Penn State head coach James Franklin sat in front of a microphone and reporters for his first regularly scheduled press conference of the regular season on Tuesday. In previewing the season opener against West Virginia, Franklin discussed a wide range of topics without shedding much light on the starting quarterback for the Week 1 showdown with the Mountaineers. He did, however, outline the plan for a handful of some of the youngest players on the roster.
One of the most exciting topics that he talked about was the freshmen players on the team who will have the “green light” and burn their redshirt this season. It’s a term that he’s used to mainly highlight the players that are ready to make an impact immediately in their freshman year.
These are the four players Franklin announced at the presser.
- [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag] (linebacker)
- [autotag]Zion Tracy[/autotag] (cornerback)
- [autotag]Elliott Washington[/autotag] II (cornerback)
- [autotag]King Mack[/autotag] (safety)
“These guys have shown that they’re the closest, not just to play on defense, but also have significant roles on special teams,” Franklin said on Tuesday. “So, that’s where those guys have been able to get the green light, is being in what I would consider the three deep on defense, and being within the two deep on enough special teams units that it makes sense.”
Rojas has been a fast riser in the program this summer after putting on over 30 pounds of muscle since he arrived on campus. There have been murmurs that he will see time at linebacker at portions of the season that aren’t in blowout games.
Tracy and Washington will likely be confined to special team roles when not in for mop-up duty. Both were rated as four-star recruits by On3 and have flashed in the offseason training camps.
Mack is a name that kept coming up over and over again through the summer and spring. The former Top 100 recruit in the 2023 class out of Florida has been an impact player throughout camp. He could see the field at some point in a rotational role like Rojas.
Franklin also mentioned other freshmen are in the mix to burn their redshirt as well, “There’s another group of yellow guys that you hope by game five, game four, game five, somewhere around there, that they’re going to be ready to be green-lighted as well.”
Factors like on-field performance, injuries, and others will be used to determine which freshmen will be given the green light throughout the season.
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