A guiding principle of Penn State head coach James Franklin revolves around culture.\u00a0 He believes that culture should appear in every aspect of a program.\u00a0 Penn State is one of the most storied programs in the country.\u00a0 For the Nittany Lions, the culture permeates not only the team\u2019s players, coaches, and football staff.\u00a0 It also encompasses its students and campuses.\u00a0 It envelopes the 107k strong at every home game, and it connects alumni and fans across the world.\u00a0 Together, Nittany Nation is intended to be there to build and evolve the program\u2019s culture.\u00a0 There are currently a lot of changes across college football, and that impacts the Penn State program.\u00a0 Consequently, Franklin and the Nittany Lions find themselves at a cultural crossroads at Penn State.<\/p>\n
Penn State\u2019s uniting rally cry speaks to the pride in the program that was built through the culture.\u00a0 Simply, \u201cWe Are,\u201d\u00a0 \u201cPenn State\u201d.\u00a0 There is nothing more iconic in college football than a White Out game kicking off, with a backdrop of We Are from the 107k strong.\u00a0 For good measure, the back and forth wraps up with a mannerly \u201cThank You\u201d and \u201cYou\u2019re Welcome.\u201d\u00a0 The tradition and culture at Penn State are strong, but that tradition is being put to the test.\u00a0 That may also push changes to the culture.<\/p>\n
Penn State has not utilized the transfer portal as much as other programs.\u00a0 When pushed on the topic, Franklin consistently pointed to the program\u2019s culture.\u00a0 Bringing in the college football equivalent of a free agent could upset the apple cart and disrupt the culture that has been built in Happy Valley.\u00a0 However, in the world of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) in college football, more players are moving around in the hope of finding the right, and most lucrative, fit.\u00a0 Of note last season, Penn State lost backup<\/a> quarterback Beau Pribula<\/a> to the transfer portal just before the College Football Playoffs (CFP) run to the semifinals.\u00a0 Freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer<\/a> served as the backup, and attempted his first pass in the playoff victory over SMU<\/a>.<\/p>\n Over the past few seasons, Franklin and the coaching staff have relaxed their reluctance to utilize the transfer portal.\u00a0 Offensive lineman Nolan Rucci<\/a> and cornerback Jalen Kimber<\/a> are examples that contributed to last year\u2019s team.\u00a0 Heading into Spring Practice this season, it will be important for quarterback Drew Allar<\/a> to get comfortable with two of his top targets, Devonte Ross<\/a> and Kyron Hudson<\/a>.\u00a0 They are both new additions<\/a> to the team via the transfer portal.<\/p>\n Franklin is still being selective in his use of the portal, but the increased use of this vehicle to build the program is evident.\u00a0 It is up to the coaches, and team leaders, to ensure the culture stays strong through the changes.\u00a0 However, this bears watching in 2025 and is a big part of why Penn State finds itself at a cultural crossroads.<\/p>\n Following last season, Penn State embarked on a massive renovation to Beaver Stadium.\u00a0 Carrying a heavy price tag, external forms of funding were going to be very welcome to the project.\u00a0 One such funding mechanism was recently finalized, as West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium came to fruition.\u00a0 The school agreed to the 15-year, $50 million naming rights deal, and in so doing will continue to push the boundaries of tradition in Happy Valley.\u00a0 Athletic director Pat Kraft called it a \u201ctransformational naming rights deal.\u201d<\/p>\n Penn State has always portrayed itself as team first.\u00a0 It is foundational to the culture (there\u2019s that word again) that has been in place for decades.\u00a0 Their plain uniforms have been representative trademarks.\u00a0 Perhaps even more importantly, players did not have their names on the backs of jerseys.\u00a0 Those player aspects remain.\u00a0 Counter to the anonymity that players through the years embraced, the field those players call home now bears a corporate component, with the West Shore Homes logo appearing on the field.<\/p>\n The Penn State Board of Trustees backed the naming rights agreement, with 22 votes approving, overcoming eight no votes.\u00a0 The decision brought back some of the debate regarding the legacy of Paterno.\u00a0 His statue is gone, but his impact on the program and the community remains.\u00a0 Whether through the football legends who proudly call themselves alumni, or students learning at Paterno Library, the Paterno family is still part of the community.\u00a0 As part of the field naming rights debate, some strongly felt that it should have been Paterno Field at Beaver Stadium.