James Franklin praises Neal Brown, West Virginia program

As the Penn State football team inches closer to their season opener against West Virginia, so does the media. West Virginia head coach Neal Brown and Penn State head coach James Franklin have completed their game-week press conferences. There’s something to be said about being respectful of your opponent. Coach Franklin handled this with such class, and Neal Brown also returned the favor. While being a 20-plus point favorite, Penn State cannot overlook this West Virginia team.

Neal Brown & James Franklin have mutual respect for each other

The Mountaineers HC Neal Brown had a viral clip in his press conference on Monday. Brown spoke very highly of Penn State, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

When speaking about the Nittany Lions, Brown said, “… they’ll probably be the most talented group we play. I may be conservative in this but they probably have nine draft picks in their two deep, on defense. And that’s not just me up here talking, that’s legit. So, they’re talented everywhere, they played extremely well down the stretch last year.”

Brown is certainly fair when giving his assessment of the Penn State defense. Players such as Chop Robinson, Kalen King, Adisa Isaac, and many others are capable of being drafted in 2024. It’ll be interesting to see how creative the WVU offense can get. I have to imagine they might have a trick play or two. They also might go for it on fourth down a few times on Saturday night, finding a way to shift the momentum.

James Franklin shows a lot of respect for West Virginia

During his press conference on Tuesday afternoon, James Franklin spoke high level about the key players and coaches at West Virginia.

In his opening statement, Franklin said, “Obviously Neal Brown, I have a ton of respect for Neal. His background as an offensive coordinator and as a head coach. You know, got a lot of respect. …They return 16 starters. You know, they ended the year with a really good win on the road at Oklahoma State which is a tough place to play.”

It’s nice to hear Coach Franklin speak about the strengths of this West Virginia team and remind everyone of what Brown’s background is. There is certainly a high possibility that he will scheme up a trick play specifically for the Penn State football game, so the defense needs to be prepared for that.

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