James Franklin loves this characteristic of this year’s Penn State football team

Statistics are tracked closely in the world of college football. Many fans get caught up in how many yards or touchdowns a player has scored. But those stats don’t always tell the full story. The Penn State football team has dealt with some of that early this season. When there has been a lack of explosive plays or sacks on the defensive side of the ball, no player has been frustrated. They understand that their impact goes beyond the stat sheet as James Franklin explained on Tuesday.

James Franklin speaks on the maturity of his players at Penn State

It’s difficult to be a star player in any program. As the expectation is that a player has to have 100 yards rushing or multiple touchdown passes, or sacks each game. At the end of the day, the Penn State football team is 3-0 and has looked strong this season. James Franklin was asked during his media availability on Tuesday how players are handling the statistics or lack thereof.

“I think that’s one of the things I’ve been impressed with, is the maturity of this team in understanding that’s how football works, major college football,” Franklin responded. “A perfect example is not just the running backs but the tight ends. We had that one week where they didn’t get many touches. I didn’t hear a word out of the tight ends. They know if we do our jobs, those opportunities will come.”

In a later question, Franklin touched on the maturity of his roster once again when discussing the importance of players performing within their roles.

“I think the other thing our guys have understood that we spend a lot of time talking about, as well as had some NFL scouts talk about, true football people, the stats are important, but they’re watching how you play the game and are you doing your job,” he said. “How many times does the defensive end get a tackle for loss because the D-tackle spiked and got penetration in the B-gap? The D-tackle may get no credit in that stat form, but everybody knows that the D-tackle created the tackle for loss for the other D-tackle or other defensive end.”

The theme for this Penn State team

Something that has been discussed and mentioned by Drew Allar this season was brought up by James Franklin yesterday.

He said, “With team success comes individual recognition.” Meaning that the stats and glory will come with doing your job and helping Penn State win football games. It’s only a matter of time before the stars will shine for the Nittany Lions.

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