More bite to these Lions: New attitude rules Penn State football's spring workouts

A new and improved performance vibe seems to be working its way through these final Penn State spring practices.

Maybe it has something to do with the confidence earned from back-to-back 11-win seasons.

Or a byproduct of stacking accelerated recruiting classes, one upon another.

Part of it may be a mindset sold by a coaching staff over four years, a bit at a time.

Certainly, these Nittany Lions seem more aggressive, more physical and more dominating as they approach Saturday's Blue-White Game in Beaver Stadium — at least that's how the players and and coaches tell it.

They are playing nastier.

In a positive football kind of way, they say.

This attitude shift comes as the Lions attempt to replace All-Americans Saquon Barkley and Mike Gesicki and all-time leading receiver DaeSean Hamilton — marquee pieces of Penn State's NFL Draft load that may approach double digits.

Listen to James Franklin talk about his offensive line, starting with redshirt freshman guard C.J. Thorpe.

"He may be our best guy in the run game. He plays with an attitude, he plays with a chip, he tries to finish people. He's got a nasty streak," Franklin said.

That dominating "nasty streak" rarely was spoken about as Franklin expedited the influx of critical talent after taking over in 2014.

Building depth followed.

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Then came winning.

The next step?

It sounds as if that will be enforcing their will along the defensive and offensive lines.

Offensive tackle Will Fries will be a second-year player who expects to progress from learning on the fly to solidifying the team's best offensive line in years.

He sees the next goal coming into focus: "Playing more with a chip on our shoulder, playing more physical and wearing defenses down. Our mindset ... is that we're really going to be a strength of this team and dominate opponents."

Fries agreed that this team has displayed more swagger this spring, as well. He uses redshirt sophomore Micah Menet as an example — arguably the team's top offensive line recruit in a decade. 

Menet has been "stepping in and killing guys out there. A lot of pancake blocks, playing really physical," Fries said. "That's a good example of guys stepping up every day and playing their asses off."

When it comes to the defensive line, younger players must step up immediately at the inside spots, at least as part of the rotation. So far, 300 pound-plus redshirt freshman Fred Hansard appears to be on target for significant September playing time.

"Fred's been knocking guys backwards," said junior defensive end Shareef Miller. "He's still got a little learning to do, but he'll be fine. Every freshman has that."

Hansard is one of many first- or second-year players who will be counted on for more than backup minutes. New linebacker Micah Parsons and receiver K.J. Hamler already are making an impact with their confidence and edge beyond their skill.

“The young guys are definitely coming in with some fight," said junior linebacker Cam Brown. "Everybody’s got a little bit more grit on them."