FILE - Penn State head coach James Franklin leads his team onto the field before an NCAA college football game against Rutgers, Saturday, Nov.18, 2023, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger, File)

Franklin had just visited the inside of West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium prior to Monday’s press conference, and count him as one of the people that are impressed with the work done since December 2024.

“From inside the stadium looking up, it looks and feels a lot better than what I anticipated, considering we’re in the middle of a stadium project. I think that’s a real positive. It’s been impressive what they’ve been able to do. I’m excited about the environment we’ll have in the stadium.”

Athletic director Pat Kraft said last week that work will continue on the internal side of Beaver Stadium such as concessions and bathrooms through the season, but work will stop on Thursday night in order to get the stadium prepared for Saturday.

Scouting Nevada

The Wolf Pack went 3-10 in 2024 with wins over FBS Troy, and non-conference foes Eastern Washington and Oregon State in head coach Jeff Choate’s first season with the program.

But that doesn’t really mean much coming into 2025 with Nevada having a total of 54 new players on their roster, which is typically about half a roster in major college football.

“When you have 54 new players, it’s hard to really have a good understanding and a feel of who you’re going to play,” Franklin said. “This could be a team that could go on and have a phenomenal year. It’s hard to really project when there’s that kind of turnover. It’s 54 players that we have to get familiar with, which is hard to do in a Week 1 game.”

One of the familiar names returning for Nevada is quarterback Chubba Purdy, the brother of San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy. He appeared in seven games and was 18 for 25 in pass attempts. Purdy was previously a part of both the Nebraska and Florida State programs.

Choate was previously a head coach at Montana State, and was also a co-defensive coordinator at Texas for three years before becoming the head coach at Nevada.

A nod to broadcaster

Franklin acknowledged CBS color analyst Gary Danielson, who will retire at the end of this season.

Danielson will be calling Saturday’s game with longtime play-by-play broadcaster Brad Nessler. This is Danielson’s 36th season behind the microphone.

Ross healthy again

Franklin said that Troy transfer receiver Devonte Ross was injured with ‘bumps and bruises’ in the late part of summer and early in training camp. Regardless, Ross will be ready on Saturday.

He is expected to rotate with Liam Clifford on Saturday, but both will play a significant amount of snaps.

“We’ll probably rotate him a little more because he hasn’t had the full training camp and the full summer, but he’s ready to go and has looked really good the last week or so,” Franklin said.

NOTABLE

• Franklin said the coaching staff would meet with the quarterbacks on Monday to discuss the backup quarterback job.

• Amare Campbell or Dom DeLuca will wear the green dot on their helmets, which signifies they will receive the defensive calls from defensive coordinator Jim Knowles in pre-snap situations.