU Presents Quite Franklin and in this conversation, LaVar Arrington and Penn State Football Head Coach James Franklin discuss the recent UCLA game, focusing on the team's performance, areas for improvement, and the challenges of starting games slowly. They analyze the strengths of the offensive and defensive lines, the impact of travel on game preparation, and the significance of the upcoming game against USC. The discussion highlights the tactical approaches taken by the team and the importance of maintaining a consistent routine amidst challenges.
Takeaways
•Finding different ways to win each week is crucial.
•Slow starts may be a tactical approach to wear down opponents.
•The offensive line is more physical this year compared to last.
•Maintaining a consistent routine is key when traveling for games.
•The team is optimistic about Nick Singleton's return.
•Kaytron Allen has stepped up significantly in Singleton's absence.
•The defense has been impressive in the second half of games.
•USC presents a significant challenge with their talented roster.
•Home field advantage is a critical factor in college football.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up? Everybody's LeVar Arrington.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Here, we got takeaways from the u c l A.
We got traveling to the West Coast State College Airport.
I love it as ce, but man, we could use
a bigger runway.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
I'll tell you that.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Listen, we're gonna talk health of the team, Nick Singleton, Uh,
our fronts, defensive, offensive fronts. We got a lot to
get to in a little bit of time. Buckle up,
buckle in. It's quite Franklin with coach James Franklin, myself
the Hall of Fame or Penn State legend. Yeah, LeVar Arrington,
here we go, coming straight at you.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Let's go takeaways from the u c l A game.
What what what you got? What?
Speaker 2 (00:43):
What did you see that was good? What can the
team improve on? What was your take?
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:48):
I think again we're finding different ways to win each week,
which I think is important. You know, good teams are
gonna have to find different ways throughout a season to winn.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
I think we're doing that.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
When you talk about finding out just before kick that
you don't have Nick Singleton one of our pieces of
our puzzle. That's an important piece. Uh, And our guys
responded really well. Next man up, whether that's k Tron
taking on a bigger loader, whether that was Quintin. I
thought that was a positive that we handled that.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
I thought that.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Liam Clifford seeing now that there's another weapon that they're
gonna have to deal with, here's another guy that could
hurt you in the passing game.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
I thought that was a positive.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
And then obviously just the way that our defense has
been playing in the third quarter and really in the
second half has been has been very impressive. And then
our field goal kicker being able to go in and
make make a couple of big kicks.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
Was important for us as well. So we got to
start out better.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
I think that's gonna be really important for us to
start out better really in all three phases.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
But besides that, a ton of good things to learn from.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
It's interesting that you says start out better.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
The question that I got a million times over after
this last game and just kind of in.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Weeks past was why do we start so slow? Now?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
My reasoning was this, I think it's a slow drip.
I think this team, now that I've gotten an opportunity
to really really assess and watch the games over and
over again on my own time and at my own speed.
We we tend to have a our offense. Our offense
is not doing it. It's not starting slow. In my opinion,
(02:35):
we're I think we're beaten up. We're beaten teams down
while we're figuring out what we want to do. And listen,
I don't want to call I don't want to call
you out. I'm right there with you on the sideline.
If somebody doesn't know that you have a method in
a rhyme and a reason, then they're not paying attention.
Because I watched you take the clock all the way down,
(02:58):
hit the time out.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
And then go score or the next play.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
So clearly, you guys are getting a feel for what
it is that's taking place, and there's a method to it.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
It's the slow start of method.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Now our defense, it's like the offenses start a little
quick on our defenses. I feel like we could do
a little better earlier on in the games, but it
just it appears that we're figuring out what they're doing.
And once we figure out what they're doing, it goes
lights out. It goes from they have some success to
(03:31):
really really dominant play by our defense. Am I am
I off for sitting there saying that I'm looking at
how our coordinators and how our coach is work and
how you're you're operating this it's a slow drip like
maybe it's not a quick it ain't a quick one,
but I'd rather you be a counterpuncher than somebody that
comes out and gives it everything you got and you
(03:51):
don't have anything left for when the game is really
on the line. Is that a fair assessment? Yeah, I
think that's fair.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
I mean the way we're running the ball and the
way we're dominating lines of scrimmage, we're beating people up,
and I think those body blows after, you know, after
a couple of quarters, they wear on you.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
So I think that's definitely fair.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
And I think even defensively, when we say we don't
start fast, we may give up some drives and we
may give up some yards, but we're not giving up points,
which is really the most important thing.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
So I think all that is fair.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
But I do think we can be a little bit
more effective earlier on and that will help us in
today's college football.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
So you talked about beating them up and it was
k Tron's game. First of all, is how is Nick?
