STATE COLLEGE — Following his early departure to the National Football League, former All-Big Ten wide receiver Allen Robinson had a message for teammate Eugene Lewis.
Robinson, now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, wasted little time getting to the point. The message was loud and clear to Lewis, and he’s ready to accept the challenge.
“He texted me and told me, ‘Hey, listen, this is your time now,’ ” the former Wyoming Valley West standout said at Monday’s media day at Beaver Stadium. “ ‘(You need) to go out there and make plays, be confident in what you do and just show people your talent.’
“I respect that man a lot, he’s helped me out a lot over my career,” Lewis added. “I was just grateful to have him in my corner.”
When Robinson, a two-time Big Ten Receiver of the Year, left for the NFL in January, he took a huge amount of offensive production with him. Last season, he totaled 97 receptions for 1,432 yard and six touchdowns.
Lewis is expected to be a key factor for sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg’s success. As a redshirt freshman last season, Lewis caught 18 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns.
He did show big play potential, hauling in a 54-yard touchdown in the opener against Syracuse and a 59-yarder in the finale at Wisconsin, both Nittany Lion wins.
Now, Lewis will be counted on to be a leader for the receiving corps the same way Robinson was the past two years.
Now, he’s a veteran that freshmen like DeAndre Thompkins, DaeSean Hamilton and Saeed Blacknall will look to for guidance.
It’s a role he’s ready to embrace.
“Sure, there’s always going to be pressure,” Lewis said. “But you just have to go out there and make plays and (if you do) all that pressure will go right away.”
Excitement in the air
After asking how everybody’s summer went, first-year head coach James Franklin opened his press conference by reflecting on the hard work and progress his team and staff have made in the past seven months since he took over for Bill O’Brien, now the head coach of the Houston Texans.
He praised the strides the Nittany Lions have made both on the field and in the classroom, noting the team’s ability to learn the playbook and the strong academic spring and first summer semester many players have had.
But he also knows there’s a lot more work to be done and not much time to do it. Penn State opens its season Aug. 30 against Central Florida in Ireland, which Franklin told his players “will be here before we know it.”
Franklin said he’s excited to see the progress his team has made since spring ball ended, both physically and mentally. He said the mental part will be key because it will allow his team to play fast.
Family first
Franklin was ecstatic when asked about what it was like to finally have his wife, Fumi, and two daughters, Shola and Addison, joining him in State College.
Franklin said he greeted his family Friday at the State College airport and will now be reunited for the first time since Franklin left Vanderbilt in January. He also said that having his players get to know his family will be a vital part to the program’s success.
“It’s really been strange because my wife and kids have really been a big part of our programs,” he said. “The fact that none of these kids really know my daughters and none of these kids really know my wife is weird.
“(But Sunday), the players came and had lunch and dinner with us and my daughters loved it. They didn’t want to sit with us. Shola went and sat with one group of players, Addy went and sat with another group of players and I love that.
“I think it’s awesome for our family, but I also think it’s really important for our football team.”
Business trip
When the Nittany Lions make the trip across the pond to Ireland, Franklin knows his team will be dealing with something they’ve never dealt with and that starts from the time they step off the plane.
He noted that every piece of equipment the team is bringing over will have to be documented, from helmets and shoulder pads to rolls of tape and scissors. He also pointed out the time zone difference, the sleep schedule and the nutritional aspect that his team must adjust to.
Franklin made it a point to say there’s a time and place to take in everything Ireland has to offer.
This will not be one of them.
“It’s not like we’re going to be touring the countryside,” Franklin said. “We got a tight schedule. What we have to do is we have to make sure that our guys have an unbelievable experience at Penn State, get their degrees and a degree that means something so that once they graduate, they can afford to go on a vacation back to Ireland and enjoy the countryside.
“This trip really isn’t for that. We’re trying to win a football game.”