James Franklin delivers message to Penn State football program as winter workouts kick off

The first phase of the 2024 season began this week as the Penn State football program returned to the practice field for winter workouts. Although kickoff against West Virginia is still over six months away, the foundation for what the Nittany Lions will accomplish this fall starts now. With that in mind, James Franklin delivered a succinct but passionate message to his players as the new leadership for this year’s roster takes root.

James Franklin: Penn State must be “a player-led team”

Monday morning, Penn State football returned to Holuba Hall for the first session of winter workouts. While spring practice is still several weeks off, this is the first time we get to see the full 2024 Nittany Lions roster assembled.

In a video released by the program on social media, we got to hear the message that head coach James Franklin had for his players to kick off the new year of work.

“Winning takes what winning takes,” Franklin said in the video featuring key Nittany Lions like Drew Allar, Abdul Carter, and Julian Fleming, among others. “It starts with you. You must be different today…This will be a player-led team. You guys have got to hold everybody to the standard.”

Back to work. #WeAre pic.twitter.com/01Vn1dHVv0

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) February 5, 2024

Which Nittany Lions will step up as leaders in 2024?

Leadership has been an important theme for James Franklin over the last 24 months. A small, core group of veterans were central to the Nittany Lions’ Rose Bowl run in 2022. Last year, Franklin emphasized the diffusion of that leadership to a much wider group of younger players.

We’ve yet to see how the leadership of this year’s team will take shape, but it’s likely that QB Drew Allar will play a prominent role.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for me to be more vocal,” Allar said after the Peach Bowl in December. “Whether it be communicating with the players or communicating to staff about what we think as players, it’s a great opportunity for me to expand upon my voice and work on it.”

Competitors of the day

As is tradition with winter workouts, social media timelines were flooded Monday with the Penn State football coaching staff naming the “competitors of the day” for the first workout session.

One of the more notable shoutouts came from graduate assistant and de facto QB coach Danny O’Brien, who named backup Beau Pribula as the standout in the QB room. Pribula threw for 149 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 329 yards and six scores last season.

The bar has been SET after Day #1 of Winter Workouts! The QB Competitor of the Day goes to @beauprib 🎯🎯 pic.twitter.com/nKmWqle3rM

— Danny O'Brien (@DannyOBrienQB) February 5, 2024

We also got to see the first impressions of some of the newest members of the Penn State football coaching staff. New defensive coordinator and LBs coach Tom Allen identified Tyler Elsdon as his competitor of the day, praising the senior’s leadership and effort.

I loved the Leadership and EFFORT of ⁦@tyler_elsdon43⁩ today in our 1st Winter Workout! He is the Competitor of the Day for the LB’ers!! #WeAre #LBU pic.twitter.com/jb5E7LQ9CS

— Coach Tom Allen (@CoachAllenPSU) February 5, 2024

In a similar message, new special teams coordinator Justin Lustig singled out Riley Thompson. The All-Big Ten punter was granted two additional years of eligibility by the NCAA this offseason.

Competitor of the day for winter workout #1 @rathompson_. Loved his effort and leadership today. Big things ahead! pic.twitter.com/IawEJTt9Ij

— Justin Lustig (@CoachLustig) February 5, 2024

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