James Franklin explains the meaning behind call for ‘White Out Energy’

Happy Valley has been abuzz this week as Penn State football gears up for its first primetime matchup of the 2024 campaign on Saturday evening. James Franklin has called on fans to bring their ‘White Out Energy’ when the No. 9 Nittany Lions take the field against the No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini, seven weeks before the officially scheduled spectacle.

However, the true sentiment behind ‘White Out Energy’ was left ambiguous. Generating a spontaneous second White Out certainly seemed to be the subliminal message coming from James Franklin and other members of the Penn State football program. But that appeal was never made directly to the Nittany Lion faithful.

Asked Penn State team captain Nick Dawkins about this post, and if he has anything to announce about it?

First he joked that it was just some general Monday wardrobe advice and "not everything is about the game". … Then he said this: https://t.co/tH5HlZyT0o pic.twitter.com/zOxLdidr39

— Tyler Donohue (@TDsTake) September 25, 2024

At any rate, ‘White Out Energy’ quickly became part of the college football lexicon this week. It even made its way into Illini head coach Bret Bielema’s press conference. But still, James Franklin had yet to explain why he added this new phrase to our discourse.

That is, until Thursday night. On the weekly Penn State Coaches Show, Franklin spoke with Nittany Lions’ play-by-play announcer Steve Jones about the meaning behind the term ‘White Out Energy.’

“White Out. Dramatic pause. Energy,” explained Franklin, directing Jones on the proper way to say the phrase. “White Out, a little bit longer pause. You’re going to get me in trouble…There you go. That’s what we’re doing.

“I can’t get in trouble. You’re not allowed to have multiple White Outs in one year. So that’s how you kind of beat the system.”

Franklin speaks to Penn State football’s impact on the community

© DAN RAINVILLE/USA TODAY NETWORK-PA / USA TODAY NETWORK

Franklin went on to explain how much matchups like this weekend positively impact Penn State athletics, the university community, and the commonwealth.

“Well, I think it’s obviously going to be great this weekend,” he stated. “Night game. Ranked opponent. Big Ten opponent. Homecoming. There’s so many reasons why I think the environment is going to be great.

“But I don’t take for granted the environment that we had at Kent State. And I don’t take for granted the environment we had at Bowling Green. I mean, there are programs in the country that would die to have the environment that we had against Kent State.

“So, I know how blessed we are. I’ve said this to you before. I remember when I got the job, they’re like, ‘Coach, you know, we’re struggling. We’re only averaging like 91,000 [fans].’ And I’m coming from a place that was lucky to get 35 [thousand], and I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me? I’d love 91,000!’ So, you know, we’ve done a great job with that. You think about, you know, what we’re averaging for games.

“You think about the impact that it has on the state, that it has on the community, the bars, the restaurants, the hotels. It’s good for everybody. So, you talk about the other sports from a recruiting perspective, being at the game, all of it, whether it’s field hockey or whether it’s wrestling, all of it, it’s a good thing for Penn State in general.”

Penn State football and Illinois kick off at 7:30 p.m. on NBC.

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