Penn State football players are trained to stay in the moment by coach James Franklin. Two defensive players were asked Tuesday what their hopes are for the 2024 season with 12 returning starters. Both safety KJ Winston and tackle Dvon J-Thomas made it clear they’re not focused on the season as a whole, which begins Saturday with a non-conference game at West Virginia.
“To beat West Virginia,” J-Thomas said. “To have a 1-0 mindset on a weekly basis. Of course, we have our bigger goals in terms of the big picture, Big Ten and national championship goals.
“But we have to get through West Virginia. Beating West Virginia is priority No. 1.
” That philosophy has been effective for the Nittany Lions since Franklin became coach in 2014. It has led to five 10-win seasons and five New Year’s Six bowl appearances in the last eight years. The expectations, though, are greater this season with the College Football Playoff expanding from four to 12 teams and with the Big Ten adding USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington.
Penn State has the pieces to contend again in the conference and to reach the CFP for the first time. Franklin admitted last month in Indianapolis for Big Ten Media Days that the stakes are higher. “You’re talking about a program where you can win 10 or 11 games and people are not happy or satisfied,” he said.
“That’s inside the Lasch Building and outside the Lasch Building. We totally get that. “Our players understand that when we recruit them.
Our staff understands that when we hire them. As the head coach, I embrace those things as well.” This is a critical season for the program and Franklin, who has heard for several years that he can’t win Penn State’s biggest games.
The Lions would have qualified for a 12-team CFP six times in the last eight years, so it’s playoffs or bust this season. This is their chance for a great season without Michigan, Oregon or Iowa on the schedule. When Penn State recruited its 2022 class with Drew Allar, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Abdul Carter, Dani Dennis-Sutton, KJ Winston and Zane Durant, among others, this season was considered one in which the Lions could make a run.
“I do feel like there’s a lot of guys in our class that are stepping up,” Winston said. “A lot of guys in our class are being leaders right now. Even the people who aren’t talked about are being leaders.
” Franklin fired Mike Yurcich in midseason last year as offensive coordinator and hired Andy Kotelnicki away from Kansas to get the most out of offensive players like Allar, Singleton and Allen. This season also is important because it begins several months after the Penn State Board of Trustees approved a $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium. University officials want to attract donors with deep pockets to contribute to the project, scheduled to be completed in 2027.
They also want to attract fans willing to spend money on future luxury seating options, of which there will be many. In the Big Ten, Ohio State has spent an estimated $20 million in the last year in NIL money to beef up its roster. The Buckeyes are all in with pressure on coach Ryan Day to win a national title.
And Oregon has an experienced team with Dillon Gabriel, the best quarterback in the conference. Penn State might quiet critics by making the CFP and reaching the quarterfinals in Pasadena, Glendale, New Orleans or Atlanta. It’ll likely take at least 10 wins in the regular season to get there.
Because I’m not completely sold on the wide receivers, it says here that the Lions will go 10-2 and reach the CFP. The fun begins Saturday..
