Former Penn State QB Todd Blackledge talks 2024 Nittany Lions, James Franklin, and more

Always love it when I can talk to a guy named Todd, it's the best first name out there. But look, it's Penn State Day here at big 10 media days. Coach Franklin, he always wins these days. He's always eloquent, great speaker and he always does a great job with this. What do you expect to hear from coach Franklin? And what do you want to hear from the players? What do you like to ask him? Yeah. Well, you know, first of all, I think there's going to be optimism which, and there's reason for optimism because from a talent standpoint, I think Penn State is right up there in the upper echelon of the league. You know, a lot of talk about Ohio State, a lot of talk about Oregon coming in Michigan, the defending national champion, but from a talent standpoint, Penn State is on par with all of those guys. So, you know, some question marks can Drew Howard take the next step. Two new coordinators on both sides of the ball. How's the chemistry with all that? So there are a few question marks but uh reason for optimism for sure. I want to talk about in a general sense. Schedule wise, they, Michigan, they avoid Oregon. They have Ohio State at home and a lot of people aren't really talking about that. There's no more divisions. You don't have to win the big 10 east to get back here to Indianapolis to win the big 10. So you don't want to aim for second, but second can be, can be good too. So that's a change that could potentially help the Lions. Well, that's a change in terms of getting here and then the change of the expansion of the playoffs, you don't have to do either one really to still have a chance to make it to the 12 team football playoffs. So it's gonna be a really interesting year. I mean, that's different. All the major four conferences are different with the addition of different teams. So, uh, it's gonna be an exciting year of college football. You mentioned the playoffs, six out of the eight years, the last eight years, I believe they finished in the top 12 that puts them right in that host. A playoff game type of seeding. Can you imagine late December Beaver Stadium, 100,000 people white out. I'm sure in that kind of atmosphere, that would be pretty, that would be very cool. And I think, you know, to me that's going to be probably the best part of the expanding of the playoffs is having games at home fields because if you've earned that right. You should have that advantage just like NFL teams that get to host a playoff game. I mean, that's a big deal rather than going and playing in a neutral setting or a dome stadium, if you're a northern team or a Northeastern team or a midwestern team and you can host a playoff game, December and the weather is to your advantage. I think that's awesome. There's so many changes off the field on the field and with the staff, two new coordinators. So you got a third year quarterback in Drew Aller as a QB, how difficult our coordinator changes, but Drew is now in his third year. So he, you know, how do you mix that right balance that when you got a veteran guy, but a new coordinator, well, it, it's always different and it's always difficult but, you know, Drew is a smart guy. I mean, he, he's going to pick things up. Andy's been there through the spring so it's not like they're starting, you know, completely new here in the fall. So I'm sure he's got a very good feel for it. You know, one of the things that I talked to James about last night was just, you know, one of some of the things that Andy's done really well. He just said he's done a great job of just teaching and kind of answering the question, why and why they're calling things the way they are. And so So I'm sure Drew is picking it up really well and also, and are excited to get going here this fall. Last question. We're all here to talk about some college kids, college age, I have kids that are college age, you know, I know what they want to talk about. The college football. 25. They want to just enjoy themselves to be representative as a college student of the entire university. Speaking for Penn State, you were out to dinner with him last night at ST Elmo's. The excitement level for these kids. What does this mean to those three to be chosen and represent Penn State here? Well, I think it was, I think you could just tell by the look of their faces. I mean, you know, they all had big smiles, they were excited to be here, excited to represent Penn State. And, you know, and I, as a former Penn State, I was proud because they were emblematic of what I think Penn State football players are and should be and continue to be. So I thought it was great and we got to have a great meal at ST Elmo's, which is owned by a guy who's another Penn State. So it was, it was a wonderful evening for everybody.