James Franklin press conference news, notes and observations

James Franklin's team is 3-0 on the season and won against Auburn on Saturday. They play Central Michigan this weekend. The team will have a relaxed and relaxed press conference Tuesday afternoon. The coach will talk about the team's success and the upcoming games.

Franklin's top-of-mind rundown of Penn State's performance at Auburn was positive. He cited the turnover battle, drive start, sack battle and explosive plays on offense as wins. Penalties and plays in defense were the losing elements. Franklin also talked about the failed fourth-and-1 on the first offensive series.

Franklin talked about Penn State's opponent only in his opening remarks. He has been impressed with running back Lew Nichols, quarterback Daniel Richardson, transfer receiver Jalen McGaughy and defensive end Thomas Incoom. On special teams, he mentions punt returner Jordyn Williams.

The 1982 National Championship team will be honored at halftime on Saturday. The point of the "hard-hit hammer" is to "reinforce the physical aspect" and to emphasize toughness. True freshman Kaden Saunders won't play this week. He's likely headed for a redshirt. Maleek McNeil is now listed at 6-foot-7, 336 pounds. The Eli Manning/Chad Powers stunt was a prevalent and frequent talking point on Wednesday. It was an opportunity to have fun while not distracting from the program's goals. Kaytron Allen's body transformation has been a big shift.

Franklin talked about Dani Dennis-Sutton's recruitment and his experience living in dorms as an out-of-state enrollee at McDonogh. He also talked of a lost recruit due to not having single-occupancy, nice dorm.