Since James Franklin addressed the media last week, two former blue-chip recruits left the program. On Saturday, running back Caziah Holmes was removed from Penn State’s roster. Two days later, defensive end Ken Talley entered the transfer portal.

Not surprisingly, those were the first two questions Franklin fielded Wednesday.

“In the nature of college football now, you have to somewhat expect it,” Franklin said when asked about Holmes’ departure. “Whether it’s him or other guys, we want nothing but the best for them and their futures.”

Franklin was vague in addressing Talley’s abrupt exit, saying “it didn’t work out for a variety of reasons.”

The former four-star prospect was the last member of the 2022 class to join the program this summer. Talley practiced for two weeks before announcing his decision Tuesday.

Franklin expanded more on Holmes than he did Talley. He said the running back’s exit wasn’t “too far out of what we expected.”

“I don’t necessarily see it having a huge impact with where we were trending, which is probably why it happened,” Franklin added.

Holmes was an example of depth chart attrition. The former four-star signee helped alleviate Penn State’s injury issues in 2020, tallying 227 yards as a true freshman. In 2021, he had only five carries. Penn State also added two freshmen, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who have impressed the staff so far in camp.

Between the arrivals of Singleton and Allen and the return of Keyvone Lee and Devyn Ford, there will be plenty of mouths to feed even without Holmes. Franklin added that he thought Lee is “better than what he probably gets credit for” after producing 530 yards and two touchdowns on 108 attempts in 2021.

• There’s still time for moves to be made before the opener against Purdue. But as it stands, third-year player Tyler Elsdon is “a little bit ahead” of Kobe King in the battle to start at middle linebacker, Franklin said.

“Kobe’s still kind of figuring it all out,” Franklin added. “You’ve got to remember he’s still a redshirt freshman, and that guy is basically the quarterback of the whole defense.”

• South Carolina transfer cornerback Johnny Dixon is one of the team’s takeaway leaders so far in camp. Dixon started eight times for the Gamecocks in 2020 before playing more of a reserve role for the Nittany Lions last season. Cornerbacks coach Terry Smith said this offseason has been “huge” for Dixon.

“He got more acclimated with how we function, how we do things. And he’s taken well to Coach (Manny) Diaz’s defense,” Smith said. ” He’ll play a lot of football for us.”

• Sticking with the secondary, third-team All-Big Ten cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (North Allegheny) called safety Zakee Wheatley “a maniac out there on the field.” Wheatley, a redshirt freshman who made the switch from corner in the spring, is competing for the starting safety spot opposite Ji’Ayir Brown vacated by Jaquan Brisker.

“He can do everything,” Porter said. “He can hit. He can make plays. He’s a ballhawk. The ceiling’s high for him. He’s on the right track right now. Really impressed with him.”

• Franklin, understandably, feels better about his quarterback situation this go-around. “Last year at this time, we had a veteran quarterback (and) then a bunch of question marks behind him,” Franklin said.

Now, there’s more confidence behind Sean Clifford after Christian Veilleux earned a Big Ten win over Rutgers, throwing three touchdowns against the Scarlet Knights last November. Franklin added that freshmen Drew Allar and Beau Pribula are “two guys that people are excited about.”

• Wednesday ended up being an off day from the practice field. Instead of thumping pads, the Nittany Lions played laser tag at the Bryce Jordan Center. Still, Franklin is pleased with how physical the last couple weeks of practice have been. The way he sees it, that’s a testament to the depth Penn State has established.

“In years past, I was concerned about depth at a few spots where you have to pull that back,” Franklin said. “It’s hard to have a tough, physical team, mentally and physically, when you’re not having those types of practices. So I think we’re in a good place.”

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