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TABLE TALK: A Look To The 2024 Penn State Football Season · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

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Hey everybody, it's Jeff. I wanted to let you know we recorded this
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podcast episode on Monday, July eighth, twenty twenty four. By the time
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you hear this, some things may have changed here or there, but we
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hope you enjoy the show. Welcome to Table Talk here at the Philadelphia Sports
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Table podcast show, the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show in the world
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eleven years strong. We got a great discussion coming your way here on Table
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Talk, our interview show that we post every single week, usually on Mondays.
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This week is no different. The college football season is almost here.
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Penn State football is almost here, and as some of our longtime listeners know,
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yes, I am a Penn State alum love the Niitney Lions, have
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been following this football program ever since I was a kid. We're gonna get
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into some Penn State football. What we may expect from this Penn State team
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in terms of the offense, the defense, James Franklin, what should we
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make of his tenure thus far as Penn State's head coach, How much of
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a leash does he have? And we're gonna get some other college football talk
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as well. We got a great guest. Let's get right to it.
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Joining us this week from Fox Sports Radio of the Lehigh Valley. We love
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having him on to talk college football, and this week we are specifically getting
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into Penn State football the upcoming season. It is great to have him on
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the show. Mister Mike Raymond. How you doing, Mike? Listen,
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Jeff, I said it to you when I first logged on. Is the
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most Philadelphia thing that I've done a long time. I am down the shore,
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I am reading my annual phil Steel College Football magazine. It doesn't get
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much better. It's just like Keeak living right now. Yes, absolutely,
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I'm so stoked for this season coming up, the Penn State season in particular.
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Well, let's get into it. Let's get into it here, and
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I first want to dive into Penn State's head coach with the James Franklin.
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As we know, he's been coaching at Penn State now for ten years.
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He's the second longest tenured at head coach in the Big Ten Big Ten.
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He's had four seasons where his teams were ranked in the final top ten.
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He's had a better believe it or not, he's had a better winning percentage
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in his first ten years as Penn State's head coach than Joe Paterno had in
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his first ten years. He's been a success, Mike, he has been
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a success, but this football program hasn't really gotten to the point of even
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sniffing a national championship. So there are always questions with regard to James Franklin,
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as we know, being Penn State fans, how should we be assessing
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James Franklin at this point during his tenure and where he is at within this
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within his head coaching job here at Penn State. What are your thoughts?
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Yeah, season number eleven for James Franklin in a Happy Valley, fourteenth overall,
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and so I think the question for me always has to come. I
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have only really started judging him in recent years on the product on the field
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because for a long time this was a program in repair and I gave him
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a lot of leeway. There was going to be a lot of obstacles that
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he was going to have to face that others, obviously in similar situations aren't
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going to have to face. So I really didn't judge the on to field
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product until we started getting closer to like twenty twenty, and then you know,
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the rug came out from underneath. You know, it set the program
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back in about a year and a half with the whole COVID thing, So
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you know, it's kind of it's tough because as much as you want to
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see the improvement, you want to see him attain the goals that he's setting
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out to be. He's said publicly before that he wants to be the first
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African American head coach to win a national championship, and I think this is
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one of those situations where he has everything moving in his favor. It's just
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now he has to get that product on the field just right. And you
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know, the product is great because all these coordinators are taking high profile head
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coaching jobs. He has certainly grown his coaching tree. It has expanded out,
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and you're seeing some success. Just look at Brent Prye. By the
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way, watch Brent Prye in Virginia Tech this year in the ACC mostly because
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of their easy schedule, but I think there's gonna be some real interest down
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in Virginiat Tech and also for the Lee high value local fans. Two guys
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from Freedom High School on the offensive line there starting the Moral Brothers, and
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also recently a Nazareth quarterback Peyton file Zone committing to Virginia Attach. Sorry I
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did me to get Virginia Tech out of Penn State. Talk top. But
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anyway, going back to James Franklin, so much of what university as a
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whole is. He's multidimensional. Since he's gotten a Penn State, the reputation
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of the university has improved, facilities since have approved. Consistency of the on
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the field product remains high, not high enough for some folks, and that's
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kind of what. But I think as a leader of an organization, as
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a coach, as an evaluator of talent, he is among the top.
