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James Franklin approached last season with a specific plan at quarterback.
Sean Clifford was the starter, and opportunities would be identified for Drew Allar to gain experience as the backup.
It played out as Franklin hoped, and the Nittany Lions wound up 11-2, Rose Bowl champions and ranked No. 7.
Now, although the Lions will enter the 2023 season highly ranked -- some early polls have them in or around the top 5 -- their projected No. 1 quarterback, probably Allar, has zero career starts.
That's one of the reasons Franklin said Tuesday that all three quarterbacks -- Allar, redshirt freshman Beau Pribula and true freshman Jaxson Smolik -- will get equal snaps this spring.
"I think it's really important in spring ball, not just at the quarterback position, but all the positions, that everybody's getting the opportunity to compete and develop," Franklin said.
Now entering his 10th season, Franklin said the staff will "protect" that plan, especially as it relates to Allar and Pribula.
He considered Allar and Sean Clifford similar in style but believes Pribula, a York product, adds an athletic dimension that he'd like to exploit.
"Beau has got some athletic traits that are desirable and maybe makes sense for us to use if they give us the best chance to win," Franklin said.
"There could be some situations where Beau actually gets more reps by the end of spring, because I think there's some things that we may want to do to take advantage of his skill set and maybe create an opportunity for him to get some more experience. Not only in spring ball, but games next year as well."
Tuesday marked the first of 15 practices leading up to the Blue-White Game on April 15.
Because of injuries and circumstances following Covid, the Blue-White Game has been a controlled scrimmage the last couple of years, but Franklin said the format will go back to being a more traditional game.
"Seventy-five thousand people show up to watch a spring game," he said. "We're going to have more people at our spring game than some people will in the fall. We would like to give them a spring game."
He said the players, especially the inexperienced ones, will benefit, too, leading into fall camp when the competition shapes up.
"Obviously, at some point, we've got to transition and get ready for the first game (vs. West Virginia)," Franklin said.
Notable ...
– Franklin said offensive tackle Olu Fashanu (ankle/foot) is a "full go" for spring practice after missing the final five games of last season. Guard Landon Tengwall, who missed half the season with a shoulder injury suffered in pre-game at Michigan, will miss the first three practices but then will resume.
– Converted guard Hunter Nourzad is the leading candidate to replace Juice Scruggs at center.
– Lanky receiver Malick Meiga has bulked up and is working at tight end.
– Defensive lineman Coziah Izzard is "questionable" for spring drills, Franklin said.
– The hiring of defensive line coach Deion Barnes was announced Monday night. Barnes spent the last three seasons as a graduate assistant after Franklin interviewed "a ton of people," some with PSU ties, some without. Barnes, who replaced John Scott (who left for the Detroit Lions), impressed Franklin with his transition from training athletes in the Philadelphia-New Jersey area to becoming an on-field coach and recruiter who has a passion for PSU, his alma mater, having graduated in 2014.
– Franklin was part of the basketball team's sendoff on Tuesday morning that drew a couple hundred to the Jordan Center.