Is he how's he feeling? Are we going to have him?
You know, I don't know if you are able to
answer that, I don't know. Is he a day to
day what we got going on with Nick?
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Yeah, we anticipate him back.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
He practiced yesterday full go, but what I expected him
last week.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
But the difference is he didn't practice last Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
You know, he practiced Tuesday, but I literally didn't find
out until right.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Before game time. So I think we're in a much
better position there.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
And obviously his explosive play potential is big, not only
for our offense, but also it impacts the defense and
how they call things and how they how they guard.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Us, and D and K Tron, like you said, did
do an amazing job jumping in.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
There is this offensive line?
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Where does this It's a better offensive line than last year?
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (05:33):
My assessment these and that that's not to detract from
last year's group, because I mean, obviously we had some
special dudes on that team. I feel like this year's
offensive line, and hell I had on even this year's
defensive line. I think these are better. These are better
units up front than than what I've seen. What's your
(05:55):
take on them?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Well, I think we're more physical, specific physical offense line
and tight physical the way our running backs are running
the ball.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
I think we're more physical.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
And then defensively, I do think we're better at de tackle,
which we've been pretty explosive at the defensive end position
for a number of years. But you know, we're more
effective and more productive at the defensive tackle position right now.
So I think that's helping us as much as anything,
be more of a you know, an impact on the game.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Up front.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
It's been impressive watching how physical this offensive front is.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
I got to tell you, it's like.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
It's it's big tim ball, like they are coming off
of that ball.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
I really have enjoyed.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Watching how our offensive line has played heading into this week.
We got USC. It's a big game, and now you
guys have to do what UCLA did. You guys got
to go back in time, right, you got to go
three hours back. You gotta get here in on the
West coast. I'm here on the West coast, and you
(07:03):
got to get used to the weather. You got to
get used to the time change. How are you preparing
for that in such a big game against USC?
Speaker 5 (07:13):
Well, I think the biggest thing is try to keep
our routine is as consistent as possible, which is easier
said than done when you're you know, when you're having
to deal with the things that you just mentioned.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
So uh, for us, because of where we're located in
the airport and things like that, we are going to
leave on Thursday, and and that will allow us to
get there, get into our normal routine and treat things,
you know, uh in a similar fashion that we have
all year long. But the travel is impactful and we
(07:45):
want to make sure we get out there, get comfortable,
do what we need to do on Thursday, and then
wake up and go through our normal Friday routine. So
I think that will be helpful for us, but it's
a challenge. I think there's no doubt about it. And
if you look at USC their home record compared to
their away record, you know, obviously it's it's impactful for
(08:06):
them as well.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
So we're not going to make a big deal out
of it.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
We're just going to get out there and get back
to our normal routine and get our guys prepared to
go play a game on the road in the coliseum.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
My last question to you in terms of moving forward
and having this big, big of a game. How do
you approach a game where obviously there's connections and ties.
I tell people all the time, is a beautiful thing
that we were able for what it's worth to keep
you from going to USC. I live out here and
(08:40):
I'm very very well connected to this community out here
on the West Coast, and I heard a lot of
what was going on and who they wanted to bring in,
And your name was a name that continued to be
a name that was coming up. And I said, it
be the biggest loss. It would possibly be the biggest
loss in college football if James Franklin were to be
(09:02):
taken away from Penn State to go coach at USC.
Now you come into a scenario where they're a part
of the Big Ten and your first time seeing them
as a Big Ten opponent. They they're at home, you're
traveling there. How do you personally, how are you approaching
this game knowing the magnitude of playing against another traditional team,
(09:27):
but also knowing that this was a team that really
really was super interested in trying to get you there
to fill the void that they had at one point
in time.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Yeah, I think for us, you know, I try to
keep things as normal and as routine as possible. This
is a talented roster and we've addressed that with the team,
maybe the most talented roster we've played up to this point.
They've had a couple tough losses. So this is a
team that is going to be very motivated and they
(09:58):
have the talent about and we're gonna need to be
ready to go. I don't think there's anything that you know,
there's any doubt about that. All those other things obviously
we don't. We don't worry about or concern ourselves with.
I'm just focused on our team, getting our guys ready
to play against a talented team, a team that's got.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Great history and tradition just like we do.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Uh. And they're playing at home, and as you guys,
as you know, LeVar, there's a home field advantage that
is significant, whether it's the NFL or college, and we
need to make sure that we're ready to deal with it.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Coach, good luck to you.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
I appreciate the time as always, And uh, yeah, come on,
let's let's get some palm trees and take some palms
back in and pass them out, you know, after a
big victory.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
We'll see you soon, brother, We're coming to you.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
This is quite franklin. And you know what, I'll tell
you what. It's gonna be a big game, but I
think this is big shoes that these guys are feeling.
