Expect Allar to continue getting reps
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Before James Franklin could begin with his weekly Tuesday press conference, he first had to pay homage to an old coach.
Franklin praised East Stroudsburg University offensive coordinator Mike Terwilliger, who will be taking part in his 500th game with the program after four years as a player and more than 40 as an assistant coach.
“Pretty cool, I’m happy for him. I wanted to take a minute to recognize him,” Franklin said before delving into this week’s Penn State subjects.
Franklin then discussed freshman quarterback Drew Allar’s playing time and the availability of linemen on both sides of the ball, namely fourth-year defensive end Smith Vilbert and Cornell transfer Hunter Nourzad, a guard.
Here’s a look at three topics addressed by Franklin ahead of Saturday’s showdown with Northwestern.
Allar’s time
Though he’s the backup to sixth-year quarterback Sean Clifford, Allar has appeared in all four Penn State games. Franklinpreviously stated his desire to have Allar play a series in the second quarter and another in the third quarter against Ohio and Central Michigan. Though that did not happen, Allar played at different points in those contests.
Franklin recognizes the importance of potential game repetitions for Allar for a fifth game in a row.
“There’s a ton of value in that. We would love to be able to do that again this week,” Franklin said. “We have not talked about our strategy about that this week yet.”
Franklin also made it clear he has a “ton of respect” for Northwestern, a team in search of its first win in over a month. The Wildcats (1-3) have yet to win in the United States this year, as their sole win was a come-from-behind victory over Nebraska in Dublin, Ireland.
Should Penn State (4-0) take a commanding lead over Northwestern on Saturday, Allar and other reserves could enter the contest sooner rather than later.
“His situation is probably a little bit different because he just hasn’t played college football as much, but the more experience that we can gain and allow those guys to get, the better we are,” Franklin said.
In four games, Allar is 12 for 19 passing with two touchdowns, both of which came in Penn State’s victory over Ohio.
No Smith in sight
Vilbert stood out this past week — but not during Saturday’s game. Franklin awarded the 6-foot-6, 256pound edge rusher with development squad player of the week, an honor he shared with freshman safety Mekhi Flowers.
Vilbert hasn’t played since the 2022 Outback Bowl, during which he tied an Outback Bowl record for sacks with three. Franklin provided some clarity as to whether Vilbert will be on the field this Saturday.
“Justnot available,” Franklin said. “I’d like to sit down with Smith and make sure that me and him are on the same page.”
Franklin also said he’s “really proud” to have Vilbert be a part of the program but did not expand further. The head coach did say he will follow up with reporters since Vilbert’s status has been specifically asked about.
Over his previous three seasons, Vilbert totaled eight tackles, four for losses. In Vilbert’s absence, Penn State has 12 sacks in four games.
Freshman Dani DennisSutton leads the team with three sacks, two of them coming in Saturday’s 33-14 victory over Central Michigan.
Yes or No(urzad)
Nourzad, who has been rotating in on Penn State’s offensive line much like fifth-year Bryce Effner has this season, missed Saturday’s game against Central Michigan. Franklin elaborated on the former Ivy League player’s absence.
“Bumps and bruises,” Franklin said. “We felt like, if we could hold him out last week, then we’d be able to get him back this week. ... We felt like he could have played, but it made a whole lot more sense for us and for him to try and hold him.”
However, Franklin did not indicate whether Nourzad’s time off will allow him to return against the Wildcats.
“We’ll see how this week goes,” Franklin said. “We’re hoping to have him back.”
Without Nourzad, Franklin and his staff elected to give some unexpected playing time to redshirt sophomore and Mt. Lebanon High School graduate JB Nelson, which he believed was the “right decision.” In Franklin’s eyes, the Lackawanna Community College transfer fared well in his first extended game action.
“JB came in and played really well,” Franklin said. “We were excited about how he practiced, and we were excited about how he ended up playing in the game.”