Penn State Football: Blue-White Set to Be More Practice Than Scrimmage

Penn State will take part in its annual Blue-White game on Saturday afternoon but much like in recent years, the Nittany Lions won’t be scrimmaging as much as they’ll be practicing.

“Some of the periods will be thud some of the periods will be live,” James Franklin said after practice on Wednesday evening. “So we will get some live work, but there are some players that aren’t cleared for live but they are clear for thud so it allows us to get more guys reps.”

Penn State has been a team in recovery this spring with the returns of more than a few players who picked up various aliments last year during or, in the case of defensive end Adisa Isaac, prior to the season. As a result the Nittany Lion aren’t trying to rush anyone back faster than they need to.

In turn, expect Saturday’s event to have a much more casual feel than in years past when it has been a four-quarter affair. Fans who have been to their fair share of Blue-White weekends might recall the scrimmage under then head coach Bill O’Brien and a strange scoring system that came with it. That could be the case again on Saturday.

“It won’t be a traditional spring game like we’ve had in the past,” Franklin said, noting that offensive line depth (or the lack thereof) played a role in this as well. “We’re working on a scoring system right now. I’ve never really done it before. So we’re looking into that. I don’t want to make it overly complicated but it’ll be more of a practice type structure, but there will be some live periods for the fans.”

Whatever Saturday turns into exactly, fans will just be happy to be back in the stands, and players happy to be back on the field.

The Blue-White Game kicks off at 2 p.m. in Beaver Stadium. Admission is free, with entry through gates A and B open at 12:30 p.m.

The Blue-White Boardwalk Fan Fest — featuring carnival rides and games, entertainment, activities and food — takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Curtin Road in front of the stadium.