So stay tuned, looking forward to it. This is quite franklin.
We'll catch you next week. Make sure you check it
out with this refute as you go to the Penn
State website as well the sports site, so that you
can see what's going on all things Penn State.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
We'll check you out, all right, Hey, all right, then
we are
What's up? Everybody's LeVar Arrington.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Here, we got takeaways from the u c l A.
We got traveling to the West Coast State College Airport.
I love it as ce, but man, we could use
a bigger runway.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
I'll tell you that.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Listen, we're gonna talk health of the team, Nick Singleton, Uh,
our fronts, defensive, offensive fronts. We got a lot to
get to in a little bit of time. Buckle up,
buckle in. It's quite Franklin with coach James Franklin, myself
the Hall of Fame or Penn State legend. Yeah, LeVar Arrington,
here we go, coming straight at you.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Let's go takeaways from the u c l A game.
What what what you got? What?
Speaker 2 (00:43):
What did you see that was good? What can the
team improve on? What was your take?
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:48):
I think again we're finding different ways to win each week,
which I think is important. You know, good teams are
gonna have to find different ways throughout a season to winn.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
I think we're doing that.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
When you talk about finding out just before kick that
you don't have Nick Singleton one of our pieces of
our puzzle. That's an important piece. Uh, And our guys
responded really well. Next man up, whether that's k Tron
taking on a bigger loader, whether that was Quintin. I
thought that was a positive that we handled that.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
I thought that.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Liam Clifford seeing now that there's another weapon that they're
gonna have to deal with, here's another guy that could
hurt you in the passing game.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
I thought that was a positive.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
And then obviously just the way that our defense has
been playing in the third quarter and really in the
second half has been has been very impressive. And then
our field goal kicker being able to go in and
make make a couple of big kicks.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
Was important for us as well. So we got to
start out better.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
I think that's gonna be really important for us to
start out better really in all three phases.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
But besides that, a ton of good things to learn from.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
It's interesting that you says start out better.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
The question that I got a million times over after
this last game and just kind of in.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Weeks past was why do we start so slow? Now?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
My reasoning was this, I think it's a slow drip.
I think this team, now that I've gotten an opportunity
to really really assess and watch the games over and
over again on my own time and at my own speed.
We we tend to have a our offense. Our offense
is not doing it. It's not starting slow. In my opinion,
(02:35):
we're I think we're beaten up. We're beaten teams down
while we're figuring out what we want to do. And listen,
I don't want to call I don't want to call
you out. I'm right there with you on the sideline.
If somebody doesn't know that you have a method in
a rhyme and a reason, then they're not paying attention.
Because I watched you take the clock all the way down,
(02:58):
hit the time out.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
And then go score or the next play.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
So clearly, you guys are getting a feel for what
it is that's taking place, and there's a method to it.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
It's the slow start of method.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Now our defense, it's like the offenses start a little
quick on our defenses. I feel like we could do
a little better earlier on in the games, but it
just it appears that we're figuring out what they're doing.
And once we figure out what they're doing, it goes
lights out. It goes from they have some success to
(03:31):
really really dominant play by our defense. Am I am
I off for sitting there saying that I'm looking at
how our coordinators and how our coach is work and
how you're you're operating this it's a slow drip like
maybe it's not a quick it ain't a quick one,
but I'd rather you be a counterpuncher than somebody that
comes out and gives it everything you got and you
(03:51):
don't have anything left for when the game is really
on the line. Is that a fair assessment? Yeah, I
think that's fair.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
I mean the way we're running the ball and the
way we're dominating lines of scrimmage, we're beating people up,
and I think those body blows after, you know, after
a couple of quarters, they wear on you.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
So I think that's definitely fair.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
And I think even defensively, when we say we don't
start fast, we may give up some drives and we
may give up some yards, but we're not giving up points,
which is really the most important thing.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
So I think all that is fair.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
But I do think we can be a little bit
more effective earlier on and that will help us in
today's college football.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
So you talked about beating them up and it was
k Tron's game. First of all, is how is Nick?
Is he how's he feeling? Are we going to have him?
You know, I don't know if you are able to
answer that, I don't know. Is he a day to
day what we got going on with Nick?
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Yeah, we anticipate him back.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
He practiced yesterday full go, but what I expected him
last week.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
But the difference is he didn't practice last Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
You know, he practiced Tuesday, but I literally didn't find
out until right.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Before game time. So I think we're in a much
better position there.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
And obviously his explosive play potential is big, not only
for our offense, but also it impacts the defense and
how they call things and how they how they guard.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Us, and D and K Tron, like you said, did
do an amazing job jumping in.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
There is this offensive line?
