March 29, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State football hosted its first weekly media availably of the spring season Wednesday evening at Holuba Hall.
The Nittany Lions are well underway in the spring season, all leading up to the annual Blue White spring game set for Saturday, April 21st inside Beaver Stadium.
Check in with Penn State head coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lions for a closer look at the earliest update from the spring season.
The Buzz of Camp
Last
year it was Juwan Johnson who was impressing during spring ball and this year,
Franklin noted it's wide receiver KJ Hamler who has commanded the buzz from his
coaches and teammates.
"He's just so quick and so fast," Franklin said. "Usually you get a guy that's really fast or really quick and he's both. He's still not as efficient with his movement as he needs to be but he's an exciting prospect."
Also developing well for the Nittany Lions is wide receiver Mac Hippenhammer, who is also splitting time on the baseball roster.
"Mac Hippenhammer is one of the more natural football players that we have, even last year when he was redshirting on scout team and special teams, you'd watch him do things and it just came natural to him," Franklin said. "I think the baseball experience has been good for him, his confidence is built with that. He did really good academically. That was part of the requirement, we said if you're going to play baseball then you have to do really well academically because that's a lot on your plate and he did."
Stevens is Staying
During
the offseason quarterback Tommy Stevens did take time to check out other
programs considering a possible transfer. As Stevens revealed Wednesday though,
he's staying right in Happy Valley.
"I love Penn State," Stevens said. "I love the relationships I have here and I love playing football with my best friends."
During the decision making process Stevens noted his parents were very supportive throughout the process, keeping an open mind the entire way. Stevens made the decision recently and told his teammates today that he'd be staying at Penn State.
"I wanted them to hear it first," Stevens said. "Of course, I live with guys on the team and I wanted them to hear it first so I told them hey, this is what I'm going to do."
Farmer Taking on a
Leadership Role
Penn
State linebacker Koa Farmer obviously knows the ins and outs of the safety
position alongside Sam linebacker, but this year he'd like to continue adding
to his skillset. Interchangeable is the word Farmer used, noting he's working
on learning Mike and Will linebacker positions to ensure he's ready for any
situation where he might be needed.
With key defensive departures, Farmer is also embracing more of a leadership role.
"We had Jason [Cabinda], we had Marcus [Allen], we had Grant [Haley]," Farmer said. "They were probably the leaders of our defense last year and those guys are done and it's my time this year. Being more of a leader, being more vocal, getting the energy up in practice. I can't keep it to myself in practice."
New Leader in the Room
It's
been a new transition for DeAndre Thompkins and the rest of the Nittany Lion
wide receivers adjusting to a new position coach. At this point in the season,
there's nothing but love in the room for the new leader of the wide receivers.
"Coach [Corley], he's cool," Thompkins said. "He's laid back, he's one of those guys who understands the game of football and he has a special way of teaching it to his players."
For Thompkins, Corley is of course well respected, but it's also respect that's a big thing for the Nittany Lion wide receivers coach.
"He's of those guys where he can crack a joke but he can also get on you if he needs to," Thompkins said.