Penn State’s spring practice is back, and so are the team’s chemistry and optimism for the 2021 season
The Nittany Lions were stung by a 4-5 season that started with five straight losses. They're eager to put all that behind them.
Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford couldn’t wait to get started with spring football practice last year knowing that a number of new wide receivers — four freshmen and a junior college transfer — were itching to find a spot in the Nittany Lions’ passing game rotation.
But that scheduled start never came. Spring practice was wiped out because of the emerging coronavirus pandemic. In fact, it wasn’t until late September that Clifford finally met the newcomers in person and began throwing to them.
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“We were separated because of COVID and then we were in different camps and practicing differently,” Clifford said in a recent interview. “We had to deal with so many things.
“It makes you appreciate this time now even more, spring ball. It makes you appreciate getting in with them in the summer. I think that everybody understands now, every single day we come in, we’ve got to work and we’ve got to make sure that we’re improving on something. I think that it was taken for granted before, but I’ll assure it’s not being taken for granted right now.”
The Nittany Lions will conclude spring practice Saturday with a scrimmage in Beaver Stadium, and then approach the coming months with fresh hope and optimism that they can make a dramatic turnaround from last season’s disappointing 4-5 record, their first losing campaign in 16 years.
Head coach James Franklin has seen it over the last month — the chemistry and camaraderie that was missing last year with everyone isolating at their homes.
“So obviously,” he said, “it’s being able to get back to how we normally operate, learn lessons from last year that no matter what happens, you’ve got to find a way to adapt and be flexible and get it done, but get back as much as we possibly can to our normal routine of how we do things.
“You have to have flexibility when change does come, right? It’s the one thing that we can guarantee we’re going to have the rest of our life, is change. So kind of a combination of those two things is trying to create as much chemistry as we possibly can in a way that we’ve always done it over the last 10 years. But then on top of that, take some of the lessons from last year.”
Punter Jordan Stout, one of Penn State’s captains in 2020, said that it wasn’t only the lack of spring practice that contributed to an 0-5 start. The separation of players into groups once players returned to campus in June also hurt.
“We weren’t just playing for ourselves, we were still playing for the team, but not as much as usual,” he said. “Usually when we get to hang out in the summer and the spring and through the fall without any boundaries, we get so much closer, and I feel like when we get that much closer, we’re playing for our brothers and not ourselves. I feel like that was a big part of it.
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“That’s something that so far this year has been completely different. Everybody’s getting along, everybody’s meeting everyone. It’s not like certain groups have to be by themselves because we’ve been here. We haven’t been at home, which is big.”
Freshman wide receiver Parker Washington was one of the biggest surprises for Penn State last season, with 36 receptions for 489 yards and six touchdowns, finishing second to Jahan Dotson in all three categories.
What was remarkable is that the first time he caught passes from Clifford last year took place two weeks before the Lions’ season opener at Indiana. Washington said he and Clifford continued to work this spring to improve their connection.
“It’s actually exciting to see that we’re still actually learning from each other and learning new things each and every day,” he said. “I feel like getting this time in spring ball is really helping us. We didn’t necessarily get that chemistry last year. You can definitely see it in the whole receiver room, how everybody is connecting now.”