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Where does this It's a better offensive line than last year?
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (05:33):
My assessment these and that that's not to detract from
last year's group, because I mean, obviously we had some
special dudes on that team. I feel like this year's
offensive line, and hell I had on even this year's
defensive line. I think these are better. These are better
units up front than than what I've seen. What's your
(05:55):
take on them?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Well, I think we're more physical, specific physical offense line
and tight physical the way our running backs are running
the ball.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
I think we're more physical.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
And then defensively, I do think we're better at de tackle,
which we've been pretty explosive at the defensive end position
for a number of years. But you know, we're more
effective and more productive at the defensive tackle position right now.
So I think that's helping us as much as anything,
be more of a you know, an impact on the game.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Up front.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
It's been impressive watching how physical this offensive front is.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
I got to tell you, it's like.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
It's it's big tim ball, like they are coming off
of that ball.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
I really have enjoyed.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Watching how our offensive line has played heading into this week.
We got USC. It's a big game, and now you
guys have to do what UCLA did. You guys got
to go back in time, right, you got to go
three hours back. You gotta get here in on the
West coast. I'm here on the West coast, and you
(07:03):
got to get used to the weather. You got to
get used to the time change. How are you preparing
for that in such a big game against USC?
Speaker 5 (07:13):
Well, I think the biggest thing is try to keep
our routine is as consistent as possible, which is easier
said than done when you're you know, when you're having
to deal with the things that you just mentioned.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
So uh, for us, because of where we're located in
the airport and things like that, we are going to
leave on Thursday, and and that will allow us to
get there, get into our normal routine and treat things,
you know, uh in a similar fashion that we have
all year long. But the travel is impactful and we
(07:45):
want to make sure we get out there, get comfortable,
do what we need to do on Thursday, and then
wake up and go through our normal Friday routine. So
I think that will be helpful for us, but it's
a challenge. I think there's no doubt about it. And
if you look at USC their home record compared to
their away record, you know, obviously it's it's impactful for
(08:06):
them as well.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
So we're not going to make a big deal out
of it.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
We're just going to get out there and get back
to our normal routine and get our guys prepared to
go play a game on the road in the coliseum.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
My last question to you in terms of moving forward
and having this big, big of a game. How do
you approach a game where obviously there's connections and ties.
I tell people all the time, is a beautiful thing
that we were able for what it's worth to keep
you from going to USC. I live out here and
(08:40):
I'm very very well connected to this community out here
on the West Coast, and I heard a lot of
what was going on and who they wanted to bring in,
And your name was a name that continued to be
a name that was coming up. And I said, it
be the biggest loss. It would possibly be the biggest
loss in college football if James Franklin were to be
(09:02):
taken away from Penn State to go coach at USC.
Now you come into a scenario where they're a part
of the Big Ten and your first time seeing them
as a Big Ten opponent. They they're at home, you're
traveling there. How do you personally, how are you approaching
this game knowing the magnitude of playing against another traditional team,
(09:27):
but also knowing that this was a team that really
really was super interested in trying to get you there
to fill the void that they had at one point
in time.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Yeah, I think for us, you know, I try to
keep things as normal and as routine as possible. This
is a talented roster and we've addressed that with the team,
maybe the most talented roster we've played up to this point.
They've had a couple tough losses. So this is a
team that is going to be very motivated and they
(09:58):
have the talent about and we're gonna need to be
ready to go. I don't think there's anything that you know,
there's any doubt about that. All those other things obviously
we don't. We don't worry about or concern ourselves with.
I'm just focused on our team, getting our guys ready
to play against a talented team, a team that's got.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Great history and tradition just like we do.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Uh. And they're playing at home, and as you guys,
as you know, LeVar, there's a home field advantage that
is significant, whether it's the NFL or college, and we
need to make sure that we're ready to deal with it.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Coach, good luck to you.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
I appreciate the time as always, And uh, yeah, come on,
let's let's get some palm trees and take some palms
back in and pass them out, you know, after a
big victory.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
We'll see you soon, brother, We're coming to you.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
This is quite franklin. And you know what, I'll tell
you what. It's gonna be a big game, but I
think this is big shoes that these guys are feeling.
So stay tuned, looking forward to it. This is quite franklin.
We'll catch you next week. Make sure you check it
out with this refute as you go to the Penn
State website as well the sports site, so that you
can see what's going on all things Penn State.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
We'll check you out, all right, Hey, all right, then
we are
Host
LaVar Arrington
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