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So I always ask is he is the university in the football program in a
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better position when he's the head coach. I think the answer is yet yes.
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So I can't sit here and say that it would be better with anybody
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else, maybe because I'm the Penn stator and I am not conditioned to think
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that way. We have such long term head coaches in our history. But
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I think he's doing a great job. I think the success is coming.
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I think he just needs to stick with it. Absolutely. I think so
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too, And I think the changes with the NIL I think changes with regard
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to the transfer portal is going to give not just Penn State further opportunities,
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It's going to give other colleges and universities opportunities as well. How he navigates
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that time is going to tell, and I think we need to give him
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a little bit more time in terms of that navigation. Well, and also
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think back to you know, what the college football playoff is currently, how
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many of the in the most recent years James Franklin would have had a college
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football playoff team maybe five out of the last ten years like he would have.
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You know, I feel like, let's let's call it what it is.
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He's right there, he just hasn't made the next step. Now,
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once he makes that next step and gets to a college football playoff, I
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think the lane shrinks a little bit. Now you actually have to have success
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in the college football playoff because that's what you need to do to stay relevant
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in college football nowadays. Absolutely, we're going to get to the college football
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playoff in a little bit. In fact, that's what we're going to be
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closing with. But as we're moving on with the Penn State conversation here,
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Mike, you know, this year on the schedule as we know, it's
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going to be UCLA USC as these teams are new in the Big Ten.
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It's right in front of us. It's going to be happening. I cannot
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wait to see these games. It's going to add a new dimension for us,
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and I think the hope, at least for me, is that there's
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going to be some new maybe potential rivalries down the road, some new moments,
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and some new memories for us Penn State fans as we watch this football
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program over these next years and even decades here. So what's your level of
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excitement as a Penn State fan and as someone who closely follows this program and
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the Big Ten, you know, with regard to ucla USC and even Oregon
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you know, coming into the fold here in the Big Ten. Yeah,
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I mean, it's an interesting time in college football in general, and I'm
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well aware of the whole keeping up with your Joneses era if you will want
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to take a Taylor Swift term. But you know, I am not a
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huge fan of conference realignment moving forward. I think we've gotten to a point
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where it's so bloated and you're leaving so many teams beyond in the dust and
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it's becoming increasingly more difficult for the lower level, the pinnacle of college football.
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The days of Northwestern competing for a national title, even though they can
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stick in there in the Big Ten and maybe have an opportunity to play for
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a college football playoff spot, it's going to be very difficult for those other
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teams to compete. So not a fan of conference realignment in general, but
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I understand you're trying to keep up with the Jones is. I understand you
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can't be left behind when the SEC is expanding with Texas and Oklahoma. You
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can't be left behind when all these other schools out of the Pac twelve are
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falling away because Penn State is I'm sorry about Penn State. The Big Ten
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is taking USC, US, U c LA, Oregon, in Washington.
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You got to stay ahead of it. You got to get into these emerging
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markets. I get why you're doing it, and I do like the fact
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that the Big Ten is getting some historically reputable programs, you know, like
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the four teams that I just mentioned in USC, UCLA and Oregon and Washington.
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And by the way, I've seen games in every one of those visiting
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stadiums except for Washington and I hope to get out there soon. Oregon was
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fantastic if Penn Staters want to get a road trip in, that was a
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fantastic stadium. I went to see the Civil War game there a couple of
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years back in Oregon State fantastic. I saw a game at USC on my
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honeymoon in fact, and of course, yeah, I know, And of
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course I've been out to the Rose Bowl several times. Obviously that wasn't a
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UCLA home game, but I've been there. So if you're planning a road
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trip, check those out. But what does it mean for Penn State to
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this point, it's been a battle to get into that top two of the
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Big ten. I think the battle becets increasingly difficult with a team, especially
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like this year with the Oregon and I think USC is, you know,
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one of those teams that has a national brand that can be very difficult to
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compete with. They can recruit nationally once they get their defense right under laid,
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Kip and I think they're going to be a great team. So yeah,
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I think it's fine, But I don't want to continue to see more
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expansion, and I certainly don't want to get to a point when we're going
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to have just two large super conferences. Yeah, if it's the SEC in
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the Big Ten, I am not a fan of that. I agree,
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I completely agree, But I do like the fact that I really do.
