Penn State football held their second open practice of the spring period, and Blue White Illustrated was there to see it. Host Thomas Frank Carr and senior editor Nate Bauer share their impression of the 20 minutes that media was allowed to view Wednesday night and then take viewer questions for their weekly mailbag show.
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Bauer starts the conversation by discussing what he saw from the special teams period of practice, which made up the bulk of the viewing experience. While it's easy to overlook, the punter and kicker positions are vacant this offseason after the graduation of specialist Jordan Stout. So was there anything to be gained? Both T-Frank and Bauer were intrigued by some of the players they saw returning punts.
After that, Bauer discusses what he saw from the all-important quarterback position while T-Frank gives his thoughts on what he saw from the skill positions, including receiver. Then, after bringing up third-year wide-out Malick Meiga, T-Frank transitions into the mailbag portion of the show.
One viewer asks if Meiga's prominence this spring is real or hype. Bauer gives his thoughts that Meiga's hype is real this spring. According to Bauer, the Canadian receiver was not a part of the picture last season for an important reason, and the positive feedback has been growing all year. On the other hand, T-Frank says that the hype is noise despite his earlier praise. Finally, he explains what he needs to see to understand what sort of player Meiga is.
Next, they answer a pair of roster-based questions about the strengths and weaknesses of the team coming into the spring and which starters might have their spot in jeopardy next year.
From there, they have a lengthy discussion about the situation and the state of the Penn State football program. If not "on the hot seat," what pressure should head coach James Franklin and his staff feel after two seasons below expectations?
Bauer and T-Frank debate what another sub-par season would mean for Penn State's perception with a critical group of individuals. They also discuss how fans and media pressure don't affect college coaches the same way professional ones do. Finally, they wrap up the show with their picks for the underrated player to break out in 2022 and their way-too-early running back depth chart.
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