Penn State spring football takeaways: Jim Knowles’ fit, receivers growth and more

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — James Franklin didn’t need the approval of Penn State’s assistant coaches as he discussed the possibility of hiring defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

But Franklin knows now, after a dozen years at Penn State, that the personalities of the coaching staff have to mesh. Living in the pressure-packed, around-the-clock incubator that is any college football facility, life is a lot nicer when those down the hall and across the meeting room are all onboard.

“(James) asked us questions, and we all saw what Jim Knowles did at Ohio State,” cornerbacks coach Terry Smith said Tuesday night.

Smith has been with Franklin since the beginning in State College and has become one of the head coach’s most trusted resources.

“We’re chasing that,” Smith said. “To be able to go and get the No. 1 coordinator in all the land tells us who our administration is, it tells us who our head coach is, and we’re super excited.”

For all the excitement about Penn State’s potential next season, there are still five months until the anticipated preseason college football darlings play meaningful football. Learning Knowles’ defense is still in the earliest stages. He walks the practice field this spring with the look of a man who is doing a lot of watching and learning. Franklin said it doesn’t look like the offense is in its second year under Andy Kotelnicki, while the defense is just weeks into Knowles’ system.

It’s a good sign, but it’s also April.

“He’s a man of few words,” Franklin said. “That’s in the staff meetings in the morning. That’s out here on the field. He’s a believer that he’s gonna spend a ton of time in the meeting room and taking notes down, kind of like I do, and then make the points he needs to make to the coaches in the meeting rooms. …

“He is thorough and he is detailed to the point where I think he’s very comfortable on the field letting the coaches coach.”

James Franklin led Penn State to the College Football Playoff for the first time in 2024. (Dan Rainville / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Defensive tackle Zane Durant bypassed the chance to go to the NFL this offseason and returned to improve his draft stock. The most Durant said he has heard Knowles say this spring is a phrase he has uttered countless times in meetings.

“Do you not know the play?” Durant said with a laugh. “He says that all the time. He always asks people that when they stutter or second-guess the play.”

Here’s what stood out during this week’s practice viewing window and interview sessions:

Receivers are having none of last season

Anything that happened last season with Penn State’s wide receivers — good, bad or indifferent — is irrelevant now. That’s the stance wide receiver’s coach Marques Hagans is taking as he tries to reshape and mold a position group that’s once again under the microscope.

“I know it’s a very passionate fan base,” Hagans said when asked what he’s learned heading into his third season here. “People speak candidly and freely about Penn State football, and you gotta understand that everyone’s opinion is not gonna be in your favor. You just gotta focus on the task at hand.”

It was the receiving corps that flatlined in many key moments a season ago. No wide receiver caught a pass in the Orange Bowl. This spring, many of the same questions remain: Will this group be noticeably better? Can the transfers — Devonte Ross from Troy and Kyron Hudson from USC — or anyone else help Drew Allar?

The glimpses at practice show a group that’s having some bright moments.

Redshirt freshman Tyseer Denmark ran away from starting safety Zakee Wheatley in a red zone one-on-one rep Tuesday night. Hudson is the big-bodied veteran who looks like someone who can help. Ross is a speedster who has gained weight and looks to have an extra gear in the open field.

“I think Hud is somebody that’s gonna catch the ball and he’s gonna be physical,” receiver Liam Clifford said. “He’s gonna be able to separate. Same thing with Ross. He’s a guy who can make you miss after he catches the ball. Both are playmakers. Both are guys who have been good for our room.”

There are plenty of familiar faces. Kaden Saunders is healthy and showing some shiftiness once again. Clifford is the oldest of the group and wants to lead this group and make his leap forward.

Matt Outten is hard to miss, a 212-pound freshman whose power and explosiveness impressed the staff as a recruit. Franklin believes Outten, who played receiver, running back and special teams in high school, is more raw than classmate Kobe Howard. Still, the coaches like what they’re seeing from this group top to bottom.

Denmark sure seems like someone who keeps flashing. He did so last season at practices, and Franklin said they need him to keep doing it.

“He’s got the ability to help us this year, and we need him to help us this year,” Franklin said. “I’m proud of him. I think he’s got a bright future, but nobody cares that he’s a redshirt freshman. It’s time now. We need him to take that next step, and he is more than capable of being a big-time player in this league as a redshirt freshman.”

‘Light switch comes on and they understand it’

Cornerback Elliot Washington II accomplished an offseason feat that Franklin, in all his years coaching, had never seen. The coaching staff hands out competitor of the day awards for winter workouts for each position group. The third-year cornerback won all of them, six total, this winter.

“You give it to the guy who earns it, and Elliot came to work every single day,” Franklin said. “He continues to get better. He’s super explosive — maybe the most explosive guy we have on the team, maybe the most horsepower in terms of speed on our team.”

Smith has no shortage of talent with older players like A.J. Harris, Audavion Collins, Zion Tracy and Washington all playing roles. Washington is putting it all together this offseason, per Smith’s estimations.

“It’s always enjoyable to see your guys when the light switch comes on and they understand it now,” Smith said. “He’s in that phase.”

Smith said Collins, who continues to progress this spring, is “a solid third who will play equal reps to the starters.”

Spring calendar remains a delicate balancing act 

Quarterback commit Troy Huhn, the standout at Mission Hills High in San Marcos, Calif., is slated to be in State College throughout the week. Huhn committed in May and has been in town several times since, including in December for the College Football Playoff game against SMU. There are commits like him and countless uncommitted prospects who will check out practices throughout the spring.

But the transfer portal opens April 16, and that means Penn State needs to have a good idea of who on their current roster will still be here and who else they want to pursue in the portal during this next portal window.

The hope, Smith said, is that anyone on the current roster will at least stay until the end of spring ball on April 26 and then see where they stand.

“We’ve been very, very fortunate and blessed to not have a lot of transfer portal action, but who knows?” Smith said. “You just try to have great relationships.”

(Top photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

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