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I do believe that there's the potential for some new rivalryes, some new moments
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and memories for US college football fans as we're moving forwards here. So look,
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let's get into Penn State football. What we are going to be seeing
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on the actual field this year. Look, Drew Aller, He's got some
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things to prove this year, for sure, and I do wonder if,
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perhaps Mike he might be a top ten quarterback in college football this year.
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It's something I've been wondering. I've been reading some articles here and there.
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I wonder what steps do you want to see Drew Aller take this year?
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And do you think he'll be a high r quarterback when the season is all
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said and done. What are your thoughts here? Well, I think you're
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not far off. And I think some people who may have watched Penn State
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football in recent years and seeing what Drew Aller is and is yet to become,
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I guess people would be a little bit more critical. But in terms
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of pure talent, you could say Drew Aller is the second best quarterback in
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the Big Ten, behind Dylan Gabriel at Oregon. Like I strongly and firmly
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believed that problem is Will Howard in Ohio State, Miller Moss at USC and
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Will Rogers at Washington all had better talent to throw the ball to. So
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that is going to be a hindering factor for what Drew Allier's development is going
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to be. And Aler has proven that he can be efficient. He only
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had through two interceptions last year, his first year as a starter. You
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know he has he hasn't proved to He just hasn't proved to be a baller.
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In my mind, Trace McSorley from Penn State was a baller. Michael
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Robinson from Penn State was a baller, and even arguably Darryl Clark was a
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baller for Penn State. Someone who was just able to not only be efficient
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with the football, but find ways to keep plays alive, find their talented
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receivers. And that's what Drew Aller was missing. He used to use his
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legs a little bit when he was younger. He saw a little bit less
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of that last year. But I think he was really under the microscope and
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that Mike Gersitch offense. I'm really hoping this Sandy Codal Nicky offense will help
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him develop a little bit more and help him out as a quarterback. I
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know Mike Gerstitch was criticized for not using a lot of motions. That's all
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Andy cole Nikki. I keep staring as he does. Yeah, you know,
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unions his pre staff motions to help diagnose the defense. And of course
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that's something he's going to need to develop if maybe he's going to be an
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NFL quarterback one day. So I think in terms of pure talent, he
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could be the second best quarterback in the Big Ten. The problem is there's
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so many other quarterbacks in the Big Ten that have so much other talent to
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throw to. The wide receiver corps has obviously been a topic of conversation.
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Absolutely, it's a great segue because I wanted to talk about this wide receiver
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corps here. Look, Penn State is going to have a solid running game
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with Nick Singleton and k Tron Allen. I think we know that heading into
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this season, Mike, but that wide receiver position, I mean it was
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a question heading into the twenty twenty three season, and we still got some
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question marks here with regard to that unit here in twenty twenty four, especially
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since there has been a mass turnover at the position due to the transfer portal.
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I'm not sure if a lot of folks know that and understand that you
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know who, even if you follow Penn State casually, There's been some turnover
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for sure within the wide receiver corps, and I'm wondering how we should be
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measuring this offensive success this season given some of the challenges, especially from a
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receiving perspective. How should we measure the offensive success this season? Mike,
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Yeah, I think it's fair. I think they had the great identity with
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running the football two years ago with the k Tron Allen Nicks Singleton double headed
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monster in the backfield, and then really tried to throw a little bit more
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into the wide receivers last year. Problem is, wide receivers were banged up
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a little bit last year. Harrison Wallace was a guy who everyone kept it
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was gonna be the next coming in, that next number one wide receiver,
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and it just didn't happen because he was too beat up for too long in
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the season. So you really can develop that same rapport that he kept hearing
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that he and Aler had off the field during practice time. He kept hearing
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that it was a great report. You just didn't see it on the field
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because he wasn't fully healthy. Going back to what you said about the transfers,
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in terms of the wide receivers that transferred out, none outside of Keandrey
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Lambert Smith would have been considered for a starting role. Okay, okay,
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sore Lambert Smith certainly hurts and the loss does hurt from a veteran's perspective,
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right, But they did get Julian Fleming, a guy who they had tried
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to recruit previously, played his fall out. Ohio State talked about another guy
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who was also very injured, didn't really have the same impact that you thought
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he may have at Ohio State, but certainly a guy who was a five
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star talent who knows what he's doing. He was experienced to a top end
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Big ten program who can have something to offer, and that's what you keep
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hearing, you know, in the locker room, he's been a very a
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leader, a true leader in the locker room since he's got on campus and
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trying to help, you know, Shore that wide receiver room just a little
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bit. Since so many of those guys transferred out, the depth may be
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a little bit of an issue. But here's the one thing I keep thinking
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back to, Like, in most years, the unit will be bailed out
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by top end tight end talent. You know, got you know running backfield?