\u00a0 Approximately 73% of the voting Trustees disagreed and took the $50 million.\u00a0 This decision also proves that Penn State is at a cultural crossroads.<\/p>\n To run a successful team, the leader needs to ensure that the right players are in the right places at the right times.\u00a0 Franklin and his coaching staff were able to develop two players who are polar opposites in personality.\u00a0 Of course, a culture can also help unify different personalities.<\/p>\n Tyler Warren<\/a> fits the mold of the program.\u00a0 Warren was always highly regarded by both teammates and coaches.\u00a0 He earned many accolades after his record-breaking campaign last season.\u00a0 Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki used Warren in many ways throughout the season.\u00a0 He lined up at tight end, as well as receiver, running back, and even quarterback.\u00a0 On one play against USC, Warren snapped the ball, then ran a route and caught an acrobatic touchdown.\u00a0 That one play symbolizes what Warren meant to the program.\u00a0 What also defines Warren is that he always deflected praise to his teammates and coaches.<\/p>\n On defense, the team was led by Abdul Carter<\/a>.\u00a0 His production reinforced the St1x C1ty tradition<\/a> brought about by the likes of LaVar Arrington and Micah Parsons.\u00a0 While he moved from linebacker to defensive end, the highlight that will help solidify Carter\u2019s place in Penn State lore was in the semifinal loss to Notre Dame<\/a>.\u00a0 Playing with an obviously injured arm, Carter still significantly impacted the game.\u00a0 Everyone knows how talented Carter is, including him.\u00a0 Following a big play this past season, Carter struck the Heisman pose.\u00a0 Such actions are counter to how Penn State traditionally operated.\u00a0 This was largely overlooked by traditionalists, because of his talent.\u00a0 In so doing, it reinforced the cultural crossroads that Penn State finds itself in.<\/p>\n Evolving with the game is important for Franklin and Penn State to stay successful.\u00a0 As the head coach of the Nittany Lions, he knows the importance of the program\u2019s tradition.\u00a0 It keeps alumni and donors happy.\u00a0 It could also provide a leg-up in recruiting, with the opportunity to join that tradition and have players carve their own niche.<\/p>\n Managing the growth and evolution of a program is never easy.\u00a0 Franklin had one such instance, having to think very quickly and take matters into his own hands.\u00a0 Last season\u2019s win over USC<\/a> was a thriller, and emotions ran high after the game.\u00a0 Audavion Collins<\/a> wanted to make sure the new entrants to the Big Ten knew there was a pecking order in the conference.\u00a0 He put a Penn State flag right into the ground at midfield.\u00a0 As soon as Franklin noticed this, he sprinted over and made sure the flag was removed.\u00a0 It is not how Penn State has operated.<\/p>\n These examples are just a few of a growing and evolving program, and the leader is charged with enhancing and fortifying the culture.\u00a0 The success of last season allowed some out-of-character actions to be easily overlooked.\u00a0 It opened the possibility for a big naming rights deal for the field name.\u00a0 No matter if a player started with Penn State or transferred in, or what the field is called, or what the antics of a few players are, the culture needs to remain strong.\u00a0 While Penn State is at a cultural crossroads, all eyes are on how Franklin manages the program.<\/p>\n Main Image: Dan Rainville \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A guiding principle of Penn State head coach James Franklin revolves around culture.\u00a0 He believes that culture should appear in every aspect of a program.\u00a0 Penn State is one of the most storied programs in the country.\u00a0 For the Nittany Lions, the culture permeates not only the team\u2019s players, coaches, and football staff.\u00a0 It also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5172,"featured_media":73123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[32817,228,6173,837,796,4428,3187,34979,1073,3367],"class_list":["post-73114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-bigten","tag-andy-kotelnicki","tag-beaver-stadium","tag-happy-valley","tag-james-franklin","tag-joe-paterno","tag-lavar-arrington","tag-micah-parsons","tag-pat-kraft","tag-tom-allen","tag-winning-culture"],"modified_by":"Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5172"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73114"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73126,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73114\/revisions\/73126"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}It’s Just a Field.\u00a0 Or Is It?<\/h3>\n
The Dichotomy of a Modern Team<\/h3>\n
Planting a Flag<\/h3>\n