Tom Allen talks progress of Penn State's defense | Full press conference (August 8, 2024)

we just talked to Coach Franklin a little bit about it what he said at media day it's year 11 he doesn't want to reinvent the wheel in any position necessarily but how do you feel like you're meshing with what they were already doing here on defense and what kind of wrinkles do you want to bring into it yeah I think it's a it was an important process you know to be able to do a good job of of of meshing you know the the good things that we felt like that they've obviously been doing here uh for the last couple years for sure um and even beyond that but but especially the last couple with the guys recruited that St system so you want to be able to continue to you know highlight those things but also be able to bring the things that uh that I you know believe in and and and know and and want to make sure um we can have a good bling so I just was really praying for wisdom to be able to know how much you know of each you know and I think that'll be revealed here in in about 20 some days but at the same time um you know I think there's there's no magic defense there's no magic system the Magic's in the players and their belief execution so to me that's what I wanted to make sure I did a great job and as you know the whole staff of all in the field coaches were all the same you know and so I was the only new one on the field so that to me was another reason why just to really do a good job of listening to them you know so we we obviously met a whole bunch you know once we got off the road from recruiting and then just started kind of piecing it all together and then uh did some things in the spring and some things that we did you know kind of decide if you like him don't like him kind of tweak some of those a little bit continue to mesh things together and so it's been a process for sure it's still ongoing for sure but I think that uh the guys have really picked it up well and there's going to be be some changes but at the same time you know when you know like they say if it's not you know it's not broke you know you want to make sure you do a good job of of doing the things that help it get better I know Dion's pretty young but the rest of the coaches on that defensive side of the ball have been around for a while how much did that help with the transition and when as you said you were kind of the new face you have guys who are veterans who have been in this for a long time there's no question and I I leaned on them heavily you know Dax and Terry you know just guys that uh know football and also know um just multiple systems they've been a part of and kind of the cuz the thing for me is there always the why the why behind what we're doing and why we're doing it the way it is right now and uh they were because they were here during that you know last several years that's that was actually probably the biggest even Dan Connor you know for me as a linebackers guy and he's in our room and and he's been huge for me to be able to to lean on him cuz he really understood the things and and the the reasons for the things we were doing you know currently and so I think that uh you know a bunch of great coaches here and it's one of those things it's it's not about me it's about us and we and and we decided and coach was great about this say what's best for Penn State and that's been the theme for the whole process and not what you know best for me or easiest for me coming in new easiest thing is just bring your stuff in and just install it you know but um what's best for the players what's best for pen state so that's been the goal we've heard a lot about Tony roas a lot of the players were talking about him what could you tell us about him as a player we haven't seen a ton of them and what does he kind of bring to the T you know um he's big you know he's 240 lbs um obviously he's gained a lot of good weight um and gotten faster which is a testament to you know him and his work and our strength staff and all that they do and Coach Losi does a phenomenal job and so I think you're gonna see a combination of speed um a really good athlete you know I think he you can see from year one to year two just growing as a as a in the Box linebacker understanding how that fits and and how you you know take on blocks and angles and you know but the the physical traits you know those they they they they flash you know and that's that's what you want to have a system where the guys those physical traits can be you know accented and they they're able to shine because they're not inhibited by too many things going on in their head so I think that's a guy like that that's young he's still young hadn't played a lot of football collegiately so and I think that uh he just brings a lot of range um uh unbelievable work ethic you know he uh he's going to keep growing in his verbal leadership that's tough when you're young and I don't even expect as much from him from that I would even a guy like Kobe that's been here view as one of the leaders of our whole team and so but for him as a linebacker that eventually needs to be a next step for him but right now it's a matter of hey just making sure you master your responsibilities but just going to see a big physical guy that can run really really well and I think has a a really good um set of work cap are allow him to be elad coach you've now actually seen these guys practice in person um now that you're not just relying on tape who's popped in person that maybe you didn't see on tape yeah that's a great point because you know sometimes you just rely on the certain guys you expect to and you kind of just kind of rerun those and you know I I think for me um having watched these guys you know on film coached against them um and now seeing him practice uh Tam Robinson's one that I would say um didn't really know much about him at all I don't think he played you know much and so I know he didn't play in the games that I was a part of and so um he to me is really elevating himself you know um I think d k dink just dinkin is a guy that um has even his last several days has really continued to to elevate his play and uh he's a guy that was was you know didn't have a role at all you know now he's a guy in the mix and he's going to have an opportunity to be in those positions I think uh uh AC David Collins is another one that has really um didn't see him on film last year but really had a great spring but I tell you what that that room is so competitive that he has had to have you got to stay on your game every day and to me that's that's a huge thing and and to me that's just guys like that stick out you know I really I think Dom the LCA is just a really good football player you know and it's in both phases I know he's played in the past but but to me just being such a Savvy Moxy guy that makes a ton of plays and you know mean van over is another one that hasn't played probably a lot uh but uh uh I I think even these last two days has even flashed more you know so we need those guys that come and and just Elevate their play and and there's a lot more guys I could probably name but but it's just about a it's a whole group of guys bought in playing at high level do you find that coaching against Penn State has been valuable scouting for your own team now I think so I mean I think that uh you know and and just in general across the board I mean we're you know I've been in this league for eight years and so you know the teams are going to be playing against and coached against them and the schemes are going to run and and their person you know and those