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Yeah yeah, Ty Warren is the top three tight end in the Big
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Ten. And I loved what I saw out of the youngster and Andrew Rappleyey
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out of the spring game. He looks fantastic. His size is very pat
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bryamuth x if you will, now you think even wears number eighty seven and
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thinkle think can certainly catch the ball out of the backfield as well. So
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like I'm not necessarily worried about the offensive identity. I think they'll be able
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to move the ball. It's just can you can you do it against teams
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like Ohio State? Can you do it against teams? You know, luckily
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you avoid Iowa and Michigan on the schedule this year, but you're going to
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need to do it against Washington. You're gonna need to do it at home
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against Ohio State, and you're going to have to just not allow that sneaky
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Big Ten team that shouldn't be on your level to get you the one week.
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So I think they'll be okay. I just I think they're not gonna
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be the best unit in the Bay Ten, but they're certainly gonna be towards
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the top again, Folks, talking to Mike Raymond from Fox Sports Radio of
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the Lee High Valley. Follow him on the Twitter slash x at Mike Raymond
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LV. He is a great, great follow and as we're moving along with
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our conversation, here a couple more topics. New defensive coordinator Tom Allen.
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I think he really has his work cutout for him this season. Mike,
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Look Manny Diaz. He's now at Duke after two pretty successful seasons as the
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defensive coordinator at Penn State, and last year Penn State's defense led the nation
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in sacks tackles for a loss. They allowed the least amount of rushing yards
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per game. Manny Diaz had a lot of airing blitz packages that I'm gonna
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miss watching when the defense is on the field this coming season. That said,
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it's been seven years approximately from my understanding, since Tom Allen has been
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a defensive coordinator, so I'm wondering how should we, on the flip side
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of things here be measuring the defensive success this season. And I'm sure you
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know this may be a lot different to the offensive side of the ball in
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terms of how we should be measuring this defense. What are your thoughts here?
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Well, I think coming into the season the defense is very well respected,
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but a lot of that respect definitely hinges on what you said about Manny
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Diaz. Many Diaz certainly built his reputation into a new head coaching job down
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there at Duke. Yep, You're not going to match that level of aggressiveness
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of what Manny brought. But I do know Tom Tom Allen knows how to
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coach defense. You're going to see him run this four two five, which
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I'm very excited about. That's a defense you need to run in college football
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nowadays. You need to have more, you know, defensive backs on the
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field to match up with the spread offenses, specially the Ohio State special defense.
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Yep. Now you're going to see the depth on the defense I think
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has always been very It's been something that they pride themselves in. They really
16:48
do like to give opportunities to young guys, get fresh bodies on the field
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come after you with the fresh bodies at all times. So I still think
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you're going to see a little bit of that on the defensive line and even
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into the linebacking corps. Abdul Carter at defensive and is going to be an
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amazing talent to watch. I know he hasn't fully mastered that position yet,
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but I think he'll be a beast once that time comes. I want to
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see year two of Tony Rojas the linebacker position. He's a gifted physical athlete.
