Penn State’s PJ Mustipher earns high praise from James Franklin: ‘He’s literally the example I use all the time’

STATE COLLEGE — When James Franklin watches his Penn State players come onto the field for practice, the eighth-year coach typically sees the same two players come out before the rest of the Nittany Lions: safety Jaquan Brisker and defensive tackle PJ Mustipher.

And the two team captains aren’t on the turf in Holuba Hall or the grass outside the Lasch Building to socialize or lollygag, either. Both players are out there early with an idea of exactly what they need to work on, Franklin said. And for both players in 2021, it’s carried over to game days.

Brisker played the hero in the season opener at Wisconsin. Mustipher, meanwhile, occupies a bit more of an unheralded role in the middle of the Penn State defensive line. But Franklin has seen the impact Mustipher has made on games, and Franklin couldn’t stop gushing about the senior Wednesday evening.

“He’s literally the example I use all the time,” Franklin said. “I just said it, I think yesterday, after practice. Almost every day, Brisker and PJ Mustipher are the two first guys out on the field. They’re not just out here, like they’ve got a plan every day of what they’re working on. So I love him. I love him.”

Mustipher arrives early to get extra work in. He’s grown close with graduate assistant Deion Barnes this season, and Barnes, a former Penn State defensive end, offers suggestions to Mustipher on what he needs to improve. The two text every day, Mustipher said, and Barnes has constant feedback for how he can improve.

“I come out here, get work with him before practice starts and just fine-tuning my technique, getting me ready for another great day,” Mustipher said Wednesday evening. “That’s what that looks like. It’s nothing crazy. We’re just getting out here and getting the fundamentals down before practice.”

Mustipher credited Barnes with being a significant influence on him this season. Mustipher was asked to grade his performance through the first two weeks of the regular season, and Mustipher said he recently sat down with Barnes to go through his film from Wisconsin and Ball State.

The two men, Mustipher said, had a “tough conversation” that ended with Barnes breaking down the areas where there needed to be improvement.

“Like every game, you’re not going to be perfect, but you want to clean up some stuff,” Mustipher said. “So I’m just going to continue to get better every day and that’s my only focus and I know the rest will take care of itself.”

Mustipher was one of the more interesting players on the Penn State defense entering this season because of how he transformed his body this offseason. Mustipher is listed on the Penn State roster at 326 pounds — he said he walks around between 320 and 325 pounds now — after he was listed at 300 pounds last season, though Mustipher said he played between 290 and 295 pounds.

Despite adding around 30 pounds, Mustipher didn’t lose any of his conditioning — Franklin said Mustipher probably could have passed the linebackers’ conditioning test — or his ability to be disruptive in the trenches. He did have to adjust in the spring and early in the summer, but eventually, Mustipher settled in at a good weight for what he needed to do in the defense.

Mustipher has eight tackles (six solo) and one tackle for loss this season.

“We do a lot of stuff in the offseason that puts your body in really uncomfortable situations,” Mustipher said. “I was putting on the weight, but I still had to come out and do the workouts. I felt good while I was doing the workouts to where I didn’t have to adjust what I was doing off the field as far as eating wise, so that’s how I kind of maintained that cardio, just doing what we do in here.”

Franklin said Mustipher has the ability to make plays within the structure of the Penn State defense, which helps those around him. Mustipher’s added bulk can help free up defensive ends and linebackers to make plays, and he creates a ripple effect throughout the defense.

It worked against Wisconsin. And No. 10 Penn State will need to Mustipher to remain at his high level when it hosts No. 22 Auburn this weekend at Beaver Stadium.

Franklin, though, expects Mustipher to do just that. He’s seen the work behind the scenes. He knows what Mustipher is made of. And he hopes the rest of his team knows, too.

“I love him,” Franklin said. “I love him. I’m a huge fan of PJ’s.”