kind of things and then the players that you you know you see and I've even able to take a perspective of even for me when I talk to guys hey when I saw you and when I was on the other side of it evaluating you this is what I thought and just either to motivate to encourage to challenge whatever what I think they need and so I think anytime you have some familiarity with anything situationally I think it helps you be able to bring more positive to the situation knowing that it's still relatively early this changed to be able to to focus on coaching all that has it been what you hoped it would expected it to be now that work out a weekend yeah I would say um I I can't even begin to tell you just the um the difference of just being able to go up in there and just close the door and just watch a ton of film and don't get the phone calls about dealing with something don't get people coming in and you know got to go do this got to go do that so um it's just it's what I hoped it would be you know and uh I feel like that I guess probably sometimes you don't know for sure until you go do it you know but I I would definitely say that you know I'm a big film guy you know and uh I was probably one of the besides the time with the players relationship with the players the next thing I really missed was was that piece and so I mean even last night we didn't practice yesterday but I'm just just grinding through a lot of film and I just think that just I know I really enjoy it and so I feel like I'm kind of you know kind of back in my string zone for people who aren't in coaching what are you looking for when you watch film without giving away Secrets but when you put stuff on what are the things that you're looking for well when I'm watching our guys it to me is really about um I want to be able to figure out what our guys naturally do well so like even we have we have a scenario where we're like hey let's uh as a coaching staff how are we going to handle this type of thing the offense is doing I said okay guys let's let our players watch that play and say what's the first thing that comes to mind or we did this yesterday or two days ago where we say hey let's don't tell them anything let's see how they act on the field when it's live and so like okay guys this is what they naturally did if we feel good about it and it sound let's do it this way because that's what they so I think you're looking for those things when you're looking at your own team and then when you're watching an opponent to me it's so much about um I'm looking for cuz coaching Tendencies You Know play caller Tendencies you know especially this time of year you know just watching our future opponents as we've done all this whole spring and summer um just taking notes taking notes all the things that I'm just looking for any any Edge I can give to our backers cuz to me the backers got to have that that that little something formally you know certain players type of things he does where it's a quarterback and hey when he's flush this is how he exits you know just instinctively which he going to do against us because that's just what he does and so and whatever there's a myriad of things and and there's a lot of formational things that you're looking for and and I find that coaches are pretty true to those you know and then if you when you learn to watch long drives you learn the person it of the the play caller and so that's why I like to focus on long extended drives throughout games I really take note of what they like to go to and you'll see patterns so I'm just I'm looking for patterns I'm looking for things that are going to give me an edge on game that's why the the volume of film study is huge and that's the one thing I always say when you're a head coach you just you don't have time to do that you know even when I was calling it at Indiana you know that made it hard when I became the head coach I did it for several years in that role but um I just never felt like I really had time like I do now like I did before I was a head coach but that's what I'm looking for I I apologize if you were asked already but KJ Winston what do you remember about prepping for Penn State last year and seeing him and and in the game and what how has he looked so far well the thing that stuck out to me was his size and his speed which creates range I mean I he's one of those where I watched himon film thought he was a really good player then you watch him warm up and you're like dang that kid he's a he's a good-looking dude I mean he's big and he he's got you know he's well proportioned and he's and he's just he's Twitchy for his for his length and his he's just he can flat out burst and close and then you get here and I see an unbelievable work ethic I mean I don't know if I've ever I just said this to coach the other day I'm like he he might be the most impressive um guy that I've seen in terms of understanding taking care of his body how you approach every walk through how you approach every jog through how you practice every single day the consist he is a he's a pro and I think he's he's a pro that's that's on a mission he's a hungry guy and he's extremely diff hard on himself and he's extremely hard on his teammates which is a great thing some guys are good at holding themselves accountable but they don't feel comfortable doing that to their teammates well if you want to be a leader you got to have that ability and you got to earn that right to do that anything he has and so I just see him elevating the people around him because he's not afraid to talk and his his standard for Preparation how he practices how he watches film how he holds himself like even today he made he had a great practice and I focus on that one mistake that he made he comes up after he was frustrated with that one but that's him he's got such a high standa for himself and I think he's I think he's really really special Tom how would you describe yourself as a recruiter and what do you think you learned most about recruiting um just through head coaching oh I think you you know the place I'm coming from you we had to really find the guys that you know you could project she just looking for Quality you're looking for you know personal things that you know are going to be uh indicators of future success you know and uh their character and their work habits and and so getting to know the people so to me I was always big on trying to build relationships with the people that know them every day I've been with them every single day High School coaches guys in their area guys that are training them because it's what does he do on a daily basis don't tell me all the great things he does on you know like like watching the kids highlight tape you can put a highlight tape together for about anybody make him look pretty good but what is he like on consistent basis things go his way things go against him so I don't know that unless I know somebody so work really hard that's why we really try to we did a good job I believe of just trying to find guys in certain areas that we had built those relationships we could try to find those guys that we thought we could take to this level and they might be you know whatever ranked a level but get them to play at a way higher level you know in a year or two or three so to me there's just traits that you look for there's also um U work habits and the kind of person that you are when no one's around you know and that's I don't know what that is unless I get to know somebody that's with him every single day so I to me that's why relationships are so big and recr thanks Tom thanks Tom thank you Tom thanks