Penn State coach James Franklin spoke with reporters Wednesday, June 8, for a presser on Penn State’s practice field outside of Holuba Hall. Here are some notes from what Franklin had to say.
CHOP CHOP
Penn State officially added University of Maryland transfer Demeioun “Chop” Robinson yesterday.
Robinson played for the Terps as a freshman in 2021 and was a five-star recruit on some sites coming out of high school.
Penn State recruited the edge rusher out of Quince Orchard high school in Gaithersburg, Maryland, hard and lost out to Maryland. Now, he’s a Nittany Lion, and Franklin is excited.
“It’s great having him here,” Franklin said. “He tested really well the other day, which is great. Then on top of that, the fact that we recruited him out of high school, more times than not, if we’re going to do the transfer portal stuff, that’s what I would prefer. It’s not always going to work out like that. In a short window, it’s hard to get to know the guys the way that we’d like to get to know them.”
James Franklin discusses defensive end Demeioun “Chop” Robinson, who the program officially announced the addition of yesterday. Robinson, a former Maryland player, committed to Penn State out of the transfer portal in April. pic.twitter.com/6elnyFWufr
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) June 8, 2022
“I think it came down to us and his previous institution (to sign Robinson), so we knew him pretty well, and so far, so good.
Franklin said that although Robinson can play linebacker, Penn State plans to use him as a defensive end.
“There’s a bunch of guys, like Jesse Luketa, that we’ve recruited like that,” he said. “He falls into that category. We’re pretty excited about him.”
HUNTER NOURZAD HUNTING FOR PENN STATE STARTING JOB
Another transfer portal addition, offensive lineman and former Cornell Big Red Hunter Nourzad, officially joined Penn State’s roster.
Franklin is impressed with Nourzad’s size, strength and football IQ and is also excited for the healthy completion that will develop amongst Penn State’s interior linemen throughout training camp.
“I think we have really good competition at the guard position,” he said. “I think we have five guys that legitimately will be competing for those two starting jobs.
Franklin said Nourzad, Landon Tengwall, Sal Wormley, JB Nelson and Golden Israel-Achumba are all competing for a guard spot.
FRANKLIN ON INCOMING PENN STATE AD PATRICK KRAFT
It’s not easy for a football coach and an athletic director to not see eye-to-eye.
Fortunately for Penn State, it doesn’t look like Franklin will have that problem with incoming athletic director Patrick Kraft.
Franklin said he and Kraft— who was hired from Boston College in March and will officially succeed Sandy Barbour July 1— agree on plenty regarding college football.
“I think the great thing that I’ve seen is we see college football similarly,” Franklin said. “I think we see college athletics similarly, so a lot of times, whether it was at Vanderbilt or Penn State where I was having conversations and trying to convince people on certain things, we don’t have that. We kind of see things alike, so that’s been really helpful.”