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How if you look into new Tom Allen defense, I think we have
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the most capable secondary that I've seen at Penn State since like two thousand and
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five when you had like Justin King, Calvin Lowry, Allens, the Mitas
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and Chris Harrold back there in the defensive back cup. This is a great
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This is a great secondary that they have up there. Not the best in
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the Big Ten, but they certainly can can hang out there. Whether it's
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the transfers from the SEC and Harris and Kimber, you know, or the
17:36
experience that they have. Jalen Reig was one of the top tacklers on that
17:38
defense last year. Kevin Winston Zachy Wheatley, all these defensive backs. I
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think ay're going to have an opportunity to shine. It's how are they going
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to be performing against the top end talent of the big Big ten. I
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think they have the capability. I think they have the experience, and I
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think they have some special players on that defense to make playing against Penn State
17:56
a real headache for other teams. Mike, it really has been about ten
17:59
years we've seen this level of talent in the secondary, right ten years,
18:03
man O my leash. Yeah, And honestly, they they have great defense
18:07
all the time, but that secondary always gets outmatched when you play against that
18:10
type in five star talent of Ohio State and Michigan. I don't think you're
18:14
going to see that problem as as big this year. We'll see. I
18:18
can eat my words on that, like like I like what I see on
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paper right now? Sounds good? All right, Well, last topic I
18:23
wanted to dive into with you before I let you go, Mike. You
18:27
know, I was recently talking to one of our guests about how I'm really
18:30
stoked about the new college football playoff bracket. It's really going to add a
18:34
new dimension to college football in general. And just certain weeks are going to
18:38
be critical for various teams just across the board. It's going to add a
18:44
new dimension to the college football world and what we're viewing on a week to
18:48
week basis. How are you feeling about this new college football playoff bracket.
18:52
I know we've talked about it before and what it's going to bring to the
18:55
college football experience for us all, and any new thoughts on this, well,
19:00
I just think it's for the for the few weeks there in December where
19:03
we're really kind of craving college football post conference title game, We're going to
19:08
have some meaningful football. We're going to have it on college campuses. We're
19:11
going to be able to say, hey, maybe if those SEC teams have
19:15
to travel up to the Big Ten country in the winter, maybe that home
19:18
field advantage might be a conversation point that might tip the scales towards the Big
19:22
Ten. Right, We're going to be able to say, hey, all
19:25
those Penn State fans who are complaining about Penn State missing missing the competition,
19:30
well that that title race has expanded in the in the more teams, And
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think about this last year, by the way, I think it would have
19:37
been ten out of the twelve. Spots would have been all SEC in Big
19:41
ten, including you know, obviously Oregon, who who is kind of coming
19:45
in in Texas and is coming to the SEC. But yeah, I think
19:48
that's kind of an interesting little segue there where the power balance is going.
19:53
I'm curious if you're going to be able to see other than the conference champion
19:57
multiple representative out of the EC see out of the Big twelve. That's gonna
20:02
be a question I have for this new format. I'm also going to have
20:04
a question about the non conference a non conference affiliates still like a Notre Dame
20:11
for example, and even Oregon State and Washington State since the PAC twelve doesn't
20:14
have a title game anymore and they can't get an automatic qualifier. But as
20:18
a conference champion, that's going to be a storyline to follow. But yeah,
20:22
I think you know, getting that conference I'm started getting, getting some
20:26
games on campuses in the month of December is going to be something to watch.
20:30
It's going to drive my wife insane because she says, you're already watching
20:34
NFL on a Saturday. Now you're gonna say they have meaningful college football and
20:37
it's that Yes, yes, and hopefully State's playing at it. That's why.
20:41
That's what that was my response. So, but yeah, it's going
20:44
to be a grow some growing pains. I'm curious to see what role the
20:47
committee plays. There's a lot of questions that I have on an answered.
20:49
But one thing is for sure. This this conversation here is step one of
20:56
me getting pumped. Step two is me finishing this still Steel college football preview.
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Step three, Step three, Jeff is going to be college football video
21:03
game releases already have that rely into college football. So if you're not everyone
21:07
all right, sounds good, folks. Mike Raymond Fox Sports Radio of the
21:11
Lehigh Valley at Mike Raymond LV on Twitter slash x Mike, Buddy, it
21:17
was great talking to you as always. Thanks so much for taking the time
21:21
to jump on here, and God bless our wives. As college football is
21:25
right around the corner of the football seasons almost here, come back and join
21:27
us. I would love to have you back on the show, my friend.
21:30
You know I will be here anytime, Buddy. That's gonna do it
21:33
for us here on table Talk this week. Please share our